Sunny tunes, stormy relations: Beach Boys' tale on TV

From 1961 to 1980, the Beach Boys released some 30 albums and dozens of singles

From Dennis Michael
CNN Entertainment News Correspondent

February 28, 2000
Web posted at: 1:07 p.m. EST (1807 GMT)

HOLLYWOOD (CNN) -- They created the soundtrack to countless California dreams of sunshine, surfer girls and good vibrations, but their music wasn't always a romp on the beach. The ABC miniseries "The Beach Boys: An American Family," a two-part movie that ends Monday night, shows there was some deep and turbulent water under the waves of adulation.

John Stamos -- yes, that John Stamos, the guy who made women's hearts go pitter-patter with roles in TV series like daytime's "General Hospital," and prime time's "Full House" -- served as executive producer for this take on the Beach Boys' tale of turmoil and tragedy.

"I think we kind of gravitated toward the drama between the family, which was so fascinating and interesting," Stamos says. "And it's like this dichotomy of this happy, shiny music, and then behind this 'Ozzie and Harriet' kind of exterior was this heavy, dysfunctional drama going on."

From 1961 to 1980, the Beach Boys -- brothers Brian, Dennis, and Carl Wilson, cousin Mike Love and friend Al Jardine were the original members -- released some 30 albums and dozens of singles. Starting with the single "I Get Around," their first No. 1 hit, they kept turning out the hits. The band compiled a catalogue of classics whose songs, including "Little Deuce Coupe" and "Barbara Ann" still get radio play today.

Stamos knows these waters well: For 10 years he played and toured with the surviving members of the band. But there are those who know the story even better.

Stamos played for 10 years with the survivng members of the Beach Boys

"They have some revealing insights into the intricacies, what went on behind the scenes of the Beach Boys," says former member Mike Love. "I mean, everybody knows about hit records. But how we survived, what we went through, is pretty interesting."

Conflicts, talent mingled

The dark part of the story -- conflicts between Brian and his father, Murray, who served as the band's producer for many years; interband struggles; and the inevitable erosion of time -- play against the brilliance of the music.

"I wanted to show how powerful that music is," Stamos says. "I mean, not only did it reach millions of people and affect millions of people, including myself, but it was what pulled them out of their adversity."

The miniseries ends with the release of a hit album in 1974. Darker parts of the story remain untold. Carl and Dennis Wilson are dead. Brian Wilson, who gained acclaim as the group's studio producer until his nervous breakdown in the late 1960s, has little contact with his former band mates. The Mike Love camp and the Al Jardine camp are in a legal battle over the use of the name Beach Boys.

Some of their careers continue. For example, Mike Love and Bruce Johnston, who joined the band after Brian Wilson's breakdown, recently performed on "The Donnie & Marie Show." Dreams are one thing, but in reality, endless summers end.

"It is like any family," Love says. "In our family, we have had people who have responded very differently to the same environment and same stresses."

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ABC
   'The Beach Boys: An American Family'
Capitol Records: The Beach Boys

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