Brian Wilson

Domenic Priore

Van Dyke Parks

Smile has become one of the most unavoidable legends of rock'n'roll folklore, and in this searching examination Domenic Priore presents the true story behind the album's 40-year conception. Work on Smile began hot on the heels of the ground-breaking Pet Sounds, when Brian Wilson collaborated with Van Dyke Parks to create a 'musical story of America'. However, production would famously collapse under a tide of internal fighting, record business chicanery and Brian's own health problems. In this unique account, Domenic Priore interviews all the main players and documents every aspect of the Smile experience, from its troubled inception to Wilson's brave attempt to finish what he started in 2005. The book includes detailed accounts of studio work, the triumphant live shows in Europe and the US, and a host of exclusive photos from photographer Guy Webster.

Smile: The Story of Brian Wilson's Lost Masterpiece

Brian Chidester

An insightful chronicle tracing the roots of the surf boom and its connection to the Beat Generation and 1960s pop culture. Featuring examinations of original beachcomber personalities like the Waikiki Beachboys to the rise of Venice Beach as a creative centre for music, art and film, this text illustrates why surf culture is a vital art movement of the 20th century. Key figures, both obscure and popular, as well as the full spectrum of the pop culture world, are discussed, from 'beach' movies to the Trashwomen and the Beach Boys.

Music, Design, Film, and Fashion from the Bohemian Surf Boom

Pop Surf Culture

On the Sunset Strip in Los Angeles in 1965 and 1966 an electrifying scene appeared out of nowhere, exploded into creativity, and then, just as suddenly, vanished. So much remarkable music, art, and social revolution came from one place at one time, it's difficult now to grasp how it all happened. This book tells the story of the astonishing time when rock 'n' roll displaced movies as the centre of action in Hollywood. From the moment The Byrds debuted at Ciro's on March 26th 1965--with Bob Dylan joining them onstage--right up to the demonstrations of November 1966, Sunset Strip nightclubs nurtured and broke The Doors, Love, Buffalo Springfield (featuring Neil Young and Stephen Stills), Frank Zappa's Mothers Of Invention, Captain Beefheart & His Magic Band, The Turtles, The Mamas & The Papas, and many others. The Strip was a hotbed for garage punk bands such as The Standells, The Electric Prunes, and The Leaves. Folk-rock and psychedelia were born there, while it was also a favourite hangout and inspiration for The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, and The Velvet Underground. Republished to coincide with the 50th anniversary of these incredible times, Riot On Sunset Strip: Rock 'n' Roll's Last Stand In Hollywood captures the excitement of this great artistic awakening, telling how the scene came together and then fell apart at the Monterey Pop festival, the tragic grand finale of the Summer of Love. It serves as a startling evocation of the social and artistic revolution that was the 60s.

Rock 'n' roll's Last Stand In Hollywood (Revised Edition)

Riot On Sunset Strip

Christopher Merritt

Presents the history of Santa Monica's nautical-themed Pacific Ocean Park, from its opening in 1958 through its 1967 closing to the demolition of its structural remains in the mid-1970s.

The Rise and Fall of Los Angeles' Space-age Nautical Pleasure Pier

Pacific Ocean Park

From the moment the Byrds debuted at Ciro’s on March 26th 1965 — with Bob Dylan joining them on stage — through the demonstrations of November 1966, Sunset Strip nightclubs introduced the Doors, Buffalo Springfield the Mothers of Invention, and so many more. Riot on Sunset Strip shows how this legendary scene came together, burned briefly but brilliantly, and then fell apart after the Summer of Love. This inspiring book evokes a raucous, revolutionary time in American culture for those who lived it and contemporary youth culture fascinated by the time.

Domenic Priore

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