The Beach Boys - Becoming The Beach Boys: The Complete Hite & Dorinda Morgan Sessions (2016)

In September of 1961 Al Jardine, Brian Wilson, Carl Wilson, Dennis Wilson, and Mike Love stepped up to a microphone together for the fi rst time at the home of Hite and Dorinda Morgan to demo The Beach Boys’ first three songs. Between that September date and March 1962, before signing a seven-year contract with Capitol Records on May 24, 1962, they committed nine songs to tape under the direction of Hite and Dorinda Morgan. Some iconic, others obscure—“Surfin’,” “Luau,” "Lavender,” “Surfin’ Safari,” “Surfer Girl,” “Judy,” “Beach Boy Stomp” (aka “Karate”), “Barbie,” and “What Is A Young Girl Made Of”— Every complete take, false start, master take, and every second of studio banter during these historic recordings is gathered on this landmark collection, Becoming The Beach Boys: The Complete Hite & Dorinda Morgan Sessions. From the liner notes by Jim Murphy, author of Becoming The Beach Boys, 1961-1963: “Appropriately enough, “Surfin’,” The Beach Boys’ first effort, released in late November 1961, had its origin near the ocean. During a Saturday morning fishing trip on the Redondo Beach Pier, Mike and Dennis noted there were guitar instrumentals conjuring the feel of surfing, but no one had yet sung about it. ‘I remember Dennis and Michael going to the beach, and when they came back they were talking about making a song about surfing,’ Carl recalled. ‘That’s the first thing I remember as far as the reality of a group actually forming.’” In these 62 recordings, with over 40 tracks previously unissued, the genesis of one of the greatest vocal groups of the 20th century can be heard. The liner notes detail the origins of the band and their earliest songs, and the booklet includes photos of the early rare records drawn from these recordings, as well as tape boxes from the sessions. With a career spanning 55 years, The Beach Boys have sold more than 100 million records, charted over 80 songs worldwide, had 36 U.S. Top 40 hits, and are widely recognized as one of the most critically acclaimed and influential bands of all time. They were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1988 and the album Pet Sounds has been preserved in the National Recording Registry by the Library of Congress and inducted into the Grammy® Hall of Fame. In 2001, the group received a Grammy® Lifetime Achievement Award. “Here in these seminal recordings are the nascent Beach Boys, the premier vocal group of American popular music, and this is where it all began.”—Jim Murphy’s liner notes.