There are many Beach Boys sites available on the internet. Any good search engine will keep you clicking for days. This list is being offered as a place to start. Through these links, the reader will be able to place the life of Dennis Wilson into the larger context of the story of The Beach Boys. These sites have been singled out because of the sheer amount of information they provide, or because of their depth of information and focus on a specific element within the Beach Boys saga, or simply because of a unique perspective the site offers. many of these sites have link pages that will take you further across the Beach Boy web. Have fun.
BeachBoys.com - In our opinion, one of the best BB sites around. The strength of the site are the reviews of every Beach Boy product available. If you want news, a section keeps you informed of current events, and the link page is extensive.
BrianWilson.com - Well, I guess it doesn't get much more official than this! We lost "Petsounds.com", but we gained "Brian Wilson.com". That's right...the surviving Wilson is online, and plugging his new Petsounds Tour and Live CD. And, get this...he's been known to actually respond to questions on his message board. Who would have guessed...?
Web Page for Brian Wilson - This is it...the grandaddy of all Beach Boy sites. A perrenial favorite, this is the site by which all other fan sites have been judged. A great bootleg section. I cut my teeth on this site.
Smile Shop - Bamboo was Dennis's great lost masterpiece. Ummm...did you know that Brian had one, too? :) Actually, with Smile, Brian Wilson wrote the book on lost masterpieces. And the Smile Shop has written the book on Smile sites. I mean, this is the PLACE, baby! For information on this tumultuous period in BB history, start here.
Dreams of Endless Summer: A Beach Boys Timeline - 1917-2002 - If you've spent any time at all on our site, you know we're big on research. Well, baby, this is how it's done! Created by Andrew G. Doe, venerable Beach Boys author, historian, and, yes, contributor to Dennis Wilson: Dreamer , this is truly the most thorough, not to mention concise, recounting of the life and times of our favorite band that has ever been committed to text in ANY media. You have questions about the Boys' career? "I know there's an answer", and it's probably here!
Endless Summer Quarterly - Sometimes you just want to hold something in your hand...y'know? Well, now your Beach Boy information does not have to be sought out exclusivly on line. Endless Summer Quarterly is, hands down, the best BB "fanzine" available today. I hesitate calling it a fanzine, though, because production quality is a hallmark. Full-color covers and plentiful photographs make for a great looking magazine, and the content is informative, entertaining, and at times surprising. Example:The September 2000 issue featured two - yes, two interviews w/ Brian Wilson, Song analysis by Billy Hinche, interviews w/ Brian's band and Carole Kaye, Music analysis and discussion w/editor David Beard and Van Dyke Parks, and this was just one issue. The issue after that?...a FULL, Cover to Cover appreciation of Dennis Wilson! Is it any wonder we think so highly of them? Here is their website. Go there and subscribe. You'll see things there you'll never see anywhere else. (note: Newly re-designed for 2001!)
Open Sky MagazineThe most recent issue of the Beach Boy quarterly magazine OPEN SKY is out, and this issue is a special Denny Issue! People...I can't recommend this enough! This is less like a Beach Boy fan club paper and more like a Wilson-centric Arts Journal. The Kalinich Interview is GREAT, and I dig the cover painting, too (cough, cough) :-)...Editor/publisher Chris Allen has done a real good thing here, and I urge all you Denny-ites and Bamboo-heads to support this effort and get a copy! (...and please tell him your heard of it HERE!) .Here's the Press release! --
The new issue of Open Sky is dedicated to Dennis Wilson with a 
cover
painting by Dan Addington. An introduction written by Dennis Diken, drummer
for The Smithereens, cuts to the core of Denny's coolness.
Domenic Priore's wonderful appreciation - "The Drummer With The Knack Was A Surfer" is reprinted here with photos of Dennis provided by Brian Berry.
Following this is an in-depth interview with poet Stephen Kalinich who
co-wrote several great songs with Denny, and reads the complete version of
"Be Still" which was recorded for his poetry album "A World Of Peace Must
Come" with Brian Wilson's musical accompaniment. According to Stephen, this
album will come out soon. Also includes interviews with Andy Paley, Alan Boyd, Sean Macreavy, and Peter Lacey.70 action packed pages!
To purchase this issue send a check to Chris Allen for:
$8.00 (US)
$9.00 (Canada)
$11.50 (This Whole World)
Open Sky, 7 Greenview Ave., Princeton NJ 08542-3316
Back issues are now priced as above. For more info: mosky@aosi.com
Mt Vernon and Fairway - The German Fanclub. One of the most extensive sites around, with over a hundred archived articles, and a great links page.
Dauber's Li'l Brian Wilson Page - Leaven that Beach Boy biscut with a little humor. Looking for a hard to find item? Try the trading page. Remember when I said "a unique perspective"?
Imagination - An online, up to the minute newsletter about current events in Beach Boy fandom.
A Few More Interesting Links:
The Beach Boys Resource Page - Beach Boys expert and friend of the Dreamer site, "Hey Jude" gives us this surprisingly comprehensive site for the die hard Beach Boys fan! Packed full of information, including an always-up-to-date news and media alert, the official Usenet Beach Boys FAQ, and Extensive reviews of all new Beach Boys related products currently available on the market (including some "unofficial" releases). If you want Beach Boys info AND opinions, this page has them!
Slightly American Music - Far and Away the best collection of Beach Boys Chord tabs anywhere in the known world. Francis Greene has really accomplished something here, and he's STILL developing it! Includes chords for Pacific Ocean Blue!
Dennis Wilson Forever - The concept of a tribute website is conceptually extended, with information and photos, not JUST about Dennis, but even about people who have worked on projects about Dennis and the Beach Boys. For example, the site features background information on authors Jon Stebbins and Adam Webb.
The Flames - Featuring some great and revealing interviews with Ricki and Blondie.
BobbyFigueroa.com - Beach Boys drummer Figueroa's website. Text by Dennis Wilson biographer Jon Stebbins.
www.carlisworld.com
- Carli Munoz, in collaboration with bassist Eddie Gomez has released a new CD, "Both Sides Now". The jazz album features Carli on piano and Eddie on bass, and includes tracks with Joe Chambers on Drums and Jeremy Steig on Flute. "Both Sides Now" features Carli's compositions, some of his favorite melodies (including a beautiful and very unique jazz rendition of Brian Wilson's "Surfer Girl") and many inspired moments by the duo, trio and quartet. Jazz fan or not, you will be impressed by this beautiful album. To order, visit www.carlisworld.com Tell 'em you saw it here first!
Carli was a member of the Beach Boys' touring band throughout the late 70s, and was a friend and musical collaborator with Dennis Wilson. Carli wrote and produced a number of songs for and with Dennis as the two worked together on the follow-up album to Pacific Ocean Blue, which was to be titled "Bamboo". Carli is now proprietor of a restaurant and Jazz Club in Old San Juan, Puerto Rico called Carli's Cafe Concierto, where he often performs on the piano. The place consistently gets
rave reviews!
Oh the Irony - When we first posted this page, you could find three books about Dennis Wilson on bookshelves, and NO CDs. No, the reverse is true...the books are out of print, but against all odds, POB is back and better than ever! I look forward to the day when it's ALL available. In the meantime, the current word is that Dennis Wilson: The Real Beach Boy (listed below) will soon be avaiolable in an expanded edition. It's a great book. We look forward to that day.
DENNIS WILSON, THE REAL BEACH BOY
The first biography of Dennis Wilson, Dennis Wilson; The Real Beach Boy by Jon Stebbins, was recently published by ECW press. It is a well-researched, compassionatly written narritive placing the personal life of Dennis Wilson into the larger context of the Beach Boys' collective careers. There are not many books that provide an accurate and informative account of the history of this band. And, until now, there were NO books that truly gave Dennis Wilson his due...he was often seen as little more than the "colorful" member of the group...the "rebel". Consistantly acknowlaged ad nauseum as the only true surfer of the group, Dennis has often been given credit in print for inspiring Brian's initial musical direction, and for disrupting the band in later years, but not much else. Stebbins is here to correct all that. But he doesn't stop there. Fact is, Dennis WAS the most colorful personality of the group, and Stebbins takes us into that personality thanks to extensive research and interviews with friends and family. We may never truly understand the demons that haunted this creative, generous, and troubled soul, but Stebbins gets us closer than we've ever been before. In the process, we learn a lot about the rest of the band. This book is not only a great biographical account of the life and tragic death of Dennis Wilson, It is the best book about the history of The Beach Boys currently in print. This is a necessary addition to your music-book library. 254 pages. Illustrated throughout. 16 pages color.
Click here to order via Amazon.com.
DUMB ANGEL: the Life and Music of Dennis Wilson
From the advance press release:
DUMB ANGEL reveals how drummer, Dennis Wilson, sacrificed a promising career as a solo-artist, choosing to remain loyal to the family group.
His only solo LP: Pacific Ocean Blue - now hailed by many as one of the all time greatest albums - and the wealth of rare, beautiful studio material,
provide a glimpse of what-could-have-been, and firmly place him alongside the many unsung heros and tragic
casualties of rock and pop (incl Kurt Cobain, Brian Jones, Nick Drake).
Revealing the highs and lows of Wilson's amazing rock and roll life (befriending, housing and recording Charles Manson; starring in
cult film Two Lane Blacktop; 3 marriages, incl. one to his cousins illegitimate love child {webmaster's note...this pr release is off by one wife and two marriages...he married one twice!...the count was 4 wives, five marriages.}, indulging copiously in sex and drugs),
Dumb Angel also recounts the details of his tragic early death. Yet it goes beyond that, as by focusing throughout on the man's true legacy: his soulful, fractured voice and music, Dumb Angel becomes the
definitive re-evaluation of the talent and music of Dennis Wilson.
Author Biography:
This is Adam Webb's first major book publication. He has contributed to Lost Highways: An Illustrated History of Road Movies (Creation Books, 2000)
and is currently working on a book of horror stories. He regularly DJs and lives in London. to order a copy, email CREATION BOOKS at info@creationbooks.com or visit their website at www.creationbooks.com . You can also order the book here.
DENNY REMEMBERED
Denny Remembered was the first book ever issued that served the purpose of memorializing the life of Dennis Wilson. This is a very personal and moving collection of essays celebrating the man, written by people who knew him. This book is a testament to the way Dennis touched the lives of those around him. The memories that emerge from these pages are vivid and affecting. Long out of print, this book was recently re-released.
Click here to order
TWO LANE BLACKTOP
Directed by Monte Hellman, Two Lane Blacktop was heralded by the press as a revolutionary film...before it's release, that is. It was an existential tale of the road, a unique contribution to the Road Film genre, and while it failed to find a large audience, it quickly achieved cult status, and has held that position firmly ever since. To many, the only narritive Hollywood feature film starring a Beach Boy was almost a rumor, it was that difficult to see. in the last few years, many art and revival houses began to feature the film on their schedule, and a re-discovery began. Recently, this film, featuring James Taylor, Dennis, Lauri Bird, and Warren Oats was released for the FIRST TIME on VHS and DVD home video.
click here to order via Amazon.com
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