History YMMV / TheBeachBoys

** Music/MikeLove because [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iBFsJk6PWu0 it's a love th].

** Music/MikeLove because [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iBFsJk6PWu0 it's a love thang]].

** All the Wilson brothers qualify, though Carl to a slightly lesser extent while Dennis is closer to JerkAssWoobie.

** "I'm Bugged At My Ol' Man" from ''Music/SummerDaysAndSummerNights'' is the lament of a teenager who has been grounded by his father for staying out too late, with the specifics of his punishment exaggerated and PlayedForLaughs. At least, we hope they were exaggerated. It would later come out that Murry Wilson, father of three members of the band, including the song's vocalist and songwriter Music/BrianWilson, had a history of physically and emotionally abusing his sons. This makes lines like "I wish I could see outside/ but he tacked up boards on my window" seem less humorous than they were originally meant to be. Making matters worse, only Carl and Dennis join in this album to make it seem like the three brothers collectively lamenting their abusive childhood in darkly comedic fashion.

** "I'm Bugged At My Ol' Man" from ''Music/SummerDaysAndSummerNights'' is the lament of a teenager who has been grounded by his father for staying out too late, with the specifics of his punishment exaggerated and PlayedForLaughs. At least, we hope they were exaggerated. It would later come out that Murry Wilson, father of three members of the band, including the song's vocalist and songwriter Music/BrianWilson, had a history of physically and emotionally abusing his sons. This makes lines like "I wish I could see outside/ but he tacked up boards on my window" seem less humorous than they were originally meant to be.

* UncannyValley:
** The [[https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/3/30/Beach_Boys_-_Do_You_Wanna_Dance%3F.jpg sketch]] used on the Swedish picture sleeve for the single of "Do You Wanna Dance?". The band's faces look unnerving, to say the least. ''Especially'' Al Jardine's. [[https://e.snmc.io/i/1200/s/3326fc68f9282ebf1121cd32ba063e84/1248290 Here's]] the image that the sketch was based on.
** The [[https://img.discogs.com/kxY9TaPHwhtCQ5xqA1tvdow8XMg=/fit-in/600x600/filters:strip_icc():format(jpeg):mode_rgb():quality(90)/discogs-images/R-1029084-1285098794.jpeg.jpg cover]] of the Time-Life compilation ''Beach Boys: 1962-1967''. The band's faces were obviously sourced from another picture, slapped on top of their bodies and very poorly retouched, resulting in them looking ''very'' unnatural.

** Music/BrianWilson initially stopped touring with the band in 1963 as soon as Al Jardine became available again, as he disliked performing live. This led to a period where both Al and his replacement David Marks were in the band, ending after a few months when David Marks quit due to his dislike of Murry Wilson. Brian was thus forced to return to the touring band, only for him to leave again in 1964 when he had a breakdown, when he was replaced initially by Glen Campbell, and for the long term by Music/BruceJohnston. Biographers often forget (or don't know about) the first time he left, but it is significant for two reasons: one that Brian's problems started far earlier than he's credited with, and the other being that Marks and Jardine played in the same band (which they wouldn't do again till Carl Wilson having to leave the band due to illness in the 90s).

* RescuedFromTheScrappyHeap: Music/MikeLove and Music/AlJardine on ''Music/{{Holland}}''; Mike penned "Big Sur", and Al penned "The Beaks of Eagles" and "California". All three of these songs are sublimely beautiful, melancholy, and poetic. The same can be said about Bruce Johnston with "Tears in the Morning" on ''Music/{{Sunflower}}'', "Disney Girls (1957)" on ''Music/SurfsUp'', and even the {{Instrumental}} "The Nearest Faraway Place" on ''Music/TwentyTwenty''.

* RescuedFromTheScrappyHeap: Music/MikeLove and Al Jardine on ''Music/{{Holland}}''; Mike penned "Big Sur", and Al penned "The Beaks of Eagles" and "California". All three of these songs are sublimely beautiful, melancholy, and poetic. The same can be said about Bruce Johnston with "Tears in the Morning" on ''Music/{{Sunflower}}'', "Disney Girls (1957)" on ''Music/SurfsUp'', and even the {{Instrumental}} "The Nearest Faraway Place" on ''Music/TwentyTwenty''.

* TooCoolToLive: Dennis and Carl Wilson, noted for making some of the best creative contributions to the band outside of Brian's involvement and for dying prematurely.

** In concert in the 80s, they had such different styles of dress that you'd be forgiven for wondering if they were actually a band and not just a random group of people playing Beach Boys songs. Mike and Bruce Johnston often dressed like they were on a golf outing, Al would wear Hawaiian shirts, Carl would often wear a suit, while Brian would wear sleeveless denim shirts.

* CreatorWorship: Brian Wilson is often hailed as the singular genius of the Beach Boys, one of the most acclaimed artists of the 20th century, and the main reason why they could be considered rivals to Music/TheBeatles.

** Carl went from an originally just the lead guitar player in the shadow of Brian and Mike to eventually becoming regarded as the band's best singer.

** [[https://youtu.be/oZSAQX2uuUY?t=227 Mike Love's infamous acceptance speech]] at the 1988 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony. Carl Wilson was so horrified that he handed his award over to musical director Paul Shaffer and said, "Our career is over".

* CreatorWorship: Brian Wilson is often hailed as the singular genius of the Beach Boys, one of the most acclaimed artists of the 20th century, and the main reason why they could be considered rivals to ''Music/TheBeatles''

** The [[https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/3/30/Beach_Boys_-_Do_You_Wanna_Dance%3F.jpg sketch]] used on the Swedish picture sleeve for the single of "Do You Wanna Dance?". The band's faces look unnerving, to say the least. ''Especially'' Al Jardine's.

** In short, the Beach Boys slowly went from one of the most critically acclaimed rock acts of all time to industry laughingstocks and back again, and is presumed to be the reason why so many Beach Boys fans ''deeply'' resent Mike Love. While the albums that came after ''Pet Sounds'' and before ''15 Big Ones'' went on to become cult classics ([[BrokenBase again, YMMV on]] ''[[BrokenBase Love You]]''), people prefer to forget about anything they did after that. However, they finally climbed out of the dork age with the well-recieved 2012 reunion album ''That's Why God Made the Radio''. Unfortunately, [[HappyEndingOverride this victory was short-lived,]] as Brian, Al, and David Marks (who re-joined for the reunion after decades of absence) were kicked out of the band by Mike Love, and the Beach Boys went back to being a live band.

* BaseBreakingCharacter: Mike Love is often criticised for turning the group into an oldies act in the 80s. He's still at it to this day, while excluding Brian and Al from the lineup.

** Dennis Wilson, transitioning from pretty-boy drummer to highly sophisticated songwriter in nothing flat.

** A comedy sketch "'Cassius' Love Vs. 'Sonny' Wilson" from ''Shut Down Volume Two'', has Mike Love and Brian Wilson engaged in a mock-insult war in the studio. Later on, Mike would sue Brian for publishing royalties and song credits over songs with lyrics Mike wrote, after Brian got control of his '60's publishing company back.

** Mike Love because [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iBFsJk6PWu0 it's a love thang]].

** Brian initially stopped touring with the band in 1963 as soon as Al Jardine became available again, as he disliked performing live. This led to a period where both Al and his replacement David Marks were in the band, ending after a few months when David Marks quit due to his dislike of Murry Wilson. Brian was thus forced to return to the touring band, only for him to leave again in 1964 when he had a breakdown, when he was replaced initially by Glen Campbell, and for the long term by Bruce Johnston. Biographers often forget (or don't know about) the first time he left, but it is significant for two reasons: one that Brian's problems started far earlier than he's credited with, and the other being that Marks and Jardine played in the same band (which they wouldn't do again till Carl Wilson having to leave the band due to illness in the 90s).
* RescuedFromTheScrappyHeap: Mike Love and Al Jardine on ''Music/{{Holland}}''; Mike penned "Big Sur", and Al penned "The Beaks of Eagles" and "California". All three of these songs are sublimely beautiful, melancholy, and poetic. The same can be said about Bruce Johnston with "Tears in the Morning" on ''Music/{{Sunflower}}'', "Disney Girls (1957)" on ''Music/SurfsUp'', and even the {{Instrumental}} "The Nearest Faraway Place" on ''Music/TwentyTwenty''.

** Brian Wilson rapidly withdrew from the band from that point on, and his brothers, Carl and Dennis Wilson, rapidly took over leading the band for him as their songwriting abilities grew. This led to some cult-classics like ''Wild Honey'' and ''Sunflower'' [[SugarWiki/AwesomeMusic (the latter being considered to be one of the Boys' greatest albums)]]. Unfortunately, they were never able to achieve the same commercial success as their 1960s hits, nor did their albums come close to being as critically revered as ''Pet Sounds''.

** Mike Love's a legend when it comes to clothing, particularly his [[http://smileysmile.net/board/index.php/topic,1990.msg116121.html#msg116121 many hats]].

** Murry Wilson has become a figure of BileFascination for some fans, centering around his drunken ramblings on the "Help Me, Rhonda" recording session tapes ("Brian, I'm a genius too") and his own corny music (which some listeners feel has a certain amount of NarmCharm). There's the [[http://www.peterbagge.com/baggeextras/swfs/MurryWilson1.swf animated series]] ''Murry Wilson: Rock 'n' Roll Dad'', and indie musician George Faulkner has recorded a whole album of previously lost Murry songs.

** ''Summer in Paradise'', the band's only album not to involve Brian Wilson and which cemented their reputation as a washed-up act trying to coast by on [[NostalgiaFilter selling nostalgia back to their original fans]] and failing to appeal to children with [[WereStillRelevantDammit out-of-touch musical trends]] like {{piss take rap}}ping and synth-heavy pop production, was released one month after Music/BarenakedLadies' ''Gordon'', the debut of a young, new band (who'd later become popular for their dorky raps) and one of the earliest albums of [[AlternativeRock a genre that]] ''[[AlternativeRock was]]'' [[AlternativeRock popular and growing in popularity at the time]], and which features both one song about Brian Wilson ("Brian Wilson") and another about a washed-up pop star struggling to keep their career afloat with nostalgic rebranding and shameless trend-riding ("Box Set"). And it leads the new band to a long, prosperous and highly respected career while the old one shoots itself in the foot with their album a month later, ending their good reputation forever. It's both eerily prophetic and kind of meta.

** The constant association with Creator/JohnStamos due to Stamos infamously covering "Forever" on the equally hated ''Summer in Paradise''. Although this can be more applicable these days to Mike Love since Stamos tends to appear in his solo stuff, in particular with his ''Unleash the Love'' album.

** However, in the mid-to-late-80s, the band managed to briefly propel themselves back into relevancy with their 1988 hit single "Kokomo", which was famously featured in the Creator/TomCruise movie ''Film/{{Cocktail}}''. It reached No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100, although fans are very mixed on the song. Mike Love, in an attempt to make lightning strike twice, spearheaded production for their 1992 album ''Summer in Paradise'' (their first and only album without ''any'' involvement from Brian Wilson whatsoever), intended by Love to be "the quintessential soundtrack of summer". It was promoted with the band guest-appearing on the popular sitcom ''Series/FullHouse'' (with one of the actors from the show, John Stamos, singing a reworked version of "Forever" on the album) and performing the album's lead single, "Summer of Love", on the action drama series ''Series/{{Baywatch}}''. Despite the band's best efforts, the album bombed spectacularly (selling only around 10,000 copies ever, though the actual sales number is rumored to be ''even less''), killed the band's comeback in its tracks, and went on to be regarded as the band's worst album, with even Love appearing to disown it in the decades since its release.

* GrowingTheBeard: ''The Beach Boys Today!'', particularly the second side. The upward trend culminated with the incomplete ''Music/{{Smile}}'' and Music/BrianWilson's breakdown. Depending on how you look at it, they either subsequently went through a DorkAge, or the other members grew their own beards (figuratively and literally. Though Bruce Johnston only grew a mustache).

* DorkAge:
** By 1966, the Beach Boys were regarded as one of the top innovators of pop music [[GermansLoveDavidHasselhoff (albeit mostly in the UK)]] with the release of their revolutionary album ''Music/PetSounds''. Music/BrianWilson intended to follow up with an album called ''Music/{{SMiLE}}''. [[TroubledProduction Long story short,]] the project fell apart due to a multitude of factors (a few of which include Brian's rapidly declining mental health at the time and, depending on who you ask, Mike Love) and a stripped-down version called ''Music/SmileySmile'' was released in its place, to the disappointment of many (although the album has since been VindicatedByHistory), and [[CreatorBreakdown it all went downhill from there.]]
** Brian Wilson rapidly withdrew from the band from that point on, and his brothers, Carl and Dennis Wilson, rapidly took over leading the band for him as their songwriting abilities grew. This led to some cult-classics like ''Wild Honey'' and ''Sunflower'' [[SugarWiki/AwesomeMusic (the latter being considered to be one of the Boys' greatest albums)]]. Unfortunately, they were never able to achieve the same commercial success as their 1960s hits, nor did their albums come close to being as critically revered as ''Pet Sounds''.
** By 1971, Brian had almost completely withdrawn his involvement in the band, and by 1973, Carl and Dennis's leadership diminished due to substance abuse and Dennis's struggling battle with his own inner demons. In 1974, their original label Capitol Records released ''Endless Summer'', a compilation of their old hits which quickly became one of the best-selling albums of the 70s, easily outselling their other 70s efforts, and cementing the band's status as an oldies band. To ride off of this, an attempt was made to bring Brian back to the band's forefront in 1976, which included making him tour with the Beach Boys again (he previously quit touring with them in 1965 due to mental health issues) and produce several more albums. The result was the underwhelming ''15 Big Ones'', the [[BrokenBase divisive]] ''The Beach Boys Love You'', and the [[KeepCirculatingTheTapes unreleased]] ''Adult/Child''. Brian quickly receded back into the background as it quickly became clear that he was in no shape to continue touring or produce anymore Beach Boys albums, and spent the remainder of the 70s and most of the 80s undergoing therapy by the [[ControlFreak infamous]] [[PsychoPsychologist Eugene Landy]].
** At this point, Mike Love has taken role of the leader, and many fans agree that the band quickly went downhill under his leadership. Throughout this period, the Boys released a series of increasingly hated and poorly selling albums [[WereStillRelevantDammit (including a thinly-veiled attempt at catering to the disco crowd during the disco backlash)]], while their 1960s chart-toppers (with occasional songs from ''Pet Sounds'') dominated their live set to attract the nostalgic crowd. The death of Dennis Wilson in 1983 also served to be a serious blow to the band. Their reputation rapidly declined further, and by the end of the 70s, the Beach Boys were looked down upon by the mainstream as a [[AccidentalPun washed-up]] oldies band.
** However, in the mid-to-late-80s, the band managed to briefly propel themselves back into relevancy with their 1988 hit single "Kokomo", which was famously featured in the Creator/TomCruise movie ''Film/{{Cocktail}}''. It reached No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100, although fans are very mixed on the song. Mike Love, in an attempt to make lightning strike twice, spearheaded production for their 1992 album ''Summer in Paradise'' (their first and only album without ''any'' involvement from Brian Wilson whatsoever), intended by Love to be "the quintessential soundtrack of summer". It was promoted with the band guest-appearing on the popular sitcom ''Series/FullHouse'' (with one of the actors from the show, John Stamos, singing a reworked version of "Forever" on the album) and performing the album's lead single, "Summer of Love", on the action drama series ''Series/{{Baywatch}}''. Despite the band's best efforts, the album bombed spectacularly (selling only around 10,000 copies ever, though the actual sales number is rumored to be ''[[UpToEleven even less]]''), killed the band's comeback in its tracks, and went on to be regarded as the band's worst album, with even Love appearing to disown it in the decades since its release.
** The band attempted to follow up with a cover album of old Beach Boys songs sung by country singers, this time with Brian Wilson's (who was recently separated from Landy and administered proper treatment for his mental illnesses) involvement, albeit with little input from him. The result was ''Stars and Stripes Vol. 1'', which was a critical and commercial failure, failing to break the Billboard 200. [[FranchiseKiller Any further Beach Boys projects were shelved indefinitely]], [[FromBadToWorse and to put a cherry on top]]: Carl Wilson, often regarded as the band's best singer, died two years after the album's release. The band limped through the 2000s as a live band while Al Jardine and Brian Wilson distanced themselves from the Beach Boys (leaving Mike as the only founding member left in the band), the latter went on to have a successful solo career ([[SavedFromDevelopmentHell including the completion and release of the long awaited]] ''[[SavedFromDevelopmentHell SMiLE]]''.)
** In short, the Beach Boys slowly went from one of the most critically acclaimed rock acts of all time to industry laughingstocks and back again, and is presumed to be the reason why so many Beach Boys fans ''deeply'' resent Mike Love. While the albums that came after ''Pet Sounds'' and before ''15 Big Ones'' went on to become cult classics ([[BrokenBase again, YMMV on]] ''[[BrokenBase Love You]]''), people prefer to forget about anything they did after that. However, they finally climbed out of the dork age with the well-recieved 2012 reunion album ''That's Why God Made the Radio''. Unfortunately, [[HappyEndingOverride this victory was short-lived,]] as Brian, Al, and David Marks (who re-joined for the reunion after decades of absence) were kicked out of the band by Mike Love, and the Beach Boys went back to being a live band.

* SeasonalRot: After ''Music/PetSounds'', though their early '70s albums have been VindicatedByHistory.

* FunnyAneurysmMoment:
** A comedy sketch "'Cassius' Love Vs. 'Sonny' Wilson" from ''Shut Down Volume Two'', has Mike Love and Brian Wilson engaged in a mock-insult war in the studio. Later on, Mike would sue Brian for publishing royalties and song credits over songs with lyrics Mike wrote, after Brian got control of his '60's publishing company back.
** "I'm Bugged At My Ol' Man" from ''Music/SummerDaysAndSummerNights'' is the lament of a teenager who has been grounded by his father for staying out too late, with the specifics of his punishment exaggerated and PlayedForLaughs. At least, we hope they were exaggerated. It would later come out that Murry Wilson, father of three members of the band, including the song's vocalist and songwriter Music/BrianWilson, had a history of physically and emotionally abusing his sons. This makes lines like "I wish I could see outside/ but he tacked up boards on my window" seem less humorous than they were originally meant to be.
** 1988's "Kokomo", with its references to Caribbean vacation-paradise islands, lost some of its charm when Montserrat ("...that Montserrat mystique...") was economically and geographically devastated by the Soufriere Hills volcano in the '90s.
*** Aruba, the very first place mentioned in the lyrics, is now best known to Americans for the [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Natalee_Holloway Natalee Holloway]] disappearance.
** Early pressings of the ''All Summer Long'' album mis-labeled the song "Don't Back Down" as "Don't ''Break'' Down". Took on a whole new meaning with Brian's deteriorating mental and emotional state as the '60s progressed.
** "Spring Vacation", a track from ''That's Why God Made the Radio", is a song about the band's joy at making music together again and leaving their old feuds behind them, which can be pretty depressing when you know that those feuds would start up again almost immediately.

* HarsherInHindsight

** To be a Beach Boys fan can mean many things. Some fans' interest begins with ''Pet Sounds'' while others prefer the catchier early hits and don't have ''Pet Sounds'' or ''[=SMiLE=]'' on their radar at all, except perhaps "Wouldn't It Be Nice" and "Good Vibrations". Such were the many distinct phases of the band, it's understandable.

** "Caroline, No" sparked speculation that Brian was secretly planning to leave the group because he was the only voice on the track.

** [[https://youtu.be/oZSAQX2uuUY?t=227 Mike Love's infamous acceptance speech]] at the 1988 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony. Carl Wilson was so horrified that he handed his award over to one of the performers and said "Our career is over".

** "Bluebirds Over The Mountain" (#61 US; #9 Netherlands)

** ''Summer In Paradise'', the band's only album not to involve Brian Wilson and which cemented their reputation as a washed-up act trying to coast by on [[NostalgiaFilter selling nostalgia back to their original fans]] and failing to appeal to children with [[WereStillRelevantDammit out-of-touch musical trends]] like {{piss take rap}}ping and synth-heavy pop production, was released one month after Music/BarenakedLadies' ''Gordon'', the debut of a young, new band (who'd later become popular for their dorky raps) and one of the earliest albums of [[AlternativeRock a genre that]] ''[[AlternativeRock was]]'' [[AlternativeRock popular and growing in popularity at the time]], and which features both one song about Brian Wilson ("Brian Wilson") and another about a washed-up pop star struggling to keep their career afloat with nostalgic rebranding and shameless trend-riding ("Box Set"). And it leads the new band to a long, prosperous and highly respected career while the old one shoots itself in the foot with their album a month later, ending their good reputation forever. It's both eerily prophetic and kind of meta.