Beach Boys, The

Beach Boys, The, American rock music band formed in 1961 by brothers Brian Wilson,. 1942–, Dennis Wilson,. 1944–83, and Carl Wilson,. 1946–98, with Mike Love,. 1941–, and Alan Jardine,. 1942–. The band popularized, if not invented, California rock, a style that featured rich, simple guitar work and vocal harmonies and that glorified a teenage life in California centered on surfing, dating, and driving. Their recordings include “Surfin' USA,” “Fun, Fun, Fun,” “California Girls,” and the proto-psychedelic “Good Vibrations.” The band has survived despite frequent personnel changes, and maintained popularity in the 1980s and 1990s as a nostalgia act. In 1988 they achieved chart success again with “Kokomo.”

The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th ed. Copyright © 2007, Columbia University Press. All rights reserved.

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