Have you seen this awesome video from BBC 3 of the Beach Boys 1966 hit “God Only Knows” from the Brian Wilson-produced LP Pet Sounds? Before you click on it below, I have a quick “brush with fame” story involving head Beach Boy Brian.
My wife, Julee, was doing a musical at the Variety Arts Theater in New York. The show was Return to the Forbidden Planet, a award-winning British mash-up of Shakespeare’s The Tempest, a cheapo sci-fi movie from the 50s called Forbidden Planet (also loosely based on The Tempest) stitched together with a lot of vintage rock and roll songs, including the Beach Boys’ “Good Vibrations,” another Brian Wilson classic.
One night at intermission I popped backstage to see how Julee was doing. “There’s this big guy in kind of a wild shirt sitting in the first row just staring. I don’t think he blinked even once during the entire first act. It’s got me a little freaked out. I even cracked a note.”
I promised to keep an eye out in the lobby when the performance ended, and if I spotted a guy in a crazy shirt who looked like he might be trouble, I’d go up and have a word with him. I didn’t like the idea of a guy in a crazy shirt staring at Julee all night.
Indeed I did spot him exiting the theater after the final curtain. And I recognized him–the one and only Brian Wilson, being gently steered through the crowd by a couple of polite handlers.
I’d just read that Brian had only recently begun to go out in public again after decades of dealing with mental illness and drug addiction. Clearly, this wasn’t easy for him. But he had done it.
I ran backstage and told Julee. “I didn’t even know what Brian Wilson looked like!” she said. The entire cast was thrilled.
So enjoy the video. Among all the amazing artists who combine to sing this beautiful love song is Brian Wilson. And you know something? I think he’s wearing the same shirt.
