[buttmunker]

I will admit to being a "fan-boy" for the golden years of The Beach Boys, but I don't think that will disqualify me from being "a fan." The majority of people who know and listen to their music will likely listen to the period that was from the very beginning to the late 1960's, with some later stuff thrown in for good measure, if it measured up. Die-hards will condemn me for this, doubting my appreciation for the group for only liking the years where they were a force. Be that as it may, when they were a force, it was a beautiful (and rare) thing in music history.

I find it hard to believe that none of their studio albums reached the summit of the Billboard Album chart, especially during the years where they were at the complete height of their popularity. They did achieve two No.1 albums, however - Beach Boys Concert in 1964 (4 weeks) and Endless Summer in 1974 (1 week), the latter being a hits compilation. In between, they had many Top 10 albums, including two that reached the runner-up position on the album chart. Their most influencial album, Pet Sounds, barely cracked the top 10 when it peaked at Number Ten in 1966 - and this I blame on Good Vibrations not being amongst the track listings. Had it been, I believe the album would have sold many more millions of copies, and possibly have gone to Number 1. Regardless of its chart position, it provided the inspiration for many new groups in the years to come.

Many great bands fail to achieve Number 1 hit singles, fortunately this is not the case with The Beach Boys - they scored four chart-toppers (three during Brian Wilson's reign) between 1964 and 1988, and while this would have pleased practically anybody, it did not impress their then-manager, Murry Wilson (the Wilson brothers' father). He was a very hard man to please, and Brian never heard the end of it when a song he wrote went to No.1 for the group Jan & Dean (Surf City) in 1963, a year before his own band topped the chart.

The youngest Wilson, Carl, was born in 1946, so I have to think that he quit high school in order to perform and tour with the group by 1962. True?

How did the group decide who would sing lead on a song? Al Jordaine sang lead on the No.1 hit Help Me, Rhonda - how did that come about? Usually Mike Love or Brian himself helped themselves to that honor.

What would be the best book about The Beach Boys to find out the intimate stuff about the early days? Where did they live after their first three albums - still at home with their family, or on their own? How many albums before they were "rich?"