Ephemera Journal Vol 23 Issue 1
THE EPHEMERA JOURNAL VOLUME 23, NUMBER 1 SEPTEMBER 2020 Appeal to the Great Spirit: Designing the Beach Boys (1961-75) BY BRIAN CHIDESTER To say the trajectory of 20th century art and design can be The group formed during the fall of 1961 in Hawthorne, recounted in the visual artifacts of L.A. rock band, the Beach CA, a suburb of Los Angeles where brothers Brian, Carl, Boys, seems paradoxical. They were, after all, spawned of and Dennis Wilson joined cousin Mike Love and neighbor an explosion in American advertising and pop culture in the Al Jardine to produce recordings of original titles, “Surfin’” 1950s and ‘60s, and everything from their moniker to the and “Luau.” Wilson’s father, Murry, and local publisher fads they sang about screamed “ephemeral.” Yet from the Hite Morgan brought the songs to to Herb Newman of indie outset, the music they produced was also marked by a deep labels Era, Candix, and X Records and Newman agreed to spiritual quality, underlined by the avant-garde tendencies of release them. The band at that time was calling itself “The leader Brian Wilson. The visual aspect of the Beach Boys—in Pendletones,” inspired by the plaid, wool button-down shirt packaging, fashion, and other media—played a crucial role in produced in Oregon, a then-popular fashion with Southern bringing Wilson’s music to the masses as well, and remains a California surfers. When the 45 was released that December, heretofore understudied side of their story. however, the group had been re-christened “The Beachboys.” Continued on Page 4 Figure 2, a and b: The crossover from vernacular to mainstream was on full display in 1963 when the original beachboys from Waikiki got an opportunity (as surfing’s “elder statesmen”) to record an album of their own.
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