The Beach Boys’ Manager (And Father) Didn’t Let Them Drink Beer on Tour
The Beach Boys included brothers Brian, Carl, and Dennis Wilson, with their father acting as the band manager. In I Am Brian Wilson: A Memoir, Brian Wilson detailed his experience with Murry Wilson — even if it wasn’t always positive. Here’s what we learned about one tour where they weren’t allowed to drink.
Murry Wilson acted as the Beach Boys’ manager at first
The Beach Boys is the band behind “Wouldn’t It Be Nice,” “Good Vibrations,” and “God Only Knows.” They became one of the most popular bands of the early 1960s, known for their surf rock sounds and love of cars.
This band was also comprised of several family members, with brothers Brian, Carl, and Dennis Wilson, their cousin Mike Love, and friend Al Jardine acting as the founding members.
In 1965, after being “overbearing” and “disruptive” during recording sessions, Murry Wilson was officially dismissed as the Beach Boys’ manager. He later wrote a letter to the musicians apologizing for his wife’s behavior toward the three brothers.
Even outside music, the Wilson brothers didn’t always have a positive relationship with their father. In I Am Brian Wilson: A Memoir, the artist said his father would yell at and hit him, sometimes in alcohol-fueled rage.
Brian Wilson said his father wouldn’t let him drink while on the Beach Boys’ tour
In the same memoir, Wilson described his father’s experience as the band’s manager. Once the band visited Salt Lake City with their father traveling alongside the Beach Boys.
“In town, there was a bar called the Lagoon with more pretty girls than you could ever imagine,” Wilson wrote. “We put that in the song. My dad was with us on that tour and he wouldn’t let us drink beer. It was like we were Mormons ourselves.”
“Except that Dennis and Mike didn’t listen,” the Beach Boy continued. “They went off on their own. I mostly kept to myself or stayed at the hotel and talked to girls down in the lobby.”
After firing their father as their manager, the Beach Boys drank on tour, with some members experimenting with drugs.
Brian Wilson wrote Beach Boys songs about his relationship with his father
Wilson even wrote Summer Days (And Summer Nights!!) track about his relationship with his father — “I’m Bugged at My Ol’ Man.” Although some critics claimed this track was too straightforward, the artist shared he was just writing his emotions.
“But I wasn’t trying to be complicated,” Wilson wrote. “I was trying to say that my dad was bugging me… On the back of the record, where we listed who sang and played on all the songs, the vocals for ‘I’m Bugged at My Ol’ Man’ were created to ‘too embarrassed.’ That’s how direct it was.”
Most Beach Boys songs were written and arranged in part by Brian Wilson. Now, music by the surf rock group is available on most major streaming platforms.
