Good Vibrations: Surf City honors Beach Boy Brian Wilson with paddle out
His legacy and contribution to the surf community brought about 150 surfers to the north side of the Huntington Beach pier Saturday morning to paddle out in memory of the Beach Boys co-founder who died June 11 at the age of 82.
'The Beach Boys and Brian Wilson had a huge part in establishing what we would call the Southern California beach culture,' said emcee and world champion surfer, Peter 'PT' Townend.
A crowd of nearly 400 people gathered on the sand and on the pier overlooking the podium where Townend was joined by Kelly Miller, president and chief executive officer of Visit Huntington Beach and Dean Torrence of Jan and Dean fame, while audio speakers blared classic Beach Boys hits like 1967's 'Good Vibrations.'
'I did not personally know Brian and I did not know the Beach Boys personally but I can tell you that those harmonies, those lyrics and those crafted surf culture songs stirred my soul magically like I am sure it did all of yours,' Miller said to the crowd.
The paddle out coincided with International Surfing Day, as well as few other hallmarks highlighted by Miller.
'Ten years ago we did the world's largest surfboard, yesterday was Brian's birthday and this is the first official kick off weekend of summer,' Miller said.
In a statement issued June 18 by the Beach Boys, the band stated, 'Brian Wilson wasn't just the heart of the Beach Boys — he was the soul of our sound.'
The original band consisted of Wilson, his brothers Carl and Dennis, cousin Mike Love and neighbor Al Jardine. The Beach Boys had numerous hit songs about surf culture, including 'Surfin' Safari' and 'Surfer Girl.'
Wilson also co-wrote Jan and Dean's No. 1 hit, 'Surf City' which inspired the city of Huntington Beach's nickname, Surf City U.S.A., which the city trademarked in 1994. At the paddle out, Torrence shared his story of collaborating with Wilson on the hit song.
'Jan (Berry) and I were lucky enough to meet this wonderful songwriter and record producer in the early '60s,' Torrence said. 'We, of course, were looking for material and we said, 'Brian, why don't you write a song for Jan and Dean?' '
Wilson was working on two songs that were contenders for his next single, but they both sounded pretty similar so he was willing to part with one. The songs were 'Surfin' U.S.A' and 'Surf City' and Wilson told Torrence he was leaning toward keeping 'Surfin' U.S.A'
'He said 'If you want the other song, you can finish it, I don't care,' so we took the song,' Torrence recalled.
Berry and Torrence finished writing the song and invited Wilson to the studio once they were ready to record.
'He showed up and we did all the vocals and we thought it was pretty damn good,' said Torrence. 'Eight weeks later, it was the No. 1 song in the United States.'
Although Wilson's cause of death has not been made public, the late musician was diagnosed with dementia and placed under a conservatorship in 2024. The 2014 film, 'Love & Mercy,' chronicled Wilson's struggles with drug addition and mental health issues. The humanizing biopic was on local Huntington Beach surfer Stacey Rhineer's mind as she carried her board to the water for the paddle out.
'I saw the movie 'Love & Mercy' and that was really special to me,' said Rhineer. 'I have been listening to the Beach Boys a lot ever since, especially Brian Wilson.'
Duke Aipa, son of Hawaiian surfer and surfboard shaper Ben Aipa, began the memorial with the ceremonial blowing of the conch shell and kept the good vibrations going by leading the paddle out instruction.
'There is a little bit of a current in the water so the lifeguards are there to assist,' Aipa assured surfers before singing a Hawaiian version of the doxology, a liturgical expression of praise to God.
Surfers waded into the choppy waters, guided by Aipa with flowers in hand. The group formed a circle out in the open water before riding waves back to shore.
Fans on the sand also honored Wilson.
Huntington Beach resident Greg Carcerano said he grew up surfing in Huntington Beach in the 1960's and considers the Beach Boys music an integral part of the surf scene.
'They have always been my favorite band and I have probably seen them in concert 10 or 15 times,' Carcerano said.
Wearing a Beach Boys shirt and carrying a portable JBL speaker playing the band's music, Carcerano said he knows Beach Boy enthusiasts like himself will continue to celebrate the music Wilson gave to the world.
'Brian's legacy is that he brought joy and happiness to people through his music,' said Carcerano. 'He is going to be forever in our hearts.'
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