Lovin’ the
Beach Boy lifestyleBeach Boys in concert
Where: Blaisdell Arena
By Tim Ryan
Star-BulletinBruce Johnston wants to talk about Irish heritage not Beach Boys' history.
"Are you Irish?" he asks in a telephone interview from the Santa Barbara Yacht Club where his sailboat, Infinity, once again was placed near the back and "it still cost me $600 just to take her out."
"Tell me, are you Irish?"
When my answer is yes, Johnston becomes more inquisitive. And when he finds out that both my paternal and maternal grandparents are from Ireland, Johnston, 56, is positively stoked.
Johnston, who joined the Beach Boys in 1964 when he replaced Brian Wilson, then tells me I must "immediately" apply for an Irish passport which apparently is obtainable in about "three weeks" once you have the documents of grandparents' lineage. In the next 20 minutes Johnston details in minutia how to get the coveted passport.
"Listen," he says over the din of a yachting crowd, "I did it and it makes it so much easier to go anywhere in the world. I want you to do this."
Although Johnston has never been a household name, he's enjoyed one of the longest and most intriguing careers in pop music, primarily as a member of the Beach Boys.
"I'm 56 and still living the Beach Boys' life," says Johnston who lives in the ritzy Santa Barbara suburb of Montecito. "I surf at least four days a week, have six boards and four station wagons so I can carry my boards."
The group, which makes a rare Honolulu appearance Saturday at the Blaisdell Arena, performs more than 100 concerts a year including a high percentage of private corporate sessions. Although key members of the group are missing -- Carl and Dennis Wilson are dead, Brian Wilson doesn't tour with the group, and Al Jardine has his own group -- people continue to pack arenas to hear Mike Love, David Marks and Johnston sing three dozen hits spanning generations.
"People come to hear the music as much as to see us perform," Johnston said. "It's memoryville and good times. But it's the music that's important."
Johnston, raised in Los Angeles, was an an early associate of Sandy Nelson and Phil Spector, whom he often supported on keyboards. For a while, Johnston even backed Ritchie Valens before recording "Take This Pearl" as half of Bruce and Terry.
While in high school, Johnston became a well-regarded performer on the West Coast circuit, and played on a number of studio dates; though primarily a guitarist, he handled bass duties on the Teddy Bears' 1958 hit "To Know Him is to Love Him."
At UCLA, Johnston formed a band called the Surf Stompers, and in 1963 recorded "Surfin' Around the World," as well as the live LP Surfers' Pajama Party, cut at a Sigmi Pi fraternity bash. At the Del-Fi label, he was also a producer for acts including Ron Holden and, with Terry Melcher, led the Rip Chords.
In addition to putting out records under the Bruce and Terry name, Johnston and his partner recorded so much material other releases saw them issuing singles under various pseudonyms including the Rogues, one of which was a Dave Clark Five-styled remake of Buddy Holly's "Everyday," which made the top 10 in England.
"I love music, I love creating; it's fun, rarely work," Johnston said. "I think that comes across."
The pair also produced hits for the Rip Chords with "Hey Little Cobra," Paul Revere and the Raiders "Here They Come!" album and "Steppin Out," the Byrds' "Mr. Tambourine Man," and singles for Pat Boone and Wayne Newton.
Johnston performed in Honolulu as the opening act for the Beach Boys in 1962 with promoter Tom Moffatt introducing him to the group that hired him in 1964.
"I owe it all to Uncle Tom," Johnston said.
He would play piano on the group's 1965 hit "California Girls," and subsequently remained an on-again, off-again band member for decades, most notably appearing on the 1966 masterpiece "Pet Sounds."
Johnston left the band during the mid-1970s, recorded a solo LP, 1977's "Going Public," and became the hit songwriter behind smashes like Barry Manilow's "I Write the Songs." By the end of the decade, however, he was again producing the Beach Boys, and continued to tour with the band.
"I never get tired of the music or the Beach Boys," Johnston said. "We have great audiences. They're happy, not angry; come for fun, not to riot."
"I Write The Songs" was first recorded by the Captain and Tennille, then became a a hit for both David Cassidy and Manilow.
"Everyone thinks Barry wrote it, then are blown away when they realize a Beach Boy did it," he said.
Johnston, a father of four who is often credited as the mediator for the Beach Boy's, is quick to defend not only Brian Wilson's departure from the group decades ago but to set the record straight about publicized feuds.
"Brian never left because he was angry at the group," Johnston said. "He left because his (late) father was getting so much money from his performances and songs under the original contract. Brian has talked with us recently about wanting to tour with the Beach Boys in 2000."
And a final note on Johnston: He is the only current Beach Boy who still surfs. "Living the Beach Boy life forever," Johnson says.
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