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1962
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| January |
Brian meets Gary Usher (born December 14th, 1938, San Gabriel, CA) for the first time and immediately begins a songwriting partnership with him. |
| February |
on the 8th the band record "Surfin' Safari", "Surfer Girl" & "Beach Boys Stomp" (aka "Karate") at World Pacific. Within a few days of this session, Alan resigns from the band, continuing his studies at El Camino College and reviving The Islanders for a second time. He is replaced by neighbor David Lee Marks (born August 22nd, 1948, Erie, Pennsylvania), whose first show is at the Bel Air Bay Club ."Surfin/Luau" enters the Billboard Hot 100. |
| March |
on the 8th Brian, Carl, Alan & the Wilson's mother Audree (with Val Poliuto) add vocals to the pre-recorded tracks "Barbie" & "What Is A Young Girl Made Of ?". "Surfin/Luau" peaks at #75. Murry creates the Sea Of Tunes publishing company to safeguard Brian's compositions. Brian drops out of El Camino College. On the 29th, Murry & Morgan sign a contract to be co-managers of the band. |
| spring | Dennis is expelled from Hawthorne High for fighting. |
| April |
a demo session at United Western studio on the 19th produces a four-song tape that will result in a Capitol contract. The session is engineered by Charles Dean 'Chuck' Britz (three days previously, Brian & Gary Usher recorded four of their songs at Western, with the rest of the band providing musical backup). "Barbie/What Is A Young Girl Made Of ?" is released on Randy 422, and credited to Kenny & The Cadets. |
| May |
Murry plays the demo tape for Nik Venet, Capitol's A&R man (reputedly, every other label in town had turned him down) during the first week of the month. Against the advice of his superiors, Venet buys the masters for "Surfin' Safari", "Lonely Sea" & "409" for $300 each. |
| June |
"Surfin' Safari/409", first Capitol 45, released; it will reach #14. Alan leaves El Camino College and begins working at Garret Air Research. |
| July | The Beach Boys sign with Capitol Records on the 16th. |
| August | Playing the Reseda Jubilee on the 25th, The Beach Boys meet Jan & Dean for the first time. |
| summer |
Usher is supplanted as Brian's songwriting partner by KFWB DJ Roger Christian (born July 3rd, 1934, Buffalo, NY). They meet after Murry hears Christian discussing "409" on the air one night. |
| September |
"The Revo-Lution/Number One" by Rachel and The Revolvers on Dot records is the first ever disc to bear the credit "Produced by Brian Wilson". (To avoid repetition, it should be noted here that none of Brian's non-Beach Boys productions charted). |
| October |
Surfin' Safari album released. Whilst playing at Pandora's Box (a coffee house then situated at the intersection of Sunset Boulevard and Crescent Heights, long since demolished) on the 28th, Brian meets Marilyn Rovell (born February 6th, 1948, Chicago IL), cousin of Usher's girlfriend Ginger Blake (real name Sandra Glauntz, born 1947) and her sister Diane (born 1946). The now-famous 'hot chocolate' incident ensues. "The Surfer Moon/Humpty Dumpty", by Bob & Sheri and produced by Brian, is released on Safari. Bob is Bob Norburg, Brian's roommate in the Crenshaw Apartments, Sheri is his girlfriend Cheryl Pomeroy and Safari is a one-off label bearing the Wilson's home address in Hawthorne on the disc. Mike's father's & uncle's company, Love Sheet Metal, files for voluntary bankruptcy on the 4th. |
| November |
"Ten Little Indians/County Fair" 45 released; it will stall at #49, the lowest position for a Beach Boys single until 1968 and the lowest ever bar "Surfin'". |
| December |
Mike & Francis' second child, Teresa, born on the 2nd. On the 24th, the band begin their first 'proper' tour, a five date swing through southern and central California ending on New Year's Eve. The exact dates and venues of this first tour are currently unverified, with the exception of The Santa Monica Surf Fair on the 28th. |