Murry Wilson / Brian Wilson / The Beach Boys -- I Am Speechless

Thanks for the lesson in morality.

 

MW was one of the horrible fathers in rock history. He should have been called Daddy Dearest.

 

By bringing Yoko into this for absolutely no reason; it's obvious you're lacking.. and you're welcome.

 

Brian's father's name was "Murry" , not "Murray". An unusual spelling with no 'a', which is ironic since he seems to have been a total a-hole.

 

Pablo Escobar was a better father to his kids than Murry was.

 

I avoided a comfortable life for this very reason. I'd heard too many stories.

 

"That was Joe's first confrontation with The Law ...
this is what happens when you choose a career in ...
MUSIC!" – The Central Scrutinizer

 

Or, Brian could have had a better career, but most importantly besides the abuse, money problems, he could have been more at ease mentally. Yeah, he's outlived many, but what about the quality of life? Most of us hear the great songs, but we can't feel his pain - his dad, that quack "doctor".

 

You win the gold ticket! Precisely what I was thinking. Frank obviously knew all to well about the perils of music for a living and the music biz. We all know about the messy stuff that's happening in the Zappa family now.

 

en

Never seen Murry look so young, they are always showing that older pic of him with the black glasses

 

Well according to Brian’s book Murry was abused by his own father, one time being beaten and then locked up in the attic for a week or more. He was a failed musician stuck in a miserable construction job. He saw Brian as the musician he never was.
Brian quickly figured out that the beatings stopped when he sat down at the piano and started playing. His mom mostly just stood around and drank. Carl mostly hid under the bed and Dennis ran away to smoke and drink with his friends, leaving Brian to take all the abuse unfortunately.

 

"I like food"

 

Out of context, but just wanted to share that I picked up the 1991 release of MIU and the 1989 release of LA (Light Album) today for under $20. Couldn't believe my eyes when I saw them sitting there.

While many say they're not the greatest BB albums, I'm happy to add them both to my collection for such a deal. Been eyeballing both of them for some time but never pulled the trigger given the inflated price tags. Amazing what some people will give away to second hand stores.

My Diane is sublime.

 

What do they call that, the domino effect?
Apparently yes, Murry had a very rough life himself, and got the short end of the straw as well.
The more you learn about him, the more you can understand the ripple that followed.
Doesn't make it any more right, but it does put into context, this messed up family/business we've come to know.

 

Lots of opinions in this thread, some misinformation, and some fact. I'll add my take, FWIW. I'll try to keep it brief. I know people seem to hate him.

Murry had a tough childhood. A difficult life, leading up to starting a family. Mental illness seemingly ran in the family. He was not emotionally equipped to have kids.
In 1941 he started writing songs (as far as copyright records show). One of his earliest copywritten tunes was a co-write with Mike Love. Mike was 10 years old at the time.
Between 1941 and the formation of the Beach Boys, Murry had about 15 vocal songs recorded and released by a wide variety of acts. No hits. Many publishers. A handful of co-authors.
A handful of Murry penned singles were released by a handful of bands. He learned about the business. Contracts. Publishing. Selling. Promoting. It didn't get him anywhere, really.
When Brian was in High School, Murry pushed him in a variety of ways to make music. Some supportive and generous, some underhanded and cruel. As we all know, Brian instantly showed a knack for it and had the voice of an angel.
Long story short, The Beach Boys formed because of Murry. They got signed because of Murry. They became proficient at instrumentation and vocalization because of Murry. They toured because of Murry. Murry made everything happen on the business and organizational side. Unfortunately, he lacked parenting and empathy skills according to most.

I've been researching, re-recording, and releasing the 'lost' songs of Murry the past few years. In my research, I've talked to a handful of people who worked for him and with him prior to his death. It's a 50/50 split on opinions. Some rave about how kind he was, supportive, organized and driven. Others say he was a monster. All agree, there never would have been a Beach Boys without him.

My new Murry Christmas record: George Faulkner Sings Murry Wilson - Happy, Happy Holiday

 

Yeap.

 

Brian says in one of the documentaries about how his dad wrote some great songs with beautiful melodies.
He even plays a chord progression/melody to demonstrate one of his tunes.
For the sake of the discussion, his dad's own musical abilities must have had an impact on Brian to
learn, inspire and create the great work he would ultimately do.
Who will ever know Murry's potential to be a great songwriter. It just didn't happen for him.
He may have well had more 'great' songs, we will never hear that weren't recorded or published.
We can say he didn't have 'the talent', but it's not well documented, other than the few things that were released.
But If Brian thinks he wrote beautiful songs?
Maybe it's a sentimental thing or perhaps Murry, was a great songwriter.....

 

It's somewhat documented. It's fascinating too, at least for me. Murry's primary songwriting weakness was an inability to write great lyrics.
I've heard (or seen the sheets for) about 30 of his known 50+ songs (there are def some more that are completely lost), and his lyrics are sophomoric, to say the least.
What makes this interesting, to me, is that late in his life, after writing 50 vocal songs, he gets a record deal and decides to forgo lyrics on Many Moods. A good decision IMO.
Maybe he was incapable. Love songs, relationship songs, the themes of the era were likely better written by those with empathy.
That said, I feel his unheard compositions deserve to be preserved. The Library of Congress destroyed all of his submissions, so time is running out. I'm doing my best to hunt down what is left and get it out there.

 

I actually like his tunes, his melodies.
The 'MMOMW' album, has grown on me, but it's still not probably the best he was capable of, nor something I go too often.
I too, like to find out more about him, and learn of his compositions and songs that were recorded by others.
There's a couple others I know worthy of posting just to give a bigger picture for others who are unaware or want to learn about him.
Glad to hear we share a similar interest in that old Mr 'insert word/s' Murry Wilson.

 

Unfortunately this type of abusive psychological behavior by an adult, who in many instances is a child himself , is a never ending destructive cycle. Fortunately, for us, Brian had the fortitude and blessings from above to make it through! I'll grant you that Ol' Murray Wilson gave Brian, Carl, Dennis, Mike, David, and then Al the push they needed. But those boys made the "Beach Boys".

 

It was more than a push that Murry provided. Without Murry as manager, Brian was left to his own devices, which included more recreation and daydreaming than he could handle.

 

that said, it's pretty much the norm that someone like him, whose strength was composing music would have tried to hook up with a lyricist, no? i wonder why he didn't?

this surprises me about the LOC--how common is it that they destroy submissions? do they report what they destroy?

 

A great Murry Wilson tune, by his 'replacement' band, The Sunrays.
Won't You Tell Me.

 

For an A-hole, he also produced a successful single with his new pals.
Murry and Brian must have been in a bull fighting ring at this point....
The record is great, the band, well looks like another group in this clip....

I Live For The Sun,
Ironically, Rick Henn had a friendship with Dennis and Carl, spite all the competition.

 

His other problem is that his songs don't have a hook, nothing comes out and grabs your ear, the ones I heard on this thread come off as bland.