Legendary Band's 50th Anniversary Celebration Includes New Album, a Major International Tour, and Commemorative Catalog Releases
National Television and Radio Appearances Confirmed
HOLLYWOOD, Calif., April
25, 2012 -- The founding members of The Beach Boys, one of
the world's most legendary bands in popular music history, have reunited for a
global 50th Anniversary celebration, including a new album release, a major
international tour, and commemorative catalog releases. Today, The Beach Boys
announce details about their new studio album, That's Why God Made The
Radio, to be released June 5 by Capitol/EMI.
Beach Boys Brian Wilson, Mike Love, Al Jardine, Bruce Johnston,
and David Marks recently completed their recording
sessions at Los Angeles' Ocean Way Studios for
That's Why God Made The Radio, the band's 29th studio album (including
2011's The SMiLE Sessions), the first in decades to feature all of the
band's surviving original members. Produced by Brian
Wilson and executive produced by Mike Love,
the album's 11 new songs illustrate The Beach Boys' unique and evocative West
Coast story with the band's timeless signature sound.
The album's lead single, "That's Why God Made The Radio," showcases The Beach
Boys' soaring harmonies in an upbeat, beaming ode to music's radio champions
around the world. Beginning today, the song is available for download purchase
from all major digital service providers, and it makes its national radio
premiere today on "Mike & Mike In the Morning" on ESPN Radio and ESPN 2
(6 AM-10 AM ET/PT, check local stations). A new lyrics video for the single has been launched today on VEVO and The Beach Boys' YouTube channel, where
a video about the making of the song is also available for streaming.
"Radio was my whole education," says Brian
Wilson. "Chuck Berry, Rosemary Clooney, The Four Freshmen, Phil Spector, Little Richard ... To hear 'That's Why God
Made The Radio' on the radio would be a thrill beyond belief, it really would.
It would be a thrill beyond belief."
"I got a lot of my appreciation for all of the creativity in the world, in
terms of music, through the radio," says Mike
Love. "For all of us who grew up in the '50s, '60s, '70s and beyond, the
radio has played such a huge, important part in our lives. When we were kids,
we'd sneak out of the house and go and sit in Brian's car and listen to the
local radio stations on his car radio."
The album's other new songs include "Think About The Days," "Isn't It Time,"
"Spring Vacation," "Private Life Of Bill And Sue," "Shelter," "Daybreak Over The
Ocean," "Beaches In Mind," "Strange World," "My Life
Suite," and "Summer's Gone."
The Beach Boys' collaborative approach to writing and recording their new
music is evidenced throughout the album, with all of the band members
participating to create its glorious harmonies, lyrics, and arrangements.
"We've come full circle," says Al Jardine.
"Sharing our memories and our present in the studio has been
really remarkable. I can especially feel it when we're all singing around the
mic together, because we all hear each other and we really lock in."
"We have reunited as a band, but we never 'un-reunited' as friends," says
Bruce Johnston. "To be back in the studio with
these guys is like a prayer that's been answered and I am thrilled to be sharing
it with everybody."
"This is more like a family reunion than anything," says David Marks. "When we're together, we get along great.
The chemistry always works the same as the last time we were together, and the
five of us become a single element."
The Beach Boys' 50th Anniversary tour, the band's first major outing to
include Brian Wilson in more than two decades,
began this week in Tucson, with other North
American stops including their first concert at the Hollywood Bowl since 1965,
headlining performances at the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival ("Jazz Fest") and Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival, and
concerts in major cities including New York,
Chicago, Boston,
Philadelphia, Atlanta, Las Vegas,
Washington, DC, Toronto, and Montreal.
The Beach Boys have also confirmed concerts throughout Europe with additional European territories to be
announced shortly. The Beach Boys will also perform shows in Japan, and concerts in Singapore, Hong Kong and
Australia will be announced soon. All confirmed
tour dates can be found on TheBeachBoys.com.
Starting May 1, a custom 72-page Beach Boys
'ZinePak magazine, bundled with an exclusive CD featuring 11 of the band's
classic hits and their 2012 version of "Do It Again," will be available for
purchase in the music department at Walmart stores nationwide. For more
information and to purchase the 'ZinePak online, visit http://www.walmart.com/ip/20678933.
The Beach Boys are scheduled to head to QVC Wednesday,
May 16 to unveil their much-anticipated new release with a special
hour-long live performance at 7 PM ET / 4 PM PT. During The Beach Boys' QSessions Live broadcast,
fans will have the opportunity to order the new album, which has been specially
packaged just for QVC shoppers with a greatest hits bonus CD, nearly a month
before the new album's release date. The QVC-exclusive album package with bonus
CD will be available starting May 16 at QVC.com or
(800) 345-1515, while supplies last.
The Beach Boys have confirmed several other national television appearances,
including an interview on "CBS Sunday Morning" to air this Sunday, April 29, a multi-song performance and interview
on NBC's "Late Night With Jimmy Fallon" on May 7, a
performance on NBC's "Tonight Show With Jay Leno" on June
6, and more to be announced.
Special radio events have also been confirmed, including a SiriusXM "Artist
Confidential" performance and Q&A special to air Saturday, May 26 at 12 PM ET
within the satellite network's "Beach Boys Endless Summer Weekend," a four-day
Memorial Day Weekend tribute airing on '60s on 6,
channel 6. Also during Memorial Day Weekend,
Cumulus Radio Networks will premiere an exclusive, hour-long Beach Boys 50th
Anniversary special on more than 150 Classic Hits/Oldies and AC stations across
the U.S.
The Beach Boys and Capitol/EMI have also partnered for 50th Anniversary
commemorative releases celebrating the band's entire catalog, with a new hits
collection and a career-spanning box set planned for later this year.
For five decades, America's first pop band to reach the 50 year milestone has
recorded and performed the music that has become the world's favorite soundtrack
to summer. Founded in Hawthorne, California in
1961, The Beach Boys were originally comprised of the three teenaged Wilson
brothers: Brian, Carl and Dennis, their cousin Mike
Love, and school friend Al Jardine. In
1962, neighbor David Marks joined the group for
their first wave of hits with Capitol Records, leaving in late 1963, and in
1965, Bruce Johnston joined the band when Brian Wilson retired from touring to focus on writing and
producing for the group.
The Beach Boys signed with Capitol Records in July
1962 and released their first album, Surfin' Safari, that same
year. The album spent 37 weeks on the Billboard chart, launching the
young group known for its shimmering vocal harmonies and relaxed California style into international stardom. The
Wilson/Love collaboration resulted in many huge international chart hits, and
under Brian Wilson's musical leadership, the band's initial surf-rock focus was
soon broadened to include other themes, making The Beach Boys America's
preeminent band of the 1960s.
In 1966, The Beach Boys were one of the first bands to found its own record
label with the launch of Brother Records, Inc. (BRI), with the band's members as
its shareholders and Capitol Records as its distribution partner. BRI continues
to manage The Beach Boys' intellectual property, including the band's catalog
with Capitol/EMI and other label partners, as well as its name, logos, image and
likeness.
The Beach Boys continue to hold Billboard / Nielsen SoundScan's record
as the top-selling American band for albums and singles, and they are also the
American group with the most Billboard Top 40 chart hits (36).
'Sounds Of Summer: The Very Best Of The Beach Boys' has achieved
triple-Platinum sales status, and 'The SMiLE Sessions,' released to
worldwide critical acclaim in November, has been heralded as 2011's #1 Reissue
of the Year by Rolling Stone magazine.
Inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1988 and recipients of The
Recording Academy's Lifetime Achievement GRAMMY Award, The Beach Boys are an
American institution that is iconic around the world.
SOURCE Capitol/EMI
