Surf's Up: Brian Wilson and The Beach Boys

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1960s
A01=Peter Doggett
Al Jardine
Author_Peter Doggett
Beach
Bruce Johnson
California
California Girls
Carl Wilson
Category=AVLP
Category=AVP
Category=DNBF
Category=JHBK
Charles Manson
Dennis Wilson
Drowning
eq_art-fashion-photography
eq_bestseller
eq_biography-true-stories
eq_isMigrated=1
eq_isMigrated=2
eq_music
eq_nobargain
eq_non-fiction
eq_society-politics
Family
Feuds
Good Vibrations
Harmony
LSD
Mental Health
Mike Love
Music
Party
Pet Sounds
Rock Music
Sixties
Smile
Smiley Smile
Sunflower
Surfin' USA
Surfing
Tony Asher
USA
Van Dyke Parks
Wild Honey

Product details

  • ISBN 9781917923347
  • Dimensions: 153 x 234mm
  • Publication Date: 06 Nov 2025
  • Publisher: Putman Publishing
  • Publication City/Country: GB
  • Product Form: Hardback
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Particularly poignant ... tasteful and compassionate” Shindig

Capturing all the pain and glory of this incredible family saga, Surf’s Up is the definitive tribute to a remarkable band - and the genius who made it all possible.

If any man in pop history deserved the tag of genius, it was Brian Wilson. As leader, producer and chief composer of the Beach Boys, he displayed an instinctive command of melody, harmony and arranging skills. The result was a run of hits that included many of the most sparkling and creative records of the 1960s.

But there was a dark side to this seemingly effortless success, rooted in his tortured family background. No sooner had Brian masterminded such gems as the Pet Sounds album and Good Vibrations than his psychological demons began to derail his life.

The Beach Boys were left struggling for survival, grasping for salvation from such bizarre figures as TM guru the Maharishi and cult leader Charles Manson. Their story could have ended there, but somehow the band survived. Ahead lay decades of trauma, triumph and tragedy, as the band members all developed as songwriters but also found themselves increasingly at odds with each other. Through it all the music survived, as Brian’s younger brother Dennis Wilson emerged as an equally creative but troubled presence.

Surf’s Up sees lifelong Beach Boys fan Peter Doggett capture all the glory and pain of this complex family saga. He celebrates the band’s array of musical gems, and also explores many of their passionate obsessions , from surfing and cars to politics and food.

Filled with drama and pathos, Surf’s Up is the ultimate tribute to a remarkable band - and the genius who made it all possible.

Peter Doggett has been writing professionally about popular music and 20th-century culture since 1980. His many books include You Never Give Me Your Money, about the breakup of the Beatles and its aftermath; Theres a Riot Going On, chronicling the links between rock music and revolutionary politics in the late 1960s and early 1970s; and a biography of David Bowie’s 1970s recorded output, The Man Who Sold the World. He lives in London. Find out more at PeterDoggett.org.

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