1942: Brian Douglas Wilson is born on June 20 in Hawthorne, Calif., to Murry Gage Wilson, an amateur musician and songwriter, and Audree Neva (Korthof) Wilson. He's the oldest of three brothers, including Dennis (b. Dec. 4, 1944) and Carl (b. Dec. 21, 1946)
1945: Brian goes deaf in his right ear, allegedly due to a blow to his head by Murry.
1954: Murry takes Brian to a Sunday-night concert by the Four Freshmen at the Coconut Grove in Los Angeles. Brian meets the group. The Four Freshmen became a major influence on the Beach Boys' lush vocal harmonies.
1958: For Brian's 16th birthday, his parents give him a Wollensak tape recorder. Brian makes his first four-part harmony recordings, featuring himself, Carl, Murry and Audree.
1960: Brian forms a group with Carl and his cousin Mike Love, and calls it Carl & the Passions
1961: During Labor Day weekend, the band rents instruments and records "Surfin'," written by Brian and Mike … they call the band The Pendletones; Murry takes on the role of manager. … In December, "Surfin'/Luau" is released on Candix Records. The band appears on the label as The Beach Boys, without their knowledge. (The name comes from a conversation between the label's record distributor and A&R man.) A day later, "Surfin'" airs on KFWB radio in Hawthorne. … Two weeks later, The Beach Boys make their first public appearance at the Rendezvous Ballroom in Newport Beach, Calif., (with Dick Dale & the Del Tones, The Surfaris and the Challengers). The band members split $10.
1962: Capitol Records A&R man Nik Venet buys the masters for "Surfin' Safari," "Lonely Sea" and "409" for $300 each. … The Beach Boys sign to Capitol on July 16. … Their debut album, Surfin' Safari, is released in October.
1963: The Beach Boys make their national TV debut on The Steve Allen Show in the spring, playing "Surfin' USA." … The Surfer Girl album is released and reaches No. 7; it's the first album with Brian Wilson credited as producer. The Little Deuce Coupe LP is released in October, peaks at No. 4.
1964: On April 2, the Beach Boys fire Murry Wilson as manager; he retreats to his bed for nearly a month. … The "I Get Around/Don't Worry, Baby" single is released in May and becomes the band's first No. 1. … On Sept. 17, The Beach Boys make their first appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show. … Brian marries Marilyn Rowell on Dec. 7; during the same month, he suffers his first nervous breakdown while en route to a Southwest tour.
1965: Brian retires from touring. He's replaced by then studio guitarist Glen Campbell, who is soon replaced by Bruce Johnston. … In the spring, Brian trips on acid for the first time (he later said the trips caused ongoing aural hallucinations). … On July 12, Brian begins instrumental tracks of "Sloop John B," the first sessions for Pet Sounds.
1966: On Jan. 18, after interruptions due to other recordings, Brian begins recording instrumentals for Pet Sounds in earnest. … On Feb. 9, the other Beach Boys, now off tour, begin recording vocal tracks. Love disapproves, telling Brian "not to fuck with the formula." … On April 13, Pet Sounds wraps after 27 sessions. … In May, Brian begins writing songs with lyricist Van Dyke Parks. … Pet Sounds is released on July 27 to gushing reviews, but stalls at No. 10. … In August, Brian begins recording Smile (originally titled Dumb Angel); these sessions overlap with recording of the single "Good Vibrations." … Brian installs a sandbox in his house and puts a grand piano in it. … Nov. 28 is regarded as the day where the Smile sessions begin to come apart — the other Beach Boys, especially Love, express displeasure with the abstract music and obtuse lyrics; they record "Mrs. O'Leary's Cow," commonly called "Fire"; a few days later, Brian thinks the session caused a spate of fires that have broken out in the area. … Smile's Christmas release date passes and the LP is nowhere near completion.
1967: In May, after 85 studio sessions, Smile is scrapped; two weeks later, Brian begins re-recording some Smile-era songs in drastically simplified fashion for an album to be titled Smiley Smile … In June, the Beach Boys are no-shows at the Monterey Pop Festival, even though Brian is a member of the board. … In July, "Heroes and Villains," originally part of Smile, is released nine months after "Good Vibrations" reached No. 1 (the new single peaks at No. 12). In September, Smiley Smile comes out and stalls at No. 41.
1968: Brian sequesters himself in his home studio and works on sessions for the albums Friends and 20/20. … Friends is released on June 24, but stops at No. 124, the Beach Boys' worst sales performance to date.
1969: In April, the Beach Boys sue Capitol for $2 million in back royalties (it later settles out of court). … In July, the Capitol deal expires with the band owing the label one album; they sign to Reprise/Warner Bros. in November for $250,000 per album. … Without the band's knowledge, Murry Wilson sells the copyrights of songs written by Brian and Mike for $700,000 (today's value: $25 million).
1970: The band submits the Sunflower LP to Reprise in February, but the label rejects it — twice. After considerable retooling, it comes out in August, gets good reviews, but peaks at No. 151.
1971: Sessions for Landlocked begin in January. … In June, Brian agrees to let Carl and a collaborator finish the song "Surf's Up," a centerpiece of the Smile sessions. It becomes the title song for the new album, which is released in August and climbs to No. 29.
1972: Brian becomes less and less involved in Beach Boys recordings. … He writes "Sail on Sailor" with Van Dyke Parks. … The band moves its studio operations to the Netherlands. … After three failed attempts, Brian gets on a plane and flies there. … He does most of his studio work late at night, alone. … In September, Reprise rejects the album Holland, but changes its mind after "Sail on Sailor" is added.
1973: Holland is released on Jan. 8, and reaches No. 36. … On June 4, Murry dies of a heart attack at age 56. … Brian retires to his four-poster bed in his Bel-Air home and stays there intermittently for more than two years; he plays the Ronettes' "Be My Baby" up to a 100 times a day.
1974: The Endless Summer hits package is released and becomes a huge hit, allowing the Beach Boys, sans Brian, to become a major concert draw. … In October, the band convenes at Caribou Ranch studio in Colorado, but Brian abruptly returns home.
1975: Set to sign a solo deal with RCA, Brian goes into an L.A. studio to work on some music. Discovering that Elvis Presley is recording in an adjacent studio, he barges in, doesn't introduce himself and asks The King if he'd like to hear some of his new stuff. After playing a few tracks, Brain asks Elvis if he thinks they're any good. "Nah," Elvis replies, and leaves. An onlooker doesn't think Elvis ever knew it was Brian Wilson. … In April, Stanley Love, Mike's brother, is hired to be Brian's fulltime caretaker. … In September, Brian's wife, Marilyn, approaches high-profile shrink Dr. Eugene Landy to treat Brian.
1976: Under Landy's care, Brian gets healthier and takes a lead role in recording 15 Big Ones, which is little more than a glorified oldies album. … In May, the Beach Boys' remake of Chuck Berry's "Rock 'n' Roll Music" is released and goes to No. 5. … 15 Big Ones reaches No. 8. … In November, Brian appears on NBC's Saturday Night Live backed by the studio orchestra (producer Lorne Michaels insists that he perform solo, which rankles the other Beach Boys). … Landy is fired for a variety of reasons, but mostly because his $10,000 a month fee has doubled.
1979: In January, Brian's divorce from Marilyn is finalized.
1982: Brian is officially sacked from the Beach Boys lineup. … Carl plans to get him back in Landy's care.
1983: Brian flies to Hawaii to start treatment with Landy. … Secretary of the Interior James Watt bans the Beach Boys from the annual Independence Day festivities in Washington, D.C., saying he doesn't want the "wrong element." … Dennis Wilson drowns while swimming in Marina del Rey at age 39.
1986: Landy initiates a Brian Wilson solo project.
1987: The solo project is wiped out by Landy's interference.
1988: The Beach Boys are inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame on Jan. 20. … In August, Brian's self-titled solo debut is released and yields mediocre sales. … Meanwhile, the Beach Boys single "Kokomo" goes to No. 1.
1989: Brian brings suit to recover the publishing rights that Murry sold in '69.
1991: Brian's autobiography, Wouldn't It Be Nice: My Own Story, is published.
1992: Brian's relationship with Landy is dissolved in January. … Brian settles his lost copyright suit for $10 million; Mike Love sues Brian for royalties and credit on 30 songs he claims he contributed to. … In August, Summer in Paradise, the first Beach Boys album with no contribution from Brian, is released and fails to chart. … In December, Landy is hit with a restraining order for interference in Brian's life. He moves to Hawaii.
1993: The boxed set Good Vibrations: 30 Years of the Beach Boys is released to rave reviews and robust sales.
1994: Brian performs at a tribute concert for him in Santa Monica; he's impressed with a band called The Wondermints, members of which will go on to make up the core of his band. … Brian settles his suit with Love, who gets $5 million and future royalties.
1995: Orange Crate Art, an album that features songs by Van Dyke Parks and vocals by Brian, is released. An odd little curio, it's largely ignored. … Brian marries his second wife, Melinda.
1997: A Pet Sounds boxed set is released, including a stereo remix, outtakes, and separate rhythm and vocal tracks. … Audree Wilson, mother of Brian, Dennis and Carl, dies on Dec. 1. … Carl is diagnosed with lung cancer.
1998: Carl dies on Feb. 6 at age 51. … Brian's second solo album, Imagination, is released and tops out at No. 88. … He embarks on his first solo tour, backed by The Wondermints.
2000: Pet Sounds is officially acknowledged as a gold record. … Brian takes his Pet Sounds tour around the country; it rarely sells out and loses hundreds of thousands of dollars.
2002: Brian releases Pet Sounds Live and Beach Boys Classics Selected by Brian Wilson. … In September, at Paul McCartney's request, he performs at the Open Hearts Clear Mines benefit, the pet project of McCartney's wife.
2003: Northeastern University in Boston awards Brian an honorary doctorate. … In the fall, Brian and Parks complete the resuscitated Smile.
2004: On Feb. 20, the "Brian Wilson Presents Smile" tour kicks off at Royal Festival Hall in London. … The same-titled CD is released on Sept. 28. … Smile tour slated for Tampa Bay Performing Arts Center on Oct. 21.
Sources: The Beach Boys: The Definitive Diary of America's Greatest Band on Stage and in the Studio, by Keith Badman, and "BBTimeline" at www.btinternet.com/~bellagio/ bbtimeline.html
This article appears in Oct 20-26, 2004.