Brian Wilson: Long Promised Road (2021) - full transcript

May I have...
I'm sure most everybody knows,

but for anybody who might not,
may we introduce you by name?

- Al Jardine
- Thank you, Al.

- Dennis Wilson.
- Thank you.

- Brian Wilson.
- Carl Wilson.

Mike Love.

Now, I think, uh... whoop,
what happened? There you are.

How long has this singing
been going on?

About three years now.

You know, it's an amazing thing,
because you have hit after hit.

Who determines, Brian,
what will be done next?



Well, I guess I do,
I don't know.

I write the songs
and produce them,

so I have a lot to say about it.

- ♪ Ooh, ooh, ooh...
- I think it's beautiful.

This is a little intro,
you know.

All right, let's try
to really pull it off good now.

Here we go.

Play hard and strong,
all the way.

You know the part...

- Do-do, do-do...
- Yeah, after the horn.

That's your spot...
do-do, do-do.

And then what after that, Brian?
Then he goes...

♪ Da-da, da-da, da-da, da-da
Boom! Two, three, four...

- Let me hear the organ.
- Ba-dum!



Perfect.

Okay, we'll go with that.

Let's go again, please.

♪ I know myself,
I know my real power ♪

♪ Will get me through again ♪

♪ Ah... ♪

- Here we go.
- Yeah.

♪ If you stick with it, baby ♪

- ♪ Ah...
- ♪ Things work out ♪

♪ You find a way to win ♪

You've been out
on this really long tour.

- Right.
- You know, recording

several new albums.

Uh... you know,
really nonstop since, you know,

since your late '50s era.

- Right, right.
- Um...

How do you explain that kind of
burst of creativity and energy?

Where does the,
this, this sudden surge

of creativity and energy
come for you?

It starts in my brain...

makes its way
out onto the piano...

and then on to the...
to the speakers in the studio.

Yeah.

Is that something
you can explain?

Is that something that's
even explainable?

No, I can't. I can't.

And now, okay,
I'd like to start it out

with the, uh, organ
and the Fender bass.

He was one of the first people

to actually use the studio
as an instrument itself.

Play hard and strong
all the way.

Really feel it, fellas, play.

And there's a certain
amount of songwriting you can

learn how to do and you can
educate yourself, and then...

- Watch me on that part.
- ...it's just a fact

that some people are just better
than other people...

and Brian's
one of the people who's

just better than other people.

Are we ready? Let's go.

Take five, "Good Vibrations."

♪ I'm pickin' up
good vibrations... ♪

"Good Vibrations," goddamn.

The idea that the chorus
is at one studio

and the verses
are in the other studio?

That's why that song is
so freaky and so wonderful.

"Good Vibrations"
was recorded in four studios:

Western, Sunset Sound,
Gold Star and RCA Victor.

Well, each studio was different,
you know?

Like, you can't...
not any one studio's the same.

- ♪ Excitations...
- ♪ Closer... ♪

He sets
a very high standard for...

not just being innovative,

but... to...
also be emotionally evocative.

♪ When...

♪ I look in her eyes ♪

♪ She goes with me
to a blossom world ♪

♪ I'm pickin' up
good vibrations ♪

♪ She's givin' me excitations ♪

Well, he used
all the orchestra.

He used orchestral things.

He used timpani,
he used woodwinds.

His musical knowledge
wasn't just as a band.

He had an orchestra in his head.

♪ Good vibrations ♪

♪ Oom-bop-bop ♪

♪ Excitations... ♪

♪ Good, good, good... ♪

I mean, the Beatles had
George Martin to do it for them,

but Brian, he did it himself.

♪ ...tations... ♪

Well, the Beatles were probably
my favorite group.

Very, very inspirational
with "Rubber Soul."

That made me write
the "Pet Sounds" album.

♪ I don't know where,
but she sends me there... ♪

The level of musicianship
and musicality...

I don't think anybody's touched
it yet, for, for my money.

♪ ...my, what elation ♪

♪ Oh, my, my what... ♪

Back at that time,

there's a lot of upbeat,
up-tempo songs,

but Brian brought in
this haunting harmony.

♪ ...those lovin' good...
vibrations... ♪

You know
there's something going on

with Brian Wilson.

There's no hiding
that this man is troubled

and trying to escape something.

♪ ...um-dee-dah, oh, oh ♪

- ♪ Um-dee-dah...
- ♪ Gotta keep those lovin'... ♪

- ♪ Um-dee-dah...
- ♪ ...vibrations... ♪

He's just...
one of the greatest artists

who ever walked
the face of the earth...

♪ Ahh... ♪

...in our time or in any time.

- ♪ Good, good, good
- ♪ I'm pickin up ♪

- ♪ Good vibrations
- ♪ Good vibrations

♪ She's givin' me excitations ♪

- ♪ Good, good, good
- ♪ Bop, bop ♪

♪ Good vibrations ♪

♪ Na na na na na, na na na ♪

- ♪ Na na na na na, na na na
- ♪ Bopa-bopa-bopa-ba, ba ♪

While we're
making the tapes, Pop,

we won't be able to have
that, uh, camera going.

It's a wonderful treat
for me tonight

to have heard and seen
the Beach Boys...

...and as you can hear

in the background, the girls
are still hollering for them.

I'm quite pleased to present
to you two of them,

Brian Wilson on my right,

and Carl Wilson, his brother,
on the left.

So, this is just two of them.

In just a minute, you'll meet
the rest of them, but...

Brian, I understand
that you've written, uh,

many of the songs that you
all have recorded, and...

when you write a song, um, for
yourself or for your group...

what gives you the, um,
incentive to write them?

Well, usually, uh, just the fact
that we're in the industry

and there's a lot of groups
competing with us,

and, uh, I feel that
competition, you know,

and also I just... I love music,

and I get very inspired just
generally creative anyway...

- Right, I understand.
- You know, and I just do it

all the time,
write all the time.

Well, now, the, um...
how many of them have you had

that have been million-sellers?

Well, actually, million-sellers,
we've had one million-seller,

that was
"I Get Around," just recently.

- You wrote this?
- Yes, I did.

♪ Round, round, get around,
I get around, yeah ♪

♪ Get around, round, round,
I get around ♪

♪ I get around... ♪

♪ Get around, round, round,
I get around ♪

- ♪ From town to town...
- ♪ Get around, round...

Here's this genius

who just can't help but come up

with these complex arrangements
of harmonies,

and then his little brother
comes in and says,

"Well, you guys should write
songs about cars and surfing,

'cause that's
what kids are into."

♪ ...find a new place
where the kids are hip ♪

♪ My buddies and me are gettin'
real well-known, yeah... ♪

Name some of them
that you've written, Brian.

Okay...

Well, starting with, uh,
"Surfin'," our first record,

"Surfin' Safari," "409," "Surfer
Girl," "Little Deuce Coupe,"

"Shutdown," "Surfin' U.S.A,"
"Be True to Your School..."

"The Little Old Lady
from Pasadena"?

That's Jan and Dean.

- Is that right?
- And, uh... "Fun, Fun, Fun..."

- Oh, it goes on and on.
- "I Get Around,"

"Don't Worry, Baby..."
we had "Little Saint Nick"

- at Christmastime...
- Uh-huh.

- And then... pardon me?
- "When I Grow Up..."

- "When I Grow Up to Be a Man"
and "She Knows Me Too Well"

are our latest records.

Well, you certainly are
a talented young man.

Let's talk to your brother
just a minute.

Do you share this, uh,
admiration for your brother?

Yes. Well...

He's, he's done very well
with us, you know, I mean...

we've had great good luck
with the records...

And this...
you're Carl, right?

- Right.
- Carl's the lead guitar player.

Lead guitar.

How did you, uh,
assemble the group...?

Well, one day, as we were
walking down the street,

we all bumped heads.

- No, I don't know.
- Seriously, Dennis got the idea

that we should write
something about surfing,

because he was a big,
avid server... surfer then.

- You're a surfer.
- Yes, ma'am.

Well, this is something we don't
have much out in Oklahoma.

I, I know.

Thanks so much for stopping by.

May I compliment you
on your beautiful dress?

- Thank you.
- It is beautiful.

I think it is beautiful...
is it a gown or a dress or...?

Well, actually it's, uh... sort
of, um, a beach girl type...

- I like that.
- I wanted to be in style

when I talk to the Beach Boys.

♪ Ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh...

♪ Get around, round, round,
I get around... ♪

At the end of the concert,

the girls would all
rush the stage to get Dennis.

You know, we'd say... me and
Mike and the guys would go,

"What's going on here,"
you know?

The girls were all crying,
"Dennis, Dennis," you know?

- Yeah. He was our sex symbol.
- Right, right.

You and he had
a little competition, uh,

for some women sometimes,
too, didn't you?

- Who, me and Dennis?
- Yeah.

- No...
- No?

He was a ladies' man.

I never was a ladies' man,
you know?

- Right.
- He was always the ladies' man.

What, what prevented you

from being a ladies' man,
do you think?

Ah... just shy of girls,
a little shy.

Uh-huh, right.

You can park right there.

- In the handicapped?
- Yeah. Yeah.

- I always park there.
- Really?

- Yeah.
- Okay.

These guys'll probably wanna
move it, but I'll park here.

Okay.

I'm hungry.

- All right, let's get in there.
- Okay.

Must have been to this deli
with you about... 20 times.

- Yeah, at least 20.
- Right?

- Good times here.
- Yeah.

It's, uh...
I'm, I'm hot, you know?

- Yeah.
- I'm nervous.

- Yeah.
- I didn't sleep last night,

and my head feels wacky.

- Oh, it does?
- Yeah.

Why don't we just relax?

Okay. Enjoy our food.

When you get scared,
what do you do?

You just take a deep breath?

If I take... if I get scared,
I take a, a deep breath,

but I take it...
try and take it from my belly.

Oh, take it...

- ...really deep in here...
- Right.

...and then...

How's your mood been?

- My mood?
- Yeah.

- It's been about even...
- Good. Good.

Not depressed, not elated,
just...

- even.
- Mm-hmm.

- Yeah.
- You feeling scared now?

Little bit.

It's nice to be with you.

You're a good guy, Jason.

Thank you, Brian.
You are too.

You are a cool person.

You have a very consistent way
of talking, you know?

You sorta stay
in this one space, you know?

In talk.

Does it make you
feel comfortable?

- Yeah, helps me out.
- Good, I'm glad.

When I'm scared,
I listen to you talk, you know?

- Really?
- Yeah.

And thinking...
it'll calm you down?

- Yeah!
- All right, man.

Well, I'm there for you.

- I'm there for you too.
- Thanks, man.

I first met Brian
in 1995.

I went to interview him

for the paper I was working for
at the time,

and we had a nice chat.

And when I first came to work
at Rolling Stone

in 1997,

Brian had begun to start

what was gonna be
sort of a solo career.

He was putting a band together,

he was releasing a record
called "Imagination,"

and I... convinced...
Jann, my boss,

to let me go to Chicago,
where he was rehearsing.

One of the first times we spoke,

uh, we were sitting
in his living room.

We were talking, and sort of
right in the middle of our chat,

about 10 minutes in,
he just started to fidget,

and he, he said, "I gotta go."

And he got up and he left.

And I was sitting there,

I didn't know
if he was coming back

or, or not coming back,
and I waited a while,

and I just sorta
started looking around,

and I found myself
in the kitchen,

where I found Brian
in the refrigerator.

I said, uh, "What's going on?"

He said,
"I just got a little scared."

And I said, "Well, what did you
get scared of?"

He said, "I don't know.

You know, sometimes I just
get scared, things scare me."

I said, "Like what?"

He said, um,
"Like 'What a Fool Believes.'

"You know that song
by the Doobie Brothers?

Scares the hell out of me."

You know?
And it was just like that.

And we started
having these moments,

and ever since then,
it just kinda became

part of my beat at Rolling Stone
to cover Brian.

♪ Wouldn't it be nice
if we were older ♪

♪ Then we wouldn't have to
wait so long ♪

- ♪ And wouldn't it be nice...
- And we became buddies.

♪ ...to live together

♪ In the kinda world
where we belong... ♪

The idea of doing an
interview makes Brian nervous,

so he'll often ask
if we can just take a drive

and listen to some music.

Look at that old car.

What kinda car is that?

- What is that?
- I don't know.

Is that a Rolls-Royce?

Yeah, I think it's...
don't think it's a Rolls.

I think it's American,
isn't it?

Cadillac.

- Cadillac?
- Yeah.

Old Cadillac, right?

- Yeah.
- From what, the '30s?

Or maybe from the '40s?

- Maybe '40s.
- Yeah.

Ask the guy,
yell it out, ask him.

- Well, I can't...
- Hey, buddy?!

What year is that car?

- '41.
- It's a '41.

Thank you. '41.

♪ Let's go surfin' now,
everybody's learnin' how ♪

♪ Come on a safari... ♪

It was probably
"Surfin' Safari,"

the first Beach Boys record
I ever bought.

The voices, the tone
of the voices, was so beautiful.

Bit like a classical choir,
in a way.

It made California sound
such an incredible place to go.

You know, the rooftop is down.

The story begins.

And then they invite you
into that world,

and that world has its own rules
and its own code

and its own story to tell.

There was no greater world
created in rock-and-roll

than the Beach Boys.

I mean,
they defined Southern California

for everybody around the world.

It just took you
out of where you were

and took you to another place.

♪ If you're comin',
get ready to go... ♪

Have you ever been
to Paradise Cove?

Years and years ago.

Do you remember when you were
shooting the album cover

for the Beach Boys' first album?

Can't remember.

Right.
It's a long time ago.

Yup.

Was it a little bit funny
singing all,

all the songs about surfing
without actually surfing?

Yeah, Dennis surfed.
I never learned.

- Right.
- ...how to surf.

- There's Paradise Cove.
- Here we are.

Closer than I thought.

♪ ...surfin' safari... ♪

♪ Yes, I'm gonna take you ♪

♪ Surfin' with me... ♪

- There it is, look!
- There it is!

"This marks 'The Spot.'"

55 years ago.

♪ Let's go surfin' now ♪

♪ Everybody's learnin' how ♪

♪ Come on a safari with me ♪

♪ Come on a safari
with me... ♪

- ♪ Surfin' safari
- ♪ Yeah, me ♪

- ♪ Surfin' safari...
- ♪ With me, with me... ♪

How you feeling about Hawthorne?

Uh, you know, I'm a little
nervous to go back there.

- You know what I mean?
- Mm-hmm.

'Cause, like,
I, I grew up there,

and it's like, you know...
I have a very...

lot of sentiments about it,
you know?

Right.

Please play "It's OK"
on the, uh, "15 Big Ones."

Okay... you got it.

♪ It's that time again to shed
your load, hit the road ♪

♪ On the run again

♪ Summer skies in our eyes
and a warmer sun ♪

♪ It one for all, all for one,
all for all-out fun ♪

♪ Gotta go to it ♪

- ♪ Gonna go through it...
- So, has Hawthorne

changed a lot
from when you were young?

Does it look... is it
familiar-looking to you?

- What's that?
- Hawthorne?

It doesn't look the same.
It looks a little different.

Uh-huh.

So this is 119th Street
right here?

Yeah. 119th.

And this is the street
you lived on?

- Yeah.
- So this is where

your house was.
Right here.

I don't wanna get out,
I just wanna look.

Okay.
So, this was all where

- the house was, right here?
- Yeah.

Uh-huh. Look at the cover
of the album.

- Yeah.
- Paradise Cove.

"Site of the childhood home
of the Beach Boys."

♪ There's a world
where I can go ♪

♪ And tell my secrets to... ♪

♪ In my room... ♪

Friday nights, my father
would get his paycheck.

So the three of us would be
in the back seat singing away.

And that's... actually that's
the birth of the three brothers

singing together.

♪ In this world...

♪ I lock out all my
worries and my fears ♪

♪ In my room... ♪

When we'd be singing
harmony together,

my father would just...
fall down crying... with joy.

♪ In my room ♪

♪ In my room... ♪

♪ Do my dreaming.... ♪

There's me at my piano
when I wrote "Surfer Girl."

♪ Lie awake and pray... ♪

Forget it.

That one killed you
when it came out.

I played that thing...
a thousand times.

♪ ...yesterday ♪

♪ Now it's dark and I'm alone ♪

♪ But I won't be afraid... ♪

How did it feel
to be there?

It was a little... scared me
a little bit, you know?

- Did it?
- 'Cause it, well...

it didn't look the same.

Right.

Yeah.

♪ ...so faithfully

♪ You still believe in me... ♪

♪ I wanna cry... ♪

♪ Ah, ah, ah, ah, ah,
ah, ah, ah, ah, ah ♪

♪ Ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah... ♪

♪ Ah, ah, ah, ah, ah,
ah, ah, ah, ah, ah... ♪

- Is this Dartmouth?
- To the right, right, right.

This is where you moved

- with Marilyn.
- Right.

Was it right after
you got married?

About... three months
after we got married.

Wow.
What a big time in your life.

Yeah.

I did an acid trip there.

Aha... your first...
the first time?

Yeah.

Oh, it was scary.

What happened?

I don't know, just...

this friend of mine gave me acid
and it freaked me out.

I wrote "California Girls,"
"Help Me, Rhonda,"

and "She's Not the Little Girl
I Once Knew."

I wrote all those songs there.

Were you still high
when you were doing that?

Uh, no, no, I wasn't.

I wrote "California Girls"
about a week or two after acid.

Okay. Did you have a kinda
western thing in mind?

Well, I just had this, this...
♪ Doobie Doobie, doo...

I guess that's western, right?

♪ Well, East Coast girls
are hip ♪

♪ I really dig
those styles they wear ♪

♪ And the Southern girls
with the way they talk ♪

♪ They knock me out
when I'm down there... ♪

Did you have a feeling

that was gonna be
a popular song?

Oh, yeah, I could tell
when I first wrote it.

After we cut it...

Mike did the lead, boy,
and he sang great lead.

- Mm-hmm.
- He's a great singer.

♪ And the Northern girls
with the way they kiss ♪

♪ They keep their boyfriends
warm at night ♪

♪ I wish they all could be
California ♪

♪ I wish they all
could be California... ♪

It was quite a,
quite a different changeup

from where I usually work.

The way you connected the intro
of the song...

- Right.
- ...to the rest of it was...

A different kind of a thing.

Brian just
threw away the rule book...

and it was all in his head,

and it's just,
"Wow, are you kidding me?"

"What were you thinking, man?

"How did you come up
with this combination

of chords and voices?"

He said, "I was at the piano,

"and I was trying not to move

"my highest fingers
and my lowest fingers,

but make cool geometric patterns
with the internal fingers."

I don't know if he was
telling me the truth...

...but he definitely
said that to me.

But if you think about that,

that's kinda like what Mozart
does with a string quartet.

Brian
had this unique ability

to write a great melody and also
arrange some great harmonies

and produce some great records,

so we had all in one
with Brian Wilson.

We had a, a, uh, shall we call
it a... a jackpot.

Equate
that blend, that harmony,

the sound of the vocals... it's
like looking up to the heavens.

It's almost ethereal.

There's a very ethereal, uh,
rising up.

♪ I wish they all could be...

The only way

to really accomplish
a sound that big

is in knowing
what you want to hear, but also

placing some trust in the people
you're working with

and saying,
"We can all do this together

if you just follow my lead."

♪ I wish they all could be
California... ♪

Brian was a leader,

and he could shape this group
around the brothers, you know,

and his cousin and his neighbor,
and that was his team,

and he led these guys.

And I think that that was...
gave Brian so much confidence.

They would do anything
that he thought

was the right thing to do.

♪ California girls... ♪

Hey, let's go...
where you wanna go to now?

So, let's go to Laurel Way.

- Okay.
- You know how to get there?

Laurel Way... trying to think.

Uh...

Go up Santa Monica or Sunset?

Laurel Way, I...
can you navigate it?

Yeah.

What did you feel like
when you lived here

and you were young, married,
money, writing hits?

What was that feeling for you?

It was excitement.

Exciting and happy.

Groovy feeling.

Haven't seen it since 1966.

♪ I had to prove that I could
make it alone now ♪

♪ But that's not me ♪

♪ I wanted to show how
independent I'd grown now ♪

♪ But that's not me... ♪

Were
your parents around then?

Did they come visit and...?

No, they never did.

Was this your first
sort of big purchase?

- Yeah.
- So that must have been

a really exciting time.

It was, Jason,
it was a great time.

♪ ...just one girl...

♪ I'm a little bit scared

♪ 'Cause I haven't been home
in a long time... ♪

It's right up here.

I think it's right up there.

- This one?
- No, it has a view, so it's

- gotta be a little higher.
- Okay.

It has a view of the whole...
downtown Los Angeles...

- Oh, wow.
- ...all the way to the beach.

Did you have a room
where you would work?

The piano was in a sandbox.

What was the idea behind that?

I don't know, I just wanted
to have a sandbox.

- While you worked?
- Yeah.

Took our shoes
and socks off...

and wrote, you know, music
on a piano in the sandbox.

I put an Arabian tent up
in my den, and I put, like,

eight Tiffany lamps in my...
in the living room,

hanging from the ceiling.

It was a trip.

It sounds like it.

What did you do inside the tent?

- Smoked grass.
- Uh-huh.

Ate peanut butter and jelly
sandwiches.

You know.

Young and rich.

♪ I'm glad I went ♪

♪ Now I'm much that more sure
that we're ready... ♪

That's where I wrote, uh,
the "Pet Sounds" album...

- and "Good Vibrations."
- Wow.

That's, that's some pretty big
stuff you wrote up here.

Yeah.

So, you think you'd wanna
tour more?

Yeah, I like to go on the road.

What do you like about it?

- Well, the concerts.
- Yup.

Makes you feel good?

Yeah.
It's fun to play a concert.

Mm-hmm.

You used to get nervous,
but not so much anymore, huh?

No... before a concert,
I got very nervous.

How long does it take you
to calm down onstage?

About two minutes.

To this day, Brian's
still even a little bit,

a little bit nervous about
"Pet Sounds," you know?

"Are they gonna like it?"
You know, "Is it too soft?"

"Is it, is it manly?",
he'll say sometimes.

Hello, Los Angeles!

The Hollywood Bowl.

♪ Where did...
your long hair go? ♪

♪ Where is that girl
I used to know? ♪

♪ How could you lose
that happy glow? ♪

♪ Oh, Caroline, you know... ♪

Well, you
have the great "Caroline, No."

It's one of the greatest songs
in, in pop history,

as far as dealing
with oncoming adulthood,

loss of innocence, reckoning
with the adult world...

and the terrible heartache
that comes along with it.

♪ But that's not true ♪

♪ Well, Caroline, you... ♪

I can hear him exploring

the possibilities of these songs

that he probably woke up,
dug his feet in the sand,

and wrote these songs.

♪ Could I ever
find in you again ♪

♪ Things that made me love you
so much then... ♪

He rounded out
writing happy songs

and then,
as he grew as a musician,

his tastes refined,
his writing refined,

and he wanted to get away
from the three-chord thing

and experiment,
and when you do that,

you are drawn to the darker
side... I know I am.

Brian's music, you know,
especially "Pet Sounds,"

you never move on from it.

I'll be listening to that record
till the day I die.

"Pet Sounds,"

the beauty of it...
carries with it a sense of...

joyfulness
even in the pain of living.

The joyfulness
of an emotional life.

You have this music bed
that is so complex,

but the lyrics were very simple.

All these concepts of things
that we all ask ourselves,

and it's there forever.

50 years later,
we're still celebrating

what is probably one of the
greatest records ever made.

Whoa!

I don't even know what that is.

Flutes in reverb?
I don't know.

♪ ...without you...

Whoa...

♪ God only knows what I'd be
without you... ♪

♪ God only knows
what I'd be without you... ♪

♪ Whoa, God only knows what I'd
be without you... ♪

♪ God only knows what I'd...

- ♪ God only knows...
- ♪ Bom bom bom... ♪

- ♪ What I'd be without you...
- ♪ Whoo ooh... ♪

♪ God only knows
what I'd be... ♪

- ♪ God only knows...
- ♪ Bom bom bom... ♪

- ♪ What I'd be without you
- ♪ Whoo, ooh... ♪

- ♪ God only knows...
- ♪ Bom bom bom... ♪

- ♪ What I'd be without you...
- ♪ God only knows ♪

♪ God only knows... ♪

I don't even know
where to begin.

Probably took a minute

for everyone to wrap their heads
around a 23-year-old kid

coming in and telling 'em
what was up.

That's a banjo.
It is a banjo, huh?

Brian always
had this thing where he used

the fifth, uh, note of a chord
as the bass note.

"God Only Knows"
is a prime example of that.

♪ I may not always...
with the bass note.

And "Someone Saved My Life
Tonight" is exactly the same.

So, you can, you can hear
the other instruments.

They're all in one room
at the same time, playing.

With Brian's music, you hear
his spirit, and it's like...

he may be playing a C chord,
but there's, like,

this other weird harmony
drifting in over it.

He's using the available tools
that all of us have.

You know, it may be a piano
or a harpsichord

or a guitar or whatever,
but it's all in the architecture

or the recording technique.

So, everybody
has a piano or a guitar.

Go grab whatever the fuck you
want, but it's like the way

you put in the strangeness,
that's what he's the master of.

Listen
to that basic track.

Sounds to me like it's maybe
a piano... and... a banjo...

and a harmonica kinda
all becoming one sound.

Brian had to sit home,
dream up these textures

that no one had ever,
ever used... uh...

That's one reason why people say
Brian's a genius.

That's being
a complete visionary,

to dream up these textures
that never existed before.

I'm still awestruck
by the construction.

How he took
very complex arrangements,

and yet, at the end of the day,

they sounded so simple

when they,
when they entered your ear.

♪ ...where I'd be
without you... ♪

I think his imagination

is what made him
a great producer.

We can all sit here and say we
have all the technology

and we know how to use it
and we know how to do it,

but the bottom line is it
doesn't matter what you know,

it's what's you're gonna do.

- ♪ ...what I'd be without you
- ♪ God only knows... ♪

I've been making records for...
40-some years,

and I don't know
how you do this.

I don't know how you do that.

Nobody knows......
how you do that.

What I hear
is his competitive nature,

him wanting to be more
than what everybody else was.

And you can totally hear
how he was trying

to make things sound
better than the Beatles.

But I think, more so, his
biggest competitor was himself.

♪ ...you... ♪

How was that, was that cool?

- Yeah, it's beautiful.
- All right.

When he started doing
the music around "Pet Sounds,"

which was... more complex, more
orchestral, more personal...

you know, the guys started
saying, "Whoa now," you know?

I mean, uh,
"Where are we going with this?"

You know, this isn't about
cars and girls anymore.

And things started to fragment.

And I don't think
it's any wonder that Brian

started to lose his confidence
around that time.

When you think about recording
or touring, do you feel

like you still have something
to accomplish musically?

Do you still have things you
want to get... you wanna do?

Yeah, I might... wanna make
a rock-and-roll album.

Mm-hmm.

Maybe something good, you know?

Yeah.

What's rock-and-roll to you?

- Rock-and-roll?
- Yeah.

Chuck Berry... you know.

- Little Richard.
- Mm-hmm.

Well, I recently watched

- the "Smile" concert.
- Yeah.

Wow, you looked
really happy that night.

- Yeah, that was fun.
- Was it hard to pull off?

We, we premiered "Smile"
and the "Lucky Old Sun" album

2004 and 2005.

When you let it go, when you
stopped working on it in '67,

was that a hard thing for you?

Yeah, it was rough, yeah.

Me and Van Dyke got so into it,
you know.

We really got into it.

When you premiered "Smile,"
how did you feel?

I mean,
it must have been a big relief.

Well, it was, it was
a big challenge to try

- to pull it off, you know?
- Right.

But we did.

It went over very well.

♪ I've been in this town so long
that back in the city ♪

♪ I've been taken
for lost and gone ♪

♪ Unknown for
a long, long time ♪

♪ Doo, d-doo-doo-doo,
doo-doo-doo-doo ♪

♪ Fell in love years ago
with an innocent girl ♪

♪ From the Spanish
and Indian home ♪

♪ Of the heroes
and villains... ♪

Around 2004, Brian decided

that he was going to come back
and work on "Smile,"

the, you know, most famous
unreleased album of all time,

something that he had abandoned
around 1967,

and, and I think, in retrospect,
probably wisely, because it was

proving to be insurmountable
for all kinds of reasons.

♪ What a dude'll do in this town
full of heroes and villains ♪

♪ Doo-doo,
she-Doobie-doo-wha... ♪

He was terrified,
he didn't wanna do it...

and then slowly,

something about the music
reconnected emotionally...

♪ Fell in love years ago
with an innocent girl ♪

♪ From the Spanish
and Indian home... ♪

So, all those bad associations
that he had

were being replaced
with good ones...

♪ Next time
I'll leave my hat off... ♪

...and it became
more about the music again.

♪ Heroes and villains

♪ Just see what you've done ♪

♪ Doo doo doo doo... ♪

Some of the stuff on that record
was pretty wild, on "Smile."

Yeah, some of that stuff
was pretty complicated.

- Yeah.
- Complex.

Mm-hmm.
Well, why'd you let it go?

We thought... it was
a little ahead of its time.

- Right.
- We waited for, like,

30 years... and we...

finally finished it.

♪ La la la la, la la la la la,
la la, la la la la la la... ♪

It became something
that was living now,

as opposed to something
that was dead in his mind.

We're not picking up
all your notes.

Well, feel... you can feel it,
but you can't really hear it.

In fact, we couldn't
bring up that stuff...

We couldn't even say the words
"Heroes and Villains..."

Yeah, 'cause he would freak out.

What now?

God, there are
so many parts to this damn song.

It's endless, it's endless
and endless and endless.

It never ends!

♪ La la la la, la la...

When you listen to "Smile"

with that ear of hearing
how segmental it was,

and yet how seamlessly
he put it together,

it's quite wonderful.

♪ There shall be peace
in the valley ♪

♪ And it's all
an affair of my life ♪

♪ With the heroes and villains ♪

I remember sitting with him,
and I handed him the, the CD,

and I said, "Brian, that's
'Smile,' you finished it."

You know, I could really see
it meant something to him,

because it was a disappointment
that he'd been carrying around.

Being able to finish it at last,

even though
it was 30 years later,

was a big moment in his life.

♪ Da-Doobie-Doobie-da ♪

♪ Doobie-Doobie-doo-wah...

Do you still get ideas for
different ways to produce...

- Who, me?
- ...things, sounds... yeah.

Well, usually, you know,

recording's a little slower
these days.

- Mm-hmm.
- You know?

What's your process like?

- The process?
- Yeah.

Start with a background track...

- Mm-hmm.
- ...then you do the...

background vocals,
then you do the leads.

- Okay.
- Like we'll do today.

- Will I be on keys?
- That's correct.

What's been
making you feel like

making a rock-and-roll record?

Uh, I don't know...
well, actually,

"Summer Days and Summer Nights"
was a rock-and-roll album.

- Yup.
- But I'd like to do another one

with, with, uh, covers...

- Mm-hmm...
- Instead of originals.

- Mm-hmm.
- Is your click okay?

How do you feel about spending
a few days with your band?

I think it'll be nice
to be back with 'em, you know?

It about time we all recorded
like this.

And we are here.

- I'm nervous.
- It's like you say

when you go on stage,

nervous for about
two minutes.

Right, and then as soon

as I hear
"California Girls,"

I'm cool.

- One, two...
- You got this.

...one, two, three.

♪ Doo, doo...
right there.

One, two, three...

♪ Duh-duh ♪

- Then...
- No, on that "duh."

- Are you sure it's that?
- Yeah.

Yeah, that's it.

I'll play the piano.

Yeah! Now we're talking!

- Hi, Russ.
- How you doing, Brian?

- I'm good, how are you?
- Doing all right.

Okay.

Hi, Tom.

- Hi, Brian.
- How are ya?

- Good, how are you?
- Good.

We need a click, Wes.

It's coming.

What's coming?

- The click.
- Oh.

Okay, it's cool.

The click'll help ya!

Okay.

One, two, three.

- Paul
- Yeah?

It's just...

No...

Okay.

One, two, three.

- Hey, Paul.
- Yeah?

Play staccato.

- Bah, bah, bah.
- Okay.

- Yeah.
- Ooh.

One, two, three, four.

Hold it! The guitar sounds
a little fuzzy.

See if that's better.

Okay, one, two, three, four.

Yeah, we're cool.

- Let's try it once.
- Okay.

One... two...
one, two, three.

Two, a-one, two, three, four.

Yeah, it can fall apart,
that's cool.

- Sounded pretty good.
- I think that's a print!

Wanna go in,
wanna go in the booth.

Can we come in the booth
and hear it?

- Yes.
- Okay.

Listen, syncopate it a little.

- Oh.
- Yeah, what are the words?

- I don't know.
- Sing it.

♪ Since you put me down, I've
been arguing in my head... ♪

All right, let me hear...
sing it, sing it.

- ♪ Since you put me down...
- No.

♪ Since you put me down ♪

- Sing the words, Murry.
- Okay, I can't.

Loosen up.

Loosen up, sweetie, loosen up.

My dad, uh, owned
the publishing with Brian,

and he managed the group
for 10 percent.

I just remember,
there was a lot of tension,

uh, with my dad and Brian.

You guys think you're good?

Can we hear a chord?

Just a chord, like we used to.

When you used to sing
clear records, okay? Let's go.

His presence was very...

where he'd burst into a room,
you know?

And beat everyone up.

I got beaten around
by my dad.

One kinda spanking is...

But the way I had it, Dad
would double over his belt.

His voice...

...very, very hard.

Pretty tough business.

His dad
was extremely tough on him...

um, abusive at times.

You can hear this in,
in all the old tapes

from those studio sessions,

where his dad takes it
way too far.

We just wanna be sure
this is our thing.

This is an absolute insult.

Well,
you're doing the same to me

in front of 20 people.

I'm sorry,
I'll never help you guys...

- Why?
- Because you don't appreciate

the good help I have given you.

- We don't appreciate the help.
- A beautiful gift, and when

- you guys start coming off...
- Okay.

Now, listen,
let me tell you something.

- Yes.
- When you guys get so big

that you can't sing from your
hearts, you're going downhill.

- Downhill?
- Down... hill!

♪ How deep is the ocean? ♪

♪ How deep is the ocean?

♪ Aah... ♪

And as we got older,
we told him

we didn't want him
to manage us anymore.

It's very simple.

He got to the point

where he was so overbearing
to work with him

that we had to fire him.

♪ I'm a rock in a landslide

♪ Rolling over
the mountainside ♪

♪ How deep is the valley? ♪

♪ How deep is the valley?

♪ Aah...

♪ It kills my soul ♪

♪ Hey, hey, hey... ♪

Why did you move
from Laurel Way to Bellagio?

Marilyn wanted to move
to Bel Air.

Was it a bigger house?

- What, Bellagio?
- Yeah.

- Much bigger.
- Much bigger, I see.

- There's Bellagio Road.
- Oh, yeah.

You wrote the directions
to this house

in a song, "Busy Doin' Nothin'."

Right.

What inspired you to tell people
where you live?

I don't know, jeez, I don't...

♪ Drive for a couple miles ♪

♪ You see a sign and turn left,
for a couple blocks ♪

♪ Next is mine, you'll turn
left on a little road... ♪

Check it out.
It was right here.

♪ You'll see a white fence... ♪

Yeah, you can't see much,
can you?

But that's a beautiful house
back there?

Have a swimming pool
and a backyard?

Oh, yeah,
we had that specially built.

- Wow.
- A very big pool.

I had, like, a den that we built
a recording studio.

- You remember that?
- Yeah.

It was a really state-of-the-art
studio too, I think.

Oh, it was a fantastic studio.

- Mm-hmm.
- Great.

The Mamas and the Papas
came over one time.

- Oh, really?
- Yeah.

Did you record together?

No, they just came over
one night, John and Michelle...

...came over one night...

- in the '70s.
- Uh-huh.

- Little Richard came over.
- Really?

Yeah.

Sly from the Family Stone
came over.

What? Okay...
you gotta tell me about that.

I don't remember, I just know
he fell asleep on a couch.

I think he was snortin'...

- Oh.
- Cocaine.

- And he fell asleep?
- Yeah.

Did he come over to party

or to record
or just to visit?

- Just to visit.
- What was the vibe?

Terry Melcher
brought him over...

- Okay.
- ...to visit.

- Sly seemed like a cool cat.
- Who, Sly?

- Yeah.
- Yeah.

- He was good.
- Oh, yeah.

- "Hot Fun in the Summertime"?
- Oh, man.

Heavy duty.

Is this the house
where Elton came over?

Yeah.

Going to Brian Wilson's house

with Danny Hutton
of Three Dog Night

was just the most amazing,
surreal trip for me.

Here we are,
in Brian Wilson's house,

who we used to lay on the floor
and listen in our headphones

to all his beautiful music.

It was... one of the most
moving nights of my life...

and he tried to sell me
his piano as well.

But, um, to that time,

he went through
such a dark period of his life.

So, Bellagio is kinda where...

things got difficult
for you, huh?

- Yeah.
- What was going on?

Uh... I was just... kinda
lonesome and, you know...

hung out in my bedroom
for a while.

What were you staying
in your bedroom for?

I don't really know.
I was having mental problems.

Yeah. Yeah.

And everyone always says,

"Oh, you stayed in your bedroom
for years."

You didn't really do that.

- No, for a couple of weeks.
- Yeah.

Sometimes you question yourself,

and I think, especially
when you grapple with demons,

and you think,
"Well, do I deserve this?

Am I worthy of this?"

And, you know, I think about
Brian being saddled

with... the term "genius"

from such an early age.

That's gotta
weigh on you so much.

♪ Lost my way... ♪

I think about
someone like Brian,

and, and coming into this
when he was becoming a man

and really starting
to make the music

that would change the world
in a lot of ways.

And the pressure
that comes with that.

You know, the, the pressure

to continue to perform
at that level

and continue to be the person

that people think
you are supposed to be.

You know, you deal
with a lot of disappointment.

Expectations are the foundation
for disappointment.

♪ ...when there's no morning ♪

♪ Without you ♪

♪ There's only darkness ♪

♪ The whole day through ♪

Most people
in the music business

are a little crazy in a variety
of different ways.

I think you wish for the people

who delivered so much to you,

you wish them happiness
and a long life.

You know, if you see someone

who's going through
a lot of pain,

you wish, like, hey,
nothing but good things.

♪ All these memories

♪ Made me feel like stone ♪

♪ All these people ♪

♪ Make me feel so alone...

I think it's safe to say

that creative people
are usually sensitive people.

That door to drugs and alcohol
is an easy door to walk through.

Brian Wilson was
crying for help a long time ago.

He put it in there,
under this happiness.

It is like the Mona Lisa.

His tones that he chose,
or those harmonies,

were there on purpose.

Was this him calling out
that "I need help"?

♪ Midnight's another day... ♪

Remember the song
"Long Promised Road"?

Of course.

Carl recorded it there,
at Bellagio House.

- Uh-huh.
- At our house.

And he had me come down
to sing part of the bridge.

- Mm-hmm.
- So, okay...

♪ Long promised road..
and I went...

♪ Bah-bah-bah-bah... ♪

I wrote that part.

You kinda came down
from your bedroom and did that

and then went back up.

Yeah.

♪ Long promised road... ♪

♪ Bah-bah-bah-bah ♪

♪ Trail starts at dawn

♪ Carries on
to the season's ending ♪

♪ Long promised road... ♪

Carl and Dennis were, were

really different guys,
weren't they?

Yeah, Carl was
a little easier-going.

Dennis was a little more hyper.

- Mm-hmm.
- Carl was like...

easygoing kind of a person,
you know?

Mm-hmm.

I was listening
to Dennis's record recently.

- Oh, "Pacific Ocean Blue"?
- Wow.

I have never heard his album.

- Oh, man...
- I heard...

♪ I'll never make the headlines
or... and the evening news ♪

- Mm-hmm.
- I... I heard that one.

- Yup.
- But I, I think there's, like,

11 or 12
that I haven't heard yet.

Oh, my God, "River Song"?

- Did you ever hear that one?
- No.

Let's listen to it
when we get back to your house.

Is it, like, pretty cool?

It's amazing...

He made good music, didn't he?

He sure did.

The record is...
really spectacular.

You're gonna love it.

I'm surprised
you never heard it.

No, I haven't.

- After you had left Marilyn...
- Right.

...and you were living
in Pacific Palisades,

that's when you were hanging out
with Dennis a lot, right?

No, actually I was hanging out
with Dennis in Venice.

Oh, in Venice, at his place?

Yeah, he used to play drums

- and I'd play organ.
- Mm-hmm.

We used to fool around together.

- Mm-hmm.
- You know?

- He was a, a good drummer.
- Yeah, he was.

You were really close friends
with Dennis.

Because we
snorted cocaine together.

He used to buy cocaine for me.

Mm-hmm.

You know what he used to do?

He carried around
a big, huge bottle,

plastic bottle
of grapefruit juice and vodka.

Wow.

And he would stay drunk
the whole day.

He was crazy. Crazy guy.

You think that was 'cause
he was anxious and nervous?

Yeah, he, he's always been,
like, a...

little bit nervous person,
you know?

Mm-hmm.

But he was
such a sweet guy too, right?

Didn't he have a big heart?

Oh, he sure did, yeah.

- I like his song "Forever."
- Oh, yeah, oh, my God.

- That was beautiful.
- So beautiful.

Yeah, I miss him.

♪ If every word I said
could make you laugh ♪

♪ I'd talk forever... ♪

Brian's relationship with his
brothers, he loved them so much.

♪ I ask the sky
just what we had ♪

♪ Mmm... it shone forever

Carl was just
a nice, soft person,

and he was the peacekeeper
in the family,

and Brian was the genius,
the introvert,

and Dennis was probably
everything Brian wanted to be.

And Brian was everything
Dennis wanted to be.

And there in the middle you get
that beautiful tug and pull.

Beautiful
brotherly relationship.

♪ Forever... ♪

This is just
his little brother talking,

but to see Brian on stage

and see all the people
respond to Brian

is so overwhelming,
it's so wonderful.

To listen to
a Brian Wilson composition,

the only thing stemming from
that, the roots, is the love.

It's, it's love.

- ♪ Ooh...
- ♪ Together, my love... ♪

What you gonna have at the deli?

Good question.

Possibly a Cobb salad.

What about you?

Cobb salad for me.

Yeah, today was fun, I liked it.

When you were... when you had
the Radiant Radish,

you'd actually work in the shop,
wouldn't you?

I worked there.

Did you know a lot of
information

- about health foods and stuff?
- No.

A friend of mine was,
though, yeah.

- I ran the cash register.
- Mm-hmm.

I learned how to do
a cash register.

- That's fun.
- Guess who I met there.

- Who?
- Jack Riley.

- Really?
- Yeah.

That's where you met him
the first time?

- Yeah.
- Wow. And he ended up

managing the Beach Boys, right?

It was his idea
to go to Holland.

What was that like?

- It was a trip.
- Mm-hmm.

- "Holland" is a great record.
- "Holland"?

- Yeah. -
Yeah.

It was a kick,
working in Holland.

Mm-hmm.
You didn't wanna go at first.

Oh, no, I didn't wanna go.

Jack said, "Look, Brian, it'd be
a good vacation for us all,

and we can record there."

I said, "Okay, I'll go,"
so we packed up and went.

Stayed there for a half a year.

- Wow.
- That's a long vacation.

- Very long.
- Six months

in goddamn Holland.

- Whoa...
- Six months.

I was a little depressed,
so I laid down

in front of the board,
you know, the console?

- Yeah.
- And just listened to Carl

produce for a couple of weeks,

and then, after I
got over my depression,

I wrote "The Fairytale,"
and, uh, we did it.

- That's cool.
- And then Carl...

he produced "The Fairytale."

That's awesome.

I wrote it, he produced it,
and Jack Riley narrated it.

Wow.

"Funky Pretty."

"Funky Pretty" is amazing.

Yeah.

Carl was producing a lot
at that point, right?

He produced his ass off,
are you kidding?

- Yeah.
- Yeah.

Must have been really cool to
see your little brother step up.

Well, I was proud of him.

- He produced "The Fairytale."
- Right.

He said,
"Brian, I wanna produce this."

He goes, "I like these songs."

I said, "Go ahead, produce it."

That's cool.

- It, it blew my mind.
- You didn't know

- he had it in him.
- Oh, no, I did not.

You also... did you write
"Sail on, Sailor" there?

Yeah.

That song, man,
that's one of the greats.

"Sail on, Sailor" is probably

one of the best songs
I ever wrote.

- Yeah.
- Yeah.

When we get to my house,

would you please boot up
Dennis's album?

Absolutely.
We'll listen to

- a little of the record...
- Okay.

- Then you can relax.
- All right.

Will you give him the card?
I'm gonna hit the head.

- I'll be right back.
- All right.

- I'll take care of it, guys.
- How's it going?

It's going great, Brian.

- You gonna take care of this?
- Absolutely.

All right,
I'm gonna get the check.

Okay, Brent, okay.

He's gonna take care of it.

All right, we scored!

- We scored!
- I scored a friend.

Yeah, for sure.

I haven't had a friend...

I haven't had a friend
to talk to in three years.

- Really?
- Really.

My life has been so simple,
you know?

Yeah.

So simple and, like, modest?

- Yeah.
- No really sitting around

and shooting the shit
kinda thing.

- Right.
- I haven't had

that kind of thing since you.

Well, I'm here for ya.

Vice versa.

- Okay.
- Let's go.

Yeah.
The great Vanna White.

That's amazing.

Do you remember him talking
to you about the record?

He came over and he played me
just the "Evening News" song.

I never listened to his album
till right now.

♪ Walking down ♪

All right.

♪ By the river ♪

Can you make it a little louder?

♪ Water running
through my knees, ooh... ♪

If you ask
Elvis Costello or Roger Taylor

or Peter Buck from REM,

I've heard all of these people
talk about this record,

of it being this,
like, lost jewel.

It's a bummer
that it didn't slow him down

or knock some sense into him,

saying, "Lookit, dude,
you are a great artist."

♪ My head's gettin' hazy...

All right!

This could be cool
for the rock-and-roll record.

- Yeah.
- ♪ Rock and roll ♪

Good.

♪ All... night long... ♪

Dennis was just an,
an impulsive hell-raising dude,

but had a big heart, you know?

And loved his brother.

♪ Gone... I'm gone ♪

All right.

Do you wanna hear one more?

Wanna hear it all.

- ♪ It ain't very funny...
- Yeah.

♪ How you spend all my money ♪

♪ I'm gone... I'm gone ♪

♪ Do what you wanna

♪ But, baby, don't you
do it on me ♪

♪ Farewell, my friend

♪ My beautiful friend ♪

♪ Farewell... ♪

This guy called me up, he goes,

"Brian, I'm sorry
to tell you this,

but your brother Dennis
drowned tonight."

I got this terrible feeling
in my chest, you know?

Really scared me.

♪ Farewell, my friend... ♪

I have had two losses in my
family in the last ten years,

and it's been hard for me.

The first loss was very hard,
it was my father,

and then of course
my brother Dennis...

We go back about 21 years,
you know,

and it's hard to lose a brother,
and somebody who had

such a vital, energetic thing
about him, and, uh...

I just don't want to,
to talk anymore about it.

♪ Oh, that's when
I'll see you again ♪

♪ Farewell...

All right.

It's always a great day
when you can ride to Malibu.

Taking a, a peaceful to drive to
the, to our stomping grounds.

Yeah, you have a lot of,
lot of history in Malibu.

- Yeah. Nine years.
- Yeah.

Yeah, I served time
for nine years.

Is it like a prison sentence?

Yeah, it was like...
yeah, in a way, yeah.

♪ Ooh, ooh, ooh... ♪

♪ Ooh, ooh, ooh...

- ♪ Ooh, ooh, ooh...
- ♪ Oh, oh, oh, oh...

♪ Ooh, ooh, ooh... ♪

♪ Whoa, oh, oh, oh... ♪

♪ Ooh, ooh... ♪

I contribute.

I'm a contributor.

- ♪ Ooh, ooh, ooh...
- In my personal story,

it really didn't work out
so well.

I did my dose of LSD,
it shattered my mind,

and I, you know,
came back, thank God, in...

I don't know how many pieces.

I think what happened was that
it became too painful for him.

I was terrified for my brother.

Why in the world would a man

with that kind
of God-given talent

need any help from drugs?

I have been taught the
difference by my psychiatrist,

thank God, of a natural high
and a drug high.

I mean, drugs are a definite
balance of heaven and hell.

You go to heaven,
then you go right to hell.

What made you come back, Brian?

I probably came back out of
will, just... my name is Wilson,

maybe that's where
I got the will.

♪ I'm a cork on the ocean

♪ Floatin' over the ragin' sea

They're called
auditory hallucinations.

You're normal
and then all of a sudden

you start hearing voices
in your head.

The voices say, "I'm gonna hurt
you, I'm gonna kill you," yeah.

I was afraid the devil came

in the form of other people

that were competing with me,
that had ideas of,

of killing me
and getting rid of me.

Everywhere I looked, I would
see, "Oh, the devil's after me."

♪ I'm a rock in a...

What people have a tendency to
do that suffer with depression

is they use drugs and alcohol
to medicate themselves.

It's called
nepenthe...numbing the soul.

♪ The valley ♪

♪ How deep is the valley? ♪

♪ It kills my soul

♪ Hey, hey, hey ♪

♪ Oh... ♪

If I had not taken
control, he could be dead.

He had a year or two to live
and he'd have died.

"We are worried that Brian
Wilson is gonna follow Elvis."

Oh, God, no.

♪ Ah... ♪

We met back in 1986,
during the Landy years.

As time went on,
he, he became... captive.

I wasn't allowed to call my
family or my friends at all

for, for nine years.

He doped me up
with, with, uh, medication.

He kept me, he kept me doped up

so I couldn't resist
what he told me to do.

Why?

I... he's a control freak.

He just... he gets off
on controlling people.

♪ Ah...

♪ Mmm... ♪

Was it hard to let go?

A little bit hard for me to let
go, yeah. It was hard.

When you've had a control figure
in your life

for that long a period.

Nine years,
starting from 1983 to 1992.

It was nine years of control.

♪ Well, I get anxious,
I get scared a lot ♪

♪ I learned to live with it

♪ Ah... ♪

♪ It should get better
really any day now ♪

♪ Some days it really did ♪

He's the one
that's done all this.

He, he's had support,
like I say.

He's had emotional...
emotional security,

but he is the one that's pulled
himself out of the darkness,

back into the sunlight.

Dr. Landy controlled
a lot of aspects of your life.

Yup.

Was he a pretty tough
taskmaster?

He was rough, yeah.

He was rough.

He did things like he made me
eat spaghetti off the floor.

- Uh-huh.
- Crazy things, you know?

Why did he do that?

I don't know,
he just acted crazy.

Mm-hmm.

He goes, "All right,

I want you to eat your spaghetti
off the floor."

I said, "Oh, man," he goes,
"I said eat your..."

You know,
he was real mean, you know?

And then about two weeks,
three weeks later,

he went, "Hi, Brian."

In a real friendly tone,
you know?

That was really
quite an experience.

- Kind of a mind trip.
- Yeah.

♪ Sail on, sailor ♪

♪ Always needing, even... ♪

Yeah, he didn't let me
call my family.

♪ Never feeding
all my feelings ♪

♪ Damn, the thunder... ♪

That must have been hard.

Your daughters were growing up.

Oh, it was, Jason, it was.

♪ Awake, awake, my daughter... ♪

♪ The dawn has come today... ♪

♪ Awake, awake, my daughter...

♪ You musn't sleep your life
away... ♪

So, do you have a hard time

making sense of the good parts
and the bad parts?

No, I took the bad with the good
with him, you know?

Yeah.

Balancing the two together,
you know?

Mm-hmm.

You know what I had... you know
what I did for a little while?

- What?
- When I was, like, really fat?

I ate two New York steaks
for breakfast

and a big piece
of, uh, birthday cake.

- Really?
- Yeah.

I went up... shot up to 311.

- Oh, my God.
- Oh, Jason, I was so fat.

And when Gene Landy
came into my life,

he had me weigh myself.

I weighed 311, and he goes, "And
we're going to Kona, Hawaii,

and you're gonna start
exercising."

So, in about five or six months,
I goddamn lost...

went from 311 to 185.

Can you believe that?

- Oh, man.
- Isn't that amazing?

Why do you think
you were eating so bad?

Uh... I was just being stupid.

Uh-huh.

So, what was it like
when Landy took you to Hawaii?

Well... I had to kick three main
drug habits at the same time.

So I spent a few nights
tossing and turning

and rolling in the bed,
moaning and groaning

and it was like a guy
kicking heroin, you know?

- Whoa.
- Oh, it was rough.

I had to kick cigarettes,
alcohol and cocaine.

All at once?

- All at once, yeah.
- Whoa.

That was one of the roughest
trips I ever took, yeah.

Which was the hardest to stop?

Um, the roughest... was...
the cigarettes.

He motivated you.

He sure did, yeah.

But on the bad side,
he controlled you.

Yeah, he did.

He made money off my name,
you know?

- Yeah.
- Yeah.

The thing
about Eugene Landy

was that he was supposed to be
watching Brian's diet

and taking care of him

physically and, uh,
trying to get him

to lose weight
and stop living a bad lifestyle.

Um, he kind of overstepped his,
uh, boundaries or something,

whatever boundaries
there were supposed to be,

and got involved in songwriting

and production
and stuff like that.

That was kind of a real drag.

When people realized
how bad that was,

I think that started the wheels
turning pretty quickly

to, to get rid of Landy.

The day that that happened,
Brian called me,

and he said, "I'm free now.

"I can do whatever I want.

What are you doing, Andy?"

And I said, "I'm... doing
nothing, what do you wanna do?"

And he said,
"I wanna write songs."

Trying to think of
what I wanna hear.

Play...

"Long Promised Road"?

Great call.

Here it is.

♪ So hard to laugh
a childlike giggle ♪

♪ When the tears start
to torture my mind ♪

♪ So hard to shed
the life of before ♪

♪ To let my soul
automatically soar, but I ♪

♪ Hit hard at the battle
that's confronting me, yeah ♪

♪ Knock down all the roadblocks
a-stumbling me ♪

♪ Throw off all the shackles
that are binding me down... ♪

It's a really cool track.

Did he write the words? Carl?

Yeah...
uh, Jack Riley wrote 'em.

- Okay.
- Yeah.

He died not too long ago.

- Jack died?
- A few years ago, yeah.

How do you know that?

Somebody that I knew
knew him, and told me that.

Where was he living,
in Amsterdam?

Yeah, in, in Europe.
I don't know if it was in Ams...

- He died?
- Yeah.

- Oh, man...
- A few years back.

♪ ...of climbing up
to reality's goal, but I ♪

♪ Hit hard at the battle
that's confronting me, yeah ♪

♪ Knock down all the roadblocks
a-stumbling me... ♪

That's enough.

Jack seemed
like a really fun guy.

Yeah. He's the one who thought
of going to Holland.

- Uh-huh.
- You know?

What did Jack die of?

I'm not sure.

Was he older than you?

Uh, I think he was
about the same age as me.

Okay.

Would you play, um...

Uh...

"It's OK" by the Beach Boys?

- Heck, yeah.
- On, uh, "15 Big Ones."

♪ ...time again
to shed the load ♪

♪ Hit the road,
on the run again ♪

♪ Summer skies in our eyes
and a warmer sun ♪

♪ It's one for all, all for
one, all for all-out fun ♪

♪ Gotta go to it ♪

♪ Gotta go through it ♪

♪ Gotta get with it ♪

- Really cool line.
- Yeah.

♪ In the sum-sum-summertime ♪

♪ In the
sum-sum-summertime... ♪

That broke my heart
when I heard Jack Riley died.

Oh, man, I'm sorry to be
the bearer of bad news.

Absolutely...
absolutely broke my heart.

- About three years ago?
- I think so, yeah, maybe more.

♪ In the sum-sum-summertime ♪

♪ In the
sum-sum-summertime... ♪

Any other ones you wanna hear?

Yeah.

Play...

Don't play anything.

- I've heard enough today.
- Okay.

♪ I was sittin'
in this crummy movie ♪

♪ With my hands upon my chin ♪

♪ All the violence
that sometimes occurs ♪

♪ Seems like we never win ♪

♪ Love and mercy, that's what
you need tonight... ♪

♪ So love and mercy...

♪ I was lying in my room
and the news comes on TV ♪

♪ Nah... nah... nah... ♪

You've gotta be tough

to go through
what he's been through,

personally and musically,
and, uh, with his family,

and stuff with his dad.

You've gotta be tough
to survive that.

♪ Nah... nah... ♪

♪ Love and mercy,
that's what you need tonight ♪

♪ Ooh... ooh...

♪ So love and mercy to you
and your friends tonight... ♪

The odds were not on Brian,

but the fact
that he is still here

and performing
and making music...

it's a miracle,
kind of, isn't it?

Really, it is.

I wonder if he sees it that way.

♪ So love and mercy to you
and your friends tonight ♪

♪ Ooh... ooh... ooh... ♪

♪ Love and mercy tonight

Here's your old spot.

Moonshadows.

Good... I think they have
a dance, a dance floor there.

Had a couple,
couple glasses of wine,

feel good,
then I went and danced...

- Right.
- ...for a little while.

I never knew
you were a big dancer.

I can't dance very good, Jason.

You did...
I saw, uh, that you did,

you did a lot of dancing
at your wedding.

Yeah.

When the spirit moves you?

Yeah.

Tell me the story

of when you and Melinda
decided to get married.

We were staying
in a house on Ferrari...

- Uh-huh.
- ...and she goes,

"Aren't you going to ask me
to get married?"

I said, "Yeah."

She goes, "Yeah!"

I said, "Would you marry me?"

She goes, "Yeah!"

You must have been
pretty excited.

Yeah, we got married
in Palos Verdes.

Mm-hmm.

19... 95.

- To speak...
- To speak...

- and to listen.
- and to listen.

- To inspire...
- To inspire...

- ...and to respond.
- And what?

And to respond.

And to respond.

♪ That you noticed me ♪

♪ And brought back harmony
to this lonely soul ♪

♪ Oh, it's a revelation... ♪

To Brian and Melinda.

♪ I feel alive again ♪

♪ There are no limitations
with love... ♪

When did you guys
decide to have kids?

- We adopted.
- Yeah.

19... 98.

That must have been a big deal,
adopting new kids.

Yeah, that was a trip.

♪ Must be a miracle ♪

- ♪ Must be a miracle...
- One, two, three, swing.

- One, two, three, swing.
- ♪ Maybe this miracle's ♪

♪ For me ♪

Those kids are, like,
very creative and playful.

I learned love from them,
the way they express love.

Yeah, it's inspiring,
it really is, yeah.

♪ Have you ever seen ♪

♪ Blue eyes
and long black hair? ♪

♪ Poetry in motion, she's
the dream of every guy... ♪

I don't think there
would have been a third act

if it hadn't have been
for Melinda.

Brian found his salvation.

He went through
such a dark period of his life.

And whenever I see them,
they're just like

a very happy, ordinary
married couple with children.

He loves her, she loves him.

'Cause, again, he's not a person
to live a lavish lifestyle.

He's just a California boy

that likes to make music
and be with his family.

♪ ...miracle ♪

He doesn't deserve just
the accolades about the music.

He deserves the accolades
about his personal life.

Do you remember
the day you came to Trankas

to, to your birthday party?

Yeah, McCartney was there...

and his wife, Linda...

- Uh-huh.
- ... was there.

And it was a really cool house.

It's amazing, that day,
you did so much that day.

It was your birthday party,

you filmed
that Rolling Stone cover,

and you did that skit
for Saturday Night Live,

all on the same day.

Let's go surfin' now.

Everybody's learnin' how.

Come on a safari with us.

- Come on.
- Let's go.

Right.

How does it make you feel
to hear these songs?

Oh, wonderful.

What a great feel.

Oh, I'm so proud of Carl,
again, man.

When did you first know

that Carl could sing leads
so well like that?

Well... 19... 60... 5 or 6.

When he sang "God Only
Knows," you must have known,

"My gosh,
he's really stepped up."

Well, I was gonna do the vocal,

and I said, "Carl,
do you wanna do the vocal?"

He goes, "Sure, I'd love to,"
you know? So he did the vocal.

And he killed it.

Yeah, he did.

♪ I may not always love you ♪

♪ But long as there are stars
above you ♪

♪ You'll never need
to doubt it ♪

♪ I'll make you
so sure about it ♪

♪ God only knows
what I'd be without you ♪

♪ If you should ever leave me

♪ Well, life would still go on,
believe me ♪

♪ The world could show
nothing to me ♪

♪ So what good
would living do me? ♪

♪ God only knows
what I'd be without you ♪

I saw him
about a week before he died,

and he goes,
"I'm gonna make it, Brian,

I'm gonna make it through."

And he died
a couple of weeks later.

Oh...

It's emotionally hard
to sing it.

I like... it feels good
to sing, though, you know?

Mm-hmm.

When I sing it,
I think about him.

"God Only Knows" gets
a standing ovation every time.

♪ God only knows
what I'd be without you ♪

♪ God only knows
what I'd be ♪

♪ God only knows ♪

♪ Ooh, ooh ♪

♪ God only knows ♪

Thank you, ladies and gentlemen!

Please be seated.

Thank you very much.

♪ So hard to answer
future's riddle ♪

♪ When ahead is seeming
so far behind ♪

♪ So hard to laugh
a childlike giggle...♪

Yeah, there it is.

♪ So hard to shed
the life of before ♪

♪ To let my soul
automatically soar, but I ♪

♪ Hit hard at the battle
that's confronting me, yeah ♪

♪ Knock down all the roadblocks
a-stumbling me ♪

♪ Throw off all the shackles
that are binding me down... ♪

Right here.

♪ So hard to laugh...

I'm not gonna get
out of the car.

- You sure?
- Yeah.

I'm gonna get out, okay?
Check it out.

No... I'm just gonna wait.

Too sentimental for me to go.

All right, I'll tell 'em.

♪ Hit hard at the battle... ♪

- Want the music on?
- Yeah.

♪ Knock down all the roadblocks
a-stumbling me ♪

♪ Throw off all the shackles
that are binding me down ♪

♪ Sew up
the wounds of evolution ♪

♪ And the now
starts to get in my way ♪

♪ So what if life's...

I asked Brian one time,

"Why do you think we succeeded
in such a big way?"

He said, "Well, I think the
music celebrated the joy of life

in a real, simple way."

- ♪ ...promised road...
- ♪ Bah-bah, bah-bah... ♪

Not heavy or...
or, or complex or anything.

Just a real direct experience
of just joyfulness.

- ♪ Long promised road
- ♪ Bah-bah, bah-bah...

♪ Flows to the source,
gentle force, never ending ♪

♪ Never ending ♪

- Too much on that one, huh?
- Yeah.

Yeah.

♪ I had this dream

♪ Singing with my brothers ♪

♪ In harmony ♪

♪ Ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh... ♪

♪ Supporting each other ♪

- ♪ Tail winds
- ♪ Ooh... ♪

- ♪ Whispering
- ♪ Ooh, ooh...

♪ Down the Pacific coast ♪

♪ Surfin' on the A.M. ♪

♪ Heard those voices again in ♪

♪ Southern California ♪

♪ Dreams wake up for ya

♪ And when you wake up here ♪

♪ You wake up everywhere ♪

♪ Oh, whoa, it's magical... ♪

I wanna take this opportunity
right now

to thank our beloved Brian for
writing all that beautiful music

and making
this evening possible.

Let's hear it for Brian Wilson.

♪ Ooh ♪

♪ Ooh...

- It's okay?
- Sure.

♪ It's okay ♪

Happy with it?

- Love it, yeah.
- Okay.

It starts out one, two, three.

♪ It's okay ♪

Okay, okay.

It fades

in about eight, ten bars.

- Got it.
- In ten.

I'm just gonna prepare myself
mentally for the vocals.

- For some vocals?
- Yeah.

Good! You want me to scratch
your back or rub your back?

Sure.

One, two, one, two, three, four.

♪ Fun is in, it's no sin,
it's that time again ♪

♪ To shed the load,
hit the road, on the run again ♪

♪ Summer skies in our eyes
and a warmer sun ♪

♪ It's one for all, all for one,
and all for all-out fun ♪

♪ Gotta go to it
♪ Yeah

- ♪ Gotta go through it
- ♪ Yeah ♪

♪ Gotta get with it

♪ Lookin' good down the hood
of a funky ride... ♪

It's a gift for all of us

to have someone like Brian
or those guys

who still love music
and wanna play music.

It's a gift to everybody,

because he certainly
doesn't have to do that.

Brian will always
wanna go out and perform.

He will always wanna
make records.

It's 'cause music
runs through his veins.

- ♪ Gotta go through it
- ♪ Yeah ♪

I don't see age.

I see fucking history, and
continuing to make history.

I think he's enjoying himself.

He wants to go on the road and
he wants to keep going, so...

I can't argue with that.

♪ Good or bad, glad or sad,
it's all gonna pass ♪

♪ So it's OK, let's all play
and enjoy while it lasts ♪

- ♪ Gotta go to it
- ♪ Yeah ♪

In the last two years,
you've toured, like, 180 dates.

It's more
than you've ever played

at any time in your career.

- Well, we toured the world.
- You gotta be proud of that.

Lotta concerts.

♪ We're always in my car

♪ 'Cause it's never been beat ♪

♪ And we've never missed yet
with the girls we meet ♪

♪ None of the guys go steady,
'cause it wouldn't be right ♪

♪ To leave your best girl home
on a Saturday night ♪

I've been in a concert with him,
and he did a song

that I thought
I would never hear live,

and he opened his mouth
and just went... "Aah..."

Brian's provided that for me
many times,

and not only
has he provided that for me,

he must get that every day
in concert.

I didn't know what to expect
from Brian's show.

Trying to play "Pet Sounds"
live, you know,

it's like, what could be harder,

but we could not believe it.

- ♪ I get around
- ♪ Yeah ♪

♪ Get around, round, round,
I get around ♪

If somebody
was making a bet with me,

I would have bet
that they had tapes

rolling along
with what they were doing,

but at the end of the day,
they simply learned

how to sing and
recreate that music live,

and it made me so happy

to see what he created
honored in that way.

This has been taken seriously,

and everybody on that stage
loves this guy

and loves this music.

♪ Get around, round, round,
I get around ♪

- ♪ I get around!
- Yeah!

Thank you, ladies and gentlemen!

I think everyone
has issues, you know,

whether it's mental health
or anything else,

and the fact that Brian
is vulnerable enough

and real enough...

Thank you very much.

...to get up there and do this,

I think gives people
a lot of strength.

I know it gives me a lot
of strength.

♪ Ah... ♪

♪ Well, I get anxious,
I get scared a lot ♪

♪ That's what I live with... ♪

I love him.

I think he's
a beautiful, sweet guy.

There is a real innocence
and optimism

and positivity and goodness,
that's what's at his core.

♪ They said go out
and get a steady job ♪

♪ That was the worst idea ♪

♪ Another day,
another lonely song ♪

♪ To get me through again ♪

The funny
thing about those songs

is they're both
more joyful and more painful now

because of the loss of your own
youth, your own adolescence,

and yet at the same time, it
does speak to your current life,

which is the hallmark
of great and lasting music.

♪ Oh, oh, yeah, yeah ♪

You know, it's like
there's some secret code

that makes
Brian's music resonate

the same as this feather
or a piece of grass

or a leaf or air or water.

You know, there's something
about it that we need.

You know, it's like you hear his
music and you need it to live.

You know, it's like an essential
element of your life.

I don't think
there are words for it.

♪ To be the greatest
at the center field ♪

♪ That the Yankees ever see ♪

♪ Well, high ambitions
but I got sidetracked ♪

♪ Into the music field ♪

There's very few people

that continue to make
the kind of impact he's made,

and having gone through
all he's gone through

and coming out the other side,
it's really kind of incredible,

and, again, so rare.

I think there's a...
misconception

of what real artists are,

and the ones
that are watching the clock.

Those are the people
that don't belong here.

It's the ones
that just keep going.

It's Brian Wilson, that wants to
still beat "God Only Knows."

I mean, can you imagine that?

...two, a one, two,
three, four... no!

Someone's coming in too soon.

♪ I know that love is
what I really wanna share ♪

I can remember almost word
for word a quote

that, uh, Brian Wilson,
more than anybody else,

has had a profound effect
over American rock music

for the next 30 years.

You can hear it... your
influence is everywhere, Brian.

I mean, do you feel that's
a strong responsibility?

Yes, I do, sure,
because, uh,

once you've
established yourself as...

an artist, producer, somebody
who has something to say,

it's, it's
an artist's obligation.

It's constructive work,
you know, it's work.

Any artist that you find
has that feeling.

He feels the need to please,
you know?

And it's a very personal thing,

and it's something that comes
with... it's natural, you know?

It's a natural thing.

When I hear
his music, it makes me smile.

It makes me realize that there's
a lot of songs still left in me.

There's still a lot of songs
left in Brian.

He's always writing,
he's always making music.

And, well, I have that love of
him that will never ever die.

♪ It's up to me
to make the music call ♪

♪ To ride the wave again ♪

♪ Ah... ah, oh ♪

♪ Long promised road

♪ Trail starts at dawn, carries
on to the season's ending ♪

We're gonna go.
Can you hear yourself all right?

Yeah.

One, two..
one, two, three.

♪ So hard to answer
future's riddle ♪

♪ When ahead seems
so far behind ♪

♪ So hard to laugh
a childlike giggle ♪

♪ When the tears
start to torture my mind ♪

♪ So hard to shed
the life of before ♪

♪ To let my soul
automatically soar, but I ♪

♪ Hit hard at the battle
that's confronting me ♪

♪ Knock down all the roadblocks
a-stumbling me ♪

♪ Threw off all the shackles
that are binding me down ♪

♪ Down, down, down, down ♪

♪ Sew up the wounds
of evolution ♪

♪ And the now starts to
get in my way ♪

♪ So what if life's
a revelation ♪

♪ If a mind speaks
of only today? ♪

♪ So real,
the pain of growing in soul ♪

♪ I'm climbing up
to reality's goal, but I ♪

♪ Hit hard at the battle
that's confronting me ♪

♪ Knock down all the roadblocks
a-stumbling me ♪

♪ Throw off all the shackles
that are binding me down ♪

♪ Down, down, down

- ♪ Long promised road
- ♪ Bah-bah, bah-bah ♪

♪ Trail starts at dawn, carries
on to the season's ending ♪

♪ Ooh, ooh... ♪

- ♪ Long promised road
- ♪ Bah-bah, bah-bah ♪

♪ Flows to the source,
gentle voice, never ending ♪

♪ Never ending ♪

It's like Brian's music
taps into that same source

that gospel music taps into,
of that deep, fundamental...

sadness or darkness
that we all carry.

It's like it finds you there
and it takes you up out of it.

That was just innately
in the music.

The harmonies,
the sound of them,

offered a way out,
and offered a transcendence.

You can put on all these songs,
and it still stands up.

We're never gonna have
Brian Wilson ever again.

He once told me
that, uh, he used to pray

to make really spiritual music

and to make a better album
than "Rubber Soul."

- Good one.
- That's a good prayer.

It worked.

That should convert you.

Brian is a living example,
through his suffering,

through his pain,
he found a joy.

His music... is an act of love.

- ♪ Long promised road
- ♪ Bah-bah, bah-bah ♪

♪ Flows to the source,
gentle force, never ending ♪

♪ Never ending ♪

Good one!

I like it!

Beautiful.

♪ Barbara Ann...

Barbara.

♪ Ba-ha-ha... ♪

♪ Ba-ba-fa ♪

Barba... fan.

Ba, ba, ba.

Yay...!