James B. Murphy (3)Besprekingen

Judging the thickness of this book (over 400 pages) versus the time span covered (2 years) gives you an idea of the level of detail gone into. That’s a little more than half a page a day. I can’t imagine trying to write an interesting half page about the last week of my own life. For the academic or the die-hard fan a book like this is a fantastic thing: an almost excruciatingly detailed coverage of your subject of interest. For the casual reader or fan, it may be a bit much at times, but that’s okay. It doesn’t have to be read cover to cover, and there is enough interesting material here to make it well worth perusing.

If ever you want to learn everything you possibly can about the Beach Boys then this is the book to read. This book is filled with so much information and wonderful pictures. It's something I can read over and over without getting bored and always learning new things.

I received this book from the Early Reviewers program and it was a bit intimidating. I learned a lot about the Beach Boys and the formation of the group. I also learned a lot about the advent of Rock and Roll and a lot about the recording business in the early Sixties.
Mr. Murphy seems to know a lot and have an extensive collection of Beach Boys memorabilia many of which are photographed in the book.
This book is almost too much information, it kind of bogs down with details and is a little confusing with all the different recordings and versions of the same songs. It got to be hard to follow in places and seemed repetitive in others.
I would recommend it for the die-hard fan or a historian looking for information, but for the casual fan it is a bit too much. Although it did make me want to go back and listen to music that I hadn't listened to since I was a teen myself.½

This is a wonderful tome for the dyed-in-the-Pendleton-wool Beach Boys fan. James B. Murphy combined his love for the Boys with true scholarship in documenting every twist and turn of the first two years of the group's formation. That the book weighs in at 422 pages of meticulously footnoted text shows the detail the author has adopted. Personal histories of not just group members but their parents and associates are here. Every personal appearance, studio recording, contract and record is precisely described using a vast array of sources. Collectors will appreciate the descriptions of label variations and memorabilia associated with the group.

Becoming the Beach Boys doesn't read like a novel, and it isn't supposed to. Recounting events fifty years in the past, there are often alternative reminiscences from the participants, sometimes self-serving, sometimes simply forgetfulness. Murphy did a good job of using quotes from the participants to state their case, steering away from taking sides.

This is as good an example as I have seen of applying scholarship to a modern musical group, without having biases show and without gushing.

This is an exhaustive--and sometimes exhausting--account of the Beach Boys from their origins as the three Wilson brothers and their cousin Mike Love harmonized at family gatherings, through their first recordings, and to their chart-topping successes of 1963. Well-written by a Maryland veterinarian, this is a labor of love that diehard Beach Boys fans or those interested in the music industry of the early 1960s will appreciate. Others will probably give up long before the end, since the level of detail can be mind-numbingly trivial, accounting for just about every personal appearance during that period, and even what the boys wore. The book gives a good picture of the Wilsons' father, Murry, a mediocre songwriter who used his connections to arrange the group's first recordings, which later become the subject of a series of lawsuits chronicled in an appendix. Of the group itself, the main focus is on Brian, the creative force behind almost everything they did. While his genius is undeniable, the author does tend to overrate his work with other groups, including the Honeys, a female group Brian put together that included his future wife. (He was engaged to someone else at the time.) The brief career of David Marks also gets a lot of coverage, perhaps due to Marks' later book and his willingness to talk. Carl Wilson is basically presented as a fanatic guitar player, and the rest of his personality doesn't really emerge. Dennis comes across, unsurprisingly, as a free spirit, who seems to get along best with Love, despite their age difference, as they engage in friendly races between Dennis's Corvette and Love's Jaguar. We also learn a lot about Al Jardine, who left the group to study dentistry (thinking they wouldn't make it big), and later started filling in for Brian on tour, before joining full-time again when Marks left.

Still, this is more a story of the music than the personalities. The author has done an enormous amount of research, and none of it seems to be unused. After more than 50 years, it is hard to sift through the varying accounts participants have given over the years, but this book does about as good a job of sorting it all out as could be done. As I said, it is a labor of love, and I hope the author has enough energy to continue the chronicle.

This is a book for the true Beach Boys fan, the one wants to know what Murry Wilson's next-door-neighbor's cousin in Poughkeepsie did for a living, or what Brian Wilson ate for lunch on the Wednesday before he recorded the piano demo of "'Til I Die". The author's love of the band shines through here, and that lends a very real charm to the book, though it can become overwhelming for the reader that may not share his obsessive passion. But I will rate it high for the charm: 4 stars.

I may be in a minority here since I only had a passing interest in the Beach Boys having seen them in concert once and not being an avid fan. I was more into underground rock growing up with The Beach Boys representing main stream. Still I like the history of pop culture so was a intrigued by the book and subject matter. It is from this angle that I found I really liked the book.

I like biographies that aren't just a telling of the story of the main subject but are also snap shots of the times and places that the subject inhabited. I enjoyed the book because it let me know how the families got to L.A., it gave me insight into the record industry in the 50s and 60s and showed me some glimpses of a world long gone (ex. The promotion of the railroad engine building industry).

So for me all the details work giving me a picture of the times as well as the formation of the Beach Boys.

I am a huge Disney fan – in particular, a fan of Disneyland. A walk through the park with me can easily become a voyage into arcane trivia that will somnambulate even the most intrepid voyager. My collection of books about Disney, Disneyland, etc. numbers over 100 and fills an entire bookshelf. This includes one book that is nothing but a listing of every day in the park showing park hours, the weather on that date, events, debuts, and any other trivial information the author wanted to add.

As I read Becoming the Beach Boys, a book that goes into detail about the three years that represent the Beach Boys’ beginning, I now understand what others have to put up with when I get going about Disneyland.

This book has to be a Beach Boys’ fan’s delight. It is written by a real fan, and goes into unbelievable detail. Just one example of that detail: a discussion of the numbering systems used by record companies in the making of 45s – the number that is engraved on the disc itself.

Don’t get me wrong. These details are important for what the author is trying to do – untangle the threads of information to try and build some coherence to the Beach Boys’ origin story. (For example, understanding the numbering system is instrumental in trying to determine the origins of the first hits.) But for some of us, such detail can get mind-numbing. (And, again, I think of that poor individual travelling with me in Disneyland.)

This book is most likely a treasure trove of information for the extremely avid fan. The author has deeply researched the material including extensive interviews and deep-dives into available documentation (some from the author’s own collection.) However, for the person with a more casual interest (that would be me), many of these deep dives are easily skimmed over.

And that detail leads me to one of the main complaints I have about this book, a complaint that builds on a complaint I have with most biographies. In telling the history of a person, authors will often go back in history to tell their ancestors’ stories. This can get a bit much. In the case of this book, the history of the boys’ parents is vital. However, the author tells the deep backgrounds (including the parentage) of way too many of the players. The members of the band? Fine. Anyone else? It is hard to really care.

And one more thing I will note. This is a complete picture of those three years. And yet, I cannot help but feel that some people still sugar coat their memories because of the subjects involved. I further guess that the author does not want to tread too far down roads that have already been heavily travelled. That leaves someone like me – someone who barely knows the subject – a bit in the lurch with a lot of unanswered questions. But I will not fault the book for this last bit. If the author were to try and keep everyone happy, he would be rewriting what has been said before and producing a book that would be unwieldly.

The book does what it sets out to do, even it is not exactly what I need from a book on The Beach Boys. That is to say, this is book that will provide the details the rabid fan desires. And for those of us who are casual observers, we will learn some interesting things. But it is probably not where we should start our voyage

This a book for only the most avid Beach Boys fanatic. Having been a teen in the decade when the Beach Boys and the Beatles were competing to 'raise the bar' in Rock and Roll, I thought this might be an interesting read. It contains way more detail than I would ever care to know, and I will admit to walking away from this one after less than a hundred pages.

The book tracks the Beach Boys from 1961 to 1963 in amazing detail.

The text is well-researched and dense with information – for me, not a quick read. And there are certain parts of the book that are not meant to be read straight through. For example, there are several appendices. Appendix 1 lists all the appearances of the group, listing each individual date, venue, and various details of the performance. This is information that might be of little interest to some readers, but I rather liked how I was able to find the two shows during that time frame that I attended -- and let my own memories flood back.

I so enjoyed the images that are included throughout the text. Some are photographs of the group, as one might expect. Others are advertising for performances. How much fun to read! Stomp and Twist, with Bob Eubanks from KRLA as M.C., at Pickwick in Burbank …. whoa, just reading that triggers such memories. I liked it!

Decided to borrow the book from the library rather than continue to wait for my ER copy. I agree with other reviewers that this book is probably not for a casual fan (like I am), not because there's anything bubble bursting, or that the casual fan will skim pages and jump sections, but because there's so much detail in this text. I didn't have any issues with best guesses about what went on in the early years, or that one person remembers A and another person remembers B. That's not a big deal. I'm sure even the Beatles wouldn't agree on what happened at a certain date or time. I'm not sure what "newly uncovered documents" is referencing but it's certainly in the realm of possibility. The book can bog down under the weight of its details but if the serious fan is looking for a detailed "history", this might be the book.

This is an interesting book but it is really geared toward the serious music aficionado and record collectors out there. It covers the Beach Boys from their likely inception in 1961 through 1963 when they started to garner their first real success on Capitol Records.

I read a particularly harsh criticism from someone who did not read the whole book but had a background of living in Redondo Beach and was quibbling with some of the facts as presented in the book. To this I would say that the author mentions straight up from the very beginning of the book that he did his best to get the details correct however there was a lot of confusion and quarrels even among the people involved about what happened on what date and where.

Look, we are talking about events that are now over 50 years ago. Two of the three Wilson brothers as well as their parents are deceased and due to Brian Wilson's mental health issues, it's possible that the details will be forever lost. I was not particularly cut up at the name of a wrong high school or auditorium name being used incorrectly but if that is the kind of detail that drives you mad, then simply don't read the book.

However, if you are a serious audiophile, this author has gone to a great deal of time and trouble to locate acetates, original recordings and pressings from obscure labels in order to identify some of the earliest recordings and songs written by Brian Wilson and the Beach Boys in its earliest formation. There is a level of detail that true record collectors will appreciate if they want to find these obscure 45's for their collections.

There is biographical information about the parents of the Wilson's, The Love's and The Jardine's that give a little insight into how the members of the group came to have a love and appreciation for music. The biographical detail is not in depth reporting on family dynamics, psychological or social settings. It is focused solely on music and its place in the life of each member and how that evolved into the formation of the group.

I was expecting more of a biography but I stuck with the book to see where it was headed and found myself drawn into some of the details that are meaningful to the collector. But make no mistake, this book is very long on detail and presents conflicting accounts as they were given to the author by the players involved. With that in mind, there are times when the reader simply has to “pick a side” and decide to go with that version of events or reject an alternate version in favor of information they may have read from another source.

The indexing and end notes are expansive for those wanting to dig further or cross reference for their own work. For the average reader, three stars but for the serious record collector and audiophile, this is probably a five star effort.

For some, reading James B. Murphy’s meticulously detailed book about the early history of the Beach Boys will be a complete washout.

However, for the record collector on an endless search for surf singles, Becoming the Beach Boys, 1961-1963 might be invaluable.

The author admits his biography is a working theory of how the Boys got together, but his theory relies on too much trivial information of the various record companies, producers and promoters involved. It’s difficult to keep track of all the comprehensive anecdotes, causing the book to read better as an intricate list of information, but not as an idyllic narrative for the California Sound.

The author’s deep research does pay off when he describes the Beach Boys’ early singles. He identifies their releases from each label by explaining their numbering system and what identification marks to look for. The appendix is very thorough as well, and lists the Beach Boys’ personal appearances from 1961-1963 and the chart position history of their “Surfin’” single.

I would add this to your Beach Boys book collection if you’re looking for a nice, detailed reference guide of the group’s early releases and appearances, but not as a relaxing, summer beach read.

I have long been a fan of the Beach Boys, especialy the Wison Bros., so I was thrilled to receive this history of the band's beginiings. That said, this was more than a bit tedious. More minnowing would have made for a more fascinating read for the average fan. I respect the amount of research that went into this book, but not so much the execution of the book.

I have a personal interest in books that tell the story of how bands came together having written a similar one myself on the early days of the Beatles several years ago - so I was interested to see how someone else approached a similar topic. One of the hardest parts of writing any non-fiction book (or even historical fiction) is deciding what parts of the research to leave out so that the narrative remains readable. Unfortunately Murphy seems to have decided to include every scrap of his research, which leads to a dense, meandering text that often wanders away from the central theme of the Beach Boys story. - This is more of a academic biography than a popular one, and as such would perhaps most appeal to scholars of The Beach Boys influences rather than the casual fan of their music.

This book is not for readers with only casual interest in The Beach Boys but for their most devoted fans and those who like information on little researched eras of important rock stars it's invaluable, centering completely on the early years of the Boys music career before becoming major pop stars on Capitol Records. Prior to that they recorded nine sides for a small company which reissued and leased those tracks an astonishing number of times of the years. Being a record collector and with an interest in reissues, I was particularly fascinated with the detailed list of how many times these tracks resurfaced. I wonder why Capitol or the Boys themselves didn't try to buy these tracks to control the releases or maybe even keep them from being competition for sales of their more famous works. Will undoubtably become an important research tool for those seeking information on the Beach Boys phenomenon.

As a huge Beach Boys fan, I was so looking forward to this read. I wasn't however, prepared to know more history about how to physically make a record, the background of every single record personnel, DJ, producer,etc. to ever come in contact with the Beach Boys. The one piece I did enjoy were the photos and album labels. If you are a die hard fan and love all these facts and tidbits of information then this one's for you. This book is over detailed and I often missed the story of the band and lost in the behind the scenes. Not for reader's looking for insight into the psyche of any the band members, but perfect for musical engineers and producers.

“Becoming the Beach Boys 1961-1963,” an exhaustive book on the formative years of one of America’s greatest bands, clearly was a labor of love for its author James B. Murphy. In the Introduction he beautifully captures, through his recollections of first hearing “Good Vibrations,” and the joy of a generation’s enthusiastic discovery of rock and roll music in the 1960’s. This tightly written and compelling appetizer, to which I (indeed most Baby Boomers) could easily relate, led me to greatly anticipate advancing to the main course; however, it is ultimately a disappointment.

The book is simply much too detailed. I somehow get the feeling that the author may have become a slave to the incredible wealth of research material gathered and felt the need to include it all. This book likely relates everything there is to know regarding the each song’s composition, each 45RPM single, each album, each appearance, each recording session, each lawsuit, etc. But this is a case where less would have been more. Some selectivity in what to include would have made for a much more flowing narrative. Now I am sure that hard-core Beach Boys aficionados will absolutely enjoy every morsel, but casual fans like myself likely will not have the need or the patience. I found it impossible to read straight through; I needed to skim much of the way to make it to the end.

Sifting through, however, there are indeed many interesting nuggets about the band, the music, the records, the genius of Brian Wilson, and the early 1960’s music industry. And it is nicely illustrated with some very cool photos, artifacts, and memorabilia from the author’s personal collection. The story of the Beach Boys’ formation and early success should have made for a very good read, but the excess ultimately derails it. What should have been a breezy narrative unfortunately stagnates instead.

Here is a question to ask yourself before you pick up Becoming the Beach Boys, 1961-1963 by James B. Murphy:

When Brian Wilson was about twenty years old and dining out with his first serious girlfriend, his salad dressing of choice was Thousand Island. The question is, do you care? If so, you may appreciate the painstaking research and attention to detail that are evident in this book. If not, you may find this book excruciatingly dull and bogged down by extraneous trivia (as I did). I love the music of the Beach Boys and find the band's history, which in most accounts is loaded with human drama, fascinating, but even I couldn't get through this book without a lot of skimming and slogging.

Recommended only for the most fanatical of fans.