Beach Boys' exhibit to hang ten at Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum

Catch a Wave: The Beach Boys, the Early Years
Exhibit to Open at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum

More than any other artistic entity, the Beach Boys created the iconic vision of California as the Promised Land for those who would revel in youth, surf, sand and rock and roll. Prior to captivating millions with their sunny vocal harmonies, the Beach Boys were like any other American youth playing baseball and football, but simultaneously, they were developing a musical sound that would make them a worldwide sensation.

The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum will open Catch a Wave: The Beach Boys, the Early Years on Friday, June 22, 2007. This exhibit will explore the band members’ formative years through artifacts shared for the first time with the public by the Wilson family.

“The Beach Boys possess as much myth as they’ve created,” said Howard Kramer, curator for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum. “This exhibit gives a previously unavailable, intimate look at the group and their work from the point of view of Audree Wilson, the mother of Brian, Carl and Dennis. She was, perhaps, the person that was closest to the Beach Boys during their most vital and prolific period.”

Highlights of this previously unseen exhibit include:

Brian Wilson’s youth league baseball uniform
· Hawthorn High School Football game program featuring Al Jardine on the Varsity Squad
· Brian Wilson’s original handwritten lyrics to “Be True to Your School”
· Brian Wilson’s original handwritten lyrics to “Surfin’” their very first record
Tony Asher’s handwritten lyrics for “God Only Knows”

Friday, June 22 at 10 a.m. - Catch a Wave: The Beach Boys, the Early Years will open to the public. The exhibit will be on display in the Ahmet M. Ertegun Exhibition Hall until December 31, 2007.

About the Beach Boys
The Beach Boys’ vocal harmonies are one of the signatures sounds of the modern era. The band was largely a family affair that came together in the Los Angeles suburb of Hawthorne, California in 1961. Three brothers, Brian, Carl and Dennis Wilson were joined by their cousin, Mike Love, and a neighbor David Marks who left soon after and was replaced by Alan Jardine. Brian Wilson, who demonstrated an aptitude for music at an early age, was the group’s leader, orchestrating their harmonies, writing the music and producing the recording sessions. One of the few undisputed geniuses in popular music, Wilson possessed an uncanny gift for harmonic invention and complex vocal and instrumental arrangements.
The Beach Boys’ earliest hits - “Surfin’,” “Surfin’ Safari,” “Surfin’ U.S.A.” and “Surfer Girl,” all released in 1962-63 - helped raise the profile of the state of California and the sport of surfing. The group also celebrated the Golden State’s obsession with hot-rod racing (“Shut Down,” “409,” “Little Deuce Coupe”) and the pursuit of happiness by carefree high schoolers in less complicated times (“Be True to Your School,” “Fun, Fun, Fun,” “I Get Around"). The Beach Boys’ first golden era lasted from 1962-65, when they charted 16 hit singles in a very competitive Top Forty.

About the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum
The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum is the nonprofit organization that exists to educate visitors, fans and scholars from around the world about the history and continuing significance of rock and roll music. It carries out this mission both through its operation of a world-class museum that collects, preserves, exhibits and interprets this art form and through its library and archives as well as its educational programs. The Museum is open seven days a week from 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. On Wednesdays the Museum is open until 9 p.m. Museum admission is $20 for adults, $14 for seniors (60+), $11 for children (9-12) and children under eight and Museum members are free. When you become a member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum, the world of rock and roll becomes yours to explore. Please call 216.515.1943 for more information on becoming a Rock Hall member.