David Lee Marks is best known for his work as a member of The Beach Boys. Growing up across the street from the Wilson family, Marks spent his formative years singing and playing with Brian, Dennis, and Carl Wilson.
Thirteen-year-old Marks officially joined The Beach Boys in February 1962 and became one of the five signatories on the band’s recording contract with Capitol Records. He remained a member through October 1963, performing in over 100 concerts across the United States, appearing on national television, and playing rhythm guitar and singing on the band’s first four albums, and on hits like “Surfin’ Safari,” “409,” “Surfin’ U.S.A.,” “Shut Down,” “Surfer Girl,” “In My Room,” and “Be True to Your School.” While David's time in the band may be considered short, there's no denying the impact of the early years of the Beach Boys on their enduring and iconic legacy.
In 2007, David co-wrote his autobiography, The Lost Beach Boy, with Beach Boys historian Jon Stebbins. The book is a frank account of his career with and without the Beach Boys, his health problems, his musical development, and his recovery and acceptance within the Beach Boys community.
The Beach Boys celebrated their 50th Anniversary in 2012 when David Marks joined Brian Wilson, Mike Love, Al Jardine, and Bruce Johnston on a 73-date World Tour. The highly anticipated reunion kicked-off at the 54th Annual Grammy Awards where they performed two classic hits: Surfer Girl (with Foster the People) and Good Vibrations
(with Maroon 5).
David Marks toured as a part time member of Mike Love's Beach Boys from 2014 - 2016 and continues to perform with the Surf City All Stars and Dean Torrence of Jan & Dean. David's also returned to his roots as a session guitarist, playing on several albums by artists such as the Smithereens, the Surf City All Stars, Mod Hippie, Jez Graham, and
Miami Dan.
The Lost
Beach Boy
The true story of Beach Boy David Marks, the previously unknown founding member
available
at
amazon.com
D A V I D M A R K S
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Mike Love
is the high-spirited singer, songwriter and founding member for perhaps
the greatest and most cherished rock bands in the U.S.A., The Beach Boys. Since the group’s inception in 1961, Mike Love has been The Beach Boy’s quintessence lyricist and showman.
The Beach Boys will be performing at Tampa’s Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino on July 18th at 8:30 p.m.,
as part of the Hard Rock Heatwave summer event promotion. Tickets for
the 21and over concert are $69 and available through Ticketmaster
outlets, the Hard Rock Store inside the casino at 5223 Orient Rd, or charge by phone at 1-800-745-3000. Visit the Seminole Hard Rock Tampa official website at www.seminolehardrocktampa.com.
The Beach Boys founding member Mike Love and longtime keyboardist & vocalist Bruce Johnston, who joined in 1965, will be accompanied by a group of incredible musicians including Love’s son Christian Love on guitars, Randell Kirsch (bass guitar & vocals), Tim Bonhomme (keyboards & vocals), John Cowsill (drums &vocals) and Scott Totten (musical director, guitar, vocals). John Cowsill was also the drummer for the group that inspired The Partridge Family … The Cowsills.
Brian Wilson, Al Jardine and David Marks will be taking their own lineup on the road for a separate summer tour in 2013. The Beach Boys history:In 1961, the three brothers -- The oldest Brian, Carl and Dennis Wilson - were joined by their cousin, Mike Love, and schoolmate, Alan Jardine (who was replaced by David Marks, before rejoining). The Pendletones changed their name to The Beach Boys and celebrated their first hit song called "Surfin'" on the local airwaves in their home state of California. The tune was co-written by Mike Love.
Surfin' Safari their first album with Capitol Records reached #32 on the Billboard Album's chart the following year. "Surfin' Safari" became their first Top 20 hit.
In 1963, "Surfin'U.S.A." became the Beach Boys' first top 5 hit. The Surfin' U.S.A. album became their first Gold-certified album hitting #2 on Billboard's charts.
The Beach Boys released two more albums that same year (Surfer Girl,Little Deuce Coupe) and again reached Gold- certified status.
After President Kennedy was assassinated on November 22nd, Brian Wilson and Mike Love wrote "The Warmth of the Sun" as a musical reaction to the tragedy on the following day.
The Beach Boys began touring outside the United States in January of 1964. The Beatles
first shows in America were on February 9th at The Ed Sullivan Theater
and first live appearance at the Washington Coliseum in D.C. on February
11th of 1964.
Also in 1964, "I Get Around" became The Beach Boys first #1 hit song. The Beach Boys Concert (live) became their first #1 album.
Bruce Johnston Joined The Beach Boys in 1965 replacing Glen Campbell who had been a touring member of the group while filling in for Brian Wilson.
On May 16th of 1966, The Beach Boys masterpiece- Pet Sounds was released, spawning the Top 40 hits "Wouldn't It Be Nice" and "God Only Knows." The album is still considered one of the most influential records in popular music history.
Also in 1966, one of the most expensive productions for that era, "Good Vibrations" penned by Mike Love was completed. The single became their third #1 hit and first Platinum-certified million selling single.
After going to England, The Beach Boys were declared as the only true rivals to The Beatles.
Mike Love’s spiritual pursuit for inner peace led to his lifelong
practice of Transcendental Meditation™. In February of 1968, Mike Love
accompanied The Beatles, Donovan, Mia Farrow and Prudence Farrow, on a historical pilgrimage to Rishikesh, India to attend an advanced Transcendental Meditation session at the ashram of Maharishi Yogi.
Throughout the 70's, The Beach Boys solidified themselves as
America's fun and favorite band, giving us unprecedented releases like
the double album compilation Endless Summer. Mike Love became the undisputed frontman, lead singer and MC for The Beach Boys.
Throughout the 80's and 90's, The Beach Boys headlined (4) Independence Day shows on the Washington Monument grounds.
On July 4th, 1985 they played to an afternoon crowd of an estimated one
million in Philadelphia and that evening they performed for over
750,000 people on the Mall in Washington D.C. The Beach Boys also played
at the Live Aid Concert, Farm Aid concerts, the Statue of Liberty's
100th Anniversary Salute and the Super Bowl.
“Kokomo” was
released in 1988. The catchy summertime classic was penned by John
Phillips (Mamas & the Papas), Scott McKenzie, Mike Love and Terry
Melcher. The song became a #1 hit in the U.S., Japan and Australia. It
was the only #1 hit without Brian Wilson’s contribution to the group.
The Beach Boys have sold over 100 million records worldwide and have
received more than 33 RIAA Platinum and Gold record awards. The Beach
Boys have performed more concerts than any major rock band in history.
The band was honored at the 2001 Grammy Awards, receiving The Lifetime Achievement Award from the Recording Academy.
The Very Best Of The Beach Boys: Sounds of Summer Capitol/EMI's
30-track collection of the band's biggest hits, has achieved massive
triple-platinum success with sales of more than two million copies in
the United States since its 2003 release.
Most recently The Beach Boys released their 29th studio album entitled That’s Why God Made the Radio in 2012. It was the band’s first album featuring original material since theSummer in Paradise release in 1992. The album reached #3 on Billboard’s Hot 200 chart.
The Smile Sessions Deluxe
Box Set (released in 2011) won a Grammy Award for Best Historical
Album. The award was announced at the 55th Annual Grammy Awards on
February 10th 2013.
The Beach Boys have also recently released their double disc CD, The Beach Boys Live -The 50th Anniversary Tour. An incredible compilation of Beach Boys classic hits performed live during their 50th Anniversary tour in 2012.
Also watch for the release of Made in California,
a 6-CD career retrospective Box Set premiering 60- previously
unreleased tracks and featuring more than 7 1/2 hours of music from 1961
to present day. Capitol Records target date for the release is August
27th (Available for pre-order now at amazon.com).
Mike Love is responsible for many of the lyrics, concepts and hooks on the majority of classic Beach Boys hits including … “Good Vibrations,” “Kokomo,”“Fun, Fun, Fun,” “I Get Around,”“Surfin’ Safari,”“Help Me Rhonda,”“Do It Again,” and “California Girls,” including co-authoring more than a dozen Top 10 singles within a five year period.
The Beach Boys are undeniably a National Treasure.
Love was recently recognized for his decades of dedication to an
investment in education and national service by being awarded City
Year’s “Seven Generations Award.”
He’s also been a longtime supporter of environmental causes. He created
the “Love Foundation” which supports national environmental and
educational initiatives. Love is a member of the Board of Directors of
the Incline Academy in Incline Village, Nevada and responsible for
raising over one million dollars to benefit the school.
Mike Love is happily married with eight children and spends time between his homes in Southern California and Lake Tahoe.
Here’s my recent interview with The Beach Boys legendary singer, songwriter, and humanitarian … MIKE LOVE. Ray Shasho: Hey Mike, thanks for being on the call, are you in California today? Mike Love: “Actually I’m in Incline Village, Nevada
at Lake Tahoe. I have a house in the High Sierra’s looking over
beautiful Lake Tahoe which is twenty- six miles long or something like
that … maybe it was twenty- six miles across the sea, Santa Catalina is
a-waitin’ for me (Lyric by The Four Preps). Anyway its gorgeous here, a
beautiful day and couldn’t be nicer.” Ray Shasho: The Beach Boys had a couple gigs recently in California and the band actually played a few days ago in Saratoga? Mike Love: “Exactly, Saratoga was a phenomenal
concert. First of all it’s a beautiful setting; second of all it was
sold-out, third of all the audience response was spectacular. It was so
fantastic, there was mom and dad’s up front dancing with their children.
There was a little girl about six or seven years old just bopping
around on every song, sixteen and seventeen year old girls, and then
senior citizens, just all ages having a blast. The night before and
Saturday night we did a show at the San Diego County Fair in Del Mar, at
the fairgrounds, and there was about twelve thousand people there.
Before that we were out in the desert at a casino out near Palm Springs
and that was sold-out, then Thursday night we were in Chumash at an
Indian Casino up in Santa Barbara, California and that was sold-out in
advance. So we’ve had a really great run lately and were looking forward
to coming to Florida. We always do like Florida …it’s like the third
best state in the country. We like California and Hawaii and then
Florida (All laughing).” Ray Shasho: This will be The Beach Boys first appearance at the Seminole Hard Rock in Tampa? Mike Love: “It is. We’ve played the Hard Rock over
in Hollywood. We’ve also played at the Hard Rock in Orlando but it was
more of a private thing. I love playing the Hard Rock’s; they’ve got a
great stage, great lighting, great sound, and not so humongous, its more
intimate, so we love playing theaters and clubs where the audience has a
really good chance to see and hear the group and where the acoustics
are good. I like it when we can hear what we’re doing. Originally when
we started out we did our shows on sound systems that were engineered to
announce wrestling matches (Laughing). Between 1961 through 63 it was
really basic, but then all of a sudden rock and roll became big
business, companies sprouted up and created really nice sound systems. I
think between The Beach Boys, The Beatles, The Rolling Stones and
innumerable acts after that … rock music became a huge economic force.” Ray Shasho: In today’s age, the business of music has become way stronger than the art of music? Mike Love: “We came from the 60’s era, when we
started and made so many hits. The song value from the 60’s was so darn
good, you’ve got The Beatles, The Beach Boys, all of Motown and plenty
of other people too … amazing records, amazing songs. Sometimes there
are different phases that music goes though and the public appreciates
depending on their age and all that. We’re very fortunate to be able to
do a body of work that has lasted 50 years now and multiple of
generations love The Beach Boys and we love doing those songs in places
big and small, far and wide.” Ray Shasho: Happy belated 50th anniversary by the way. Mike Love: “It’s the 50th anniversary of “Surfin’ U.S.A.” how about that? Ray Shasho: Mike, I’m originally from the Washington D.C.
area, so every Fourth of July, I still hold fond memories of those
traditional Beach Boys concerts on the National Mall grounds. Mike Love: “We think about that too every July Fourth … why aren’t we doing D.C. again?” Ray Shasho: I also attended Baltimore Bullets basketball
games at the Civic Center back in the early 70’s and remember watching
your brother Stan Love playing power forward. Mike Love: “That’s true and with the Lakers for a
little while, he’s buddies with Pat Riley. As a matter of fact Pat Riley
along with my nephew Kevin Love (Minnesota Timberwolves) came to our
show in Spain last year on our 50th tour. It was so nice; he invited us
to a game whenever we were down in Miami. He hung out with my brother
Stan back in the day when they were playing together.” Ray Shasho: You’ve got the NBA in your blood, you must be good at playing ball? Mike Love: “Those guys are the basketball players; I
was a long distance runner in school. I was preparing to do long
distance with The Beach Boys (Laughing).” Ray Shasho: Mike, who were some of the acts that got you interested in music and wanting to start your own band? Mike Love: “Number one is Chuck Berry, number two, a
number of doo-wop groups, but I also liked The Kingston Trio, as a
matter of fact our song “Sloop John B” was originally recorded by The
Kingston Trio. A lot of guitars were bought to emulate The Kingston
Trio. I bought one too and so did Al Jardine one of the other group
members. But I really loved R&B, the blues, rock and roll … Jerry
Lee Lewis, Fats Domino, Little Richard and all those really raw
energetic rock and roll tunes. Of course Elvis has some great stuff too.
The Everly Brothers were a big influence on us because their blend was
so great. Brian and I used to sing the Everly Brothers style all the
time.” Ray Shasho: The Beach Boys had a mutual admiration relationship with The Beatles, did you know Elvis Presley? Mike Love: “Yea, we met Elvis a couple of times.
Once we did a recording session out in Hollywood and he was in the next
studio over. We were talking with him about touring because he was
getting ready to go back out of retirement and go on tour. Then another
time we caught up to him at the Hilton Hotel in Las Vegas. Yea, he was a
really nice man, couldn’t be nicer, a guy’s guy you know? He was Elvis
all the way.” Ray Shasho: I recently had an interesting metaphysical
conversation with Dave Davies of The Kinks. You’ve studied
Transcendental Meditation for years; do you still continue to meditate
regularly? Mike Love: “I did it this morning and will do it
again this evening. What Maharishi teaches in Transcendental Meditation
is to be on twice a day, in the morning and in the evening before meals.
What it does is you’re able to drop your metabolism at a level of rest
twice as deep as sleep. Profoundly relaxing and restful and gives you
more clarity and energy and helps you rebound and not overreact to
stressful situations. So it’s really valuable. Especially the energy
part, like if you’re feeling a little tired you sit and meditate for
awhile, it doesn’t replace sleep but it does help repair the fatigue
that comes from lack of sleep and or from stressful situations. It’s
really been a huge benefit to me over the years; let’s see I learned in
the summer of 1967 from Maharishi in Paris and so did several of the
group members.” Ray Shasho: What is the fourth dimension of consciousness? Mike Love: “With TM you have the waking state of
consciousness which everybody is familiar with, the dreaming state of
consciousness which most people are also familiar with, deep sleep and
unless you’re an insomniac you’re going to experience that too. With TM
there’s a fourth major state of consciousness, you can call it
Transcendental consciousness if you like. You’re alert but at a deeper
level mentally and physically when you reach that level through the
procedure that you’re taught. Yea, it’s a different level of
consciousness, I would say.” Ray Shasho: Mike, are all the lawsuits done? Mike Love: “Yea, that’s way in the past. It had to
be done because I was cheated on songs that I had co-written with Brian
and it just needed to be rectified.” Ray Shasho: Did you receive all the writing credits you were seeking? Mike Love: “Yea, for the most part.” Ray Shasho: You wrote all the lyrics to “Good Vibrations”? Mike Love: “Yea exactly, I wrote all the lyrics and the chorus line. (Mike Love started singing) … “I’m pickin’ up good vibrations; she’s giving me the excitations… Yea, so I came up with that and … Round round get around I get around
… I wrote the majority of the words there and a lot of songs. Brian and
I had a great songwriting partnership and on this last 50th anniversary
album it was great to work with all the guys together, it’s called That’s Why God Made the Radio.
The unfortunate part was I wasn’t able to get together and write with
Brian. It was not to be, even though we had talked earlier about getting
together and writing some songs. It just didn’t work out, which is a
drag and too bad. I do remember fondly doing all those songs. Maybe out
of the fifty top Beach Boys songs, I was probably the co-writer and
singing lead on forty of them.” Ray Shasho: That’s amazing …and you’ve always had the onstage presence of being the leader of The Beach Boys. Mike Love: “I’m the one person who has been there
since the beginning and is still there singing the leads on the majority
of the songs. There are other great singers, Brian used to sing the
high falsetto thing, he doesn’t do it anymore unfortunately. Carl was an
amazing singer; “God Only Knows” was just phenomenal. I marveled at
that every night when he sang it. Al Jardine has a great set of pipes
and a really good singer. Bruce Johnston wrote “I write the songs”
(Barry Manilow Billboard #1Hit) and won a Grammy but he also did “Disney
Girls (1957)” on our show which was on our Surf’s Up album in
1971. That’s a beautiful song; he’s got a great voice and is a great
songwriter. So we’re lucky to have all that talent in one group in all
that body of music. Capitol Records, which is part of the Universal
Music Group, is coming out with a compilation of six CD’s and there’s
going to be a new record release on it, which I wrote, that never came
out before called “Goin’ to the Beach,” and it may be a single, so we’re
going to see if we can get the single out while the weather is nice.” Ray Shasho: I loved all The Beach Boys music, but “Kokomo”
(1988) is a tune that always remains as one of my favorites. It was an
interesting joint writing effort that also includes you. Mike Love: “John Phillips of The Mamas and Papas did the melody of the verse but he didn’t have a chorus. So I came up with the chorus … (Mike Love singing) …Aruba, Jamaica ooo I wanna take you. John Phillips wrote most of the words in the first verse and I wrote the second verse. Terry Melcher wrote ooo I want to take you down to Kokomo, we’ll get there fast and then we’ll take it slow …so it was a true collaboration. It went to number one and became the largest selling single that we ever had.” Ray Shasho: That was truly amazing after all those years. Mike Love: “Twenty-two years after “Good Vibrations” went to number one. And
it is amazing …it’s a miracle (Laughing). And it’s a miracle that The
Beach Boys music is still alive and appreciated and loved by so many
millions of people all over the world. A few months ago we did Hong Kong
in a stadium after a Rugby sevens game and there was 40,000 people
there, we did Cincinnati after a Red’s game, Red’s versus Cub’s, and
there was 42,000 people there, so we’ve done some big places and have
done some not so big places, and selling out almost everywhere. We’re
looking forward to coming to Tampa.” Ray Shasho: I chatted with Mark Lindsay about Terry Melcher. Mike Love: “Terry produced Paul Revere & the
Raiders. We were good partners and friends and I really liked him.
That’s one of the sad things about life to leave that way, same thing
with Dennis and same thing with Carl, a tragedy that’s affected us as a
group. But the music goes on and as long as it’s done well, people enjoy
it and has provided a lot of pleasure and joy to millions of people … I
think that’s the real legacy of The Beach Boys.” Ray Shasho: The Beach Boys have remarkably stayed together
one way or another. And even when all the band members weren’t touring
together, you’ve managed to keep the lines of communication open. I’ve
interviewed many band members that just flat out hate each other and
will probably never talk to one another again. Mike Love: “This band started out as family, me and
my three first cousins, Brian, Dennis and Carl Wilson. There’s always
people who want to do their own thing, their own way … Brian has his own
band, Al has his and I have mine and we came together last year for a
specified number of dates, we did it and had a pretty darn good time
doing it. Now we’re back doing things … Brian’s in the studio and
working on a new album, a solo album, apparently with some guests and so
on. Then Bruce and I, John Cowsill is our drummer, and my son Christian
Love sings Carl’s parts on “Kokomo” and “Good Vibrations” so we’re out
again doing our thing and enjoying it tremendously.” Ray Shasho: Mike, I personally want to thank you and The
Beach Boys for donating monies for so many humanitarian efforts. I
understand you personally donated a large sum to Katrina victims. Mike Love: “Yes and we also did some for Hurricane
Sandy … whenever you can use your celebrity to help raise money for
necessary causes, non profit or environmental groups or whatever it may
be, I think it’s a great use of your persona and time , it’s a real
positive thing.” Ray Shasho:You received the City Year’s “Seven Generations Award” recently? Mike Love: “Yes, these are young people who
volunteer to work in troubled schools with kids who otherwise would
probably drop out. They work for a year and don’t make a lot of money
but get a little bit of support from an organization that helps place
them in these places. It’s really a good thing and there are some great
stories in that. Because I started something years ago when George Bush,
President number forty-one was in office, he started with the Points of
Light Foundation and we were the first people to respond to the Points
of Light challenge. Then we created something called ‘StarServe’ which
is ‘Students Taking Action and Responsibility to Service.’ So because of
that history and some of the other things we mentioned … support for
nonprofit groups or environmental groups, Bruce and I are advisory board
members for the SurfRider Foundation. So I was honored by this group
with that award in Washington D.C. just a little while ago and that was
nice. I wear that jacket with pride.” Ray Shasho:Mike, here’s a question that I
ask everyone that I interview, If you had a “Field of Dreams” wish, like
the movie, to play or collaborate with anyone from the past or present,
who would that be? Mike Love: “You know… there’s too many people (all
laughing). I’d love to do something with Smokey Robinson, I think he’s
brilliant! I did a little something with Paul McCartney. Meaning, I
suggested the bridge on “Back in the U.S.S.R.” when he came to the table
in India playing that song on his acoustic guitar. I think everybody in
rock and roll would like to do something with Paul McCartney so I’m not
alone. But I think Smokey Robinson was great, I was buddies with Marvin
Gaye and it was tragic what happened to him. But I think Smokey
Robinson and Paul McCartney would be great to work with.” Ray Shasho: “Back in the U.S.S.R” is definitely a Beach Boys tune. Mike Love: “It is, when I was in India with The Beatles, they got thinking in those terms… McCartney did anyway.” Ray Shasho:Mike, thank you so much for
being on the call today but more importantly for all the incredible
Beach Boys songs over the years and into the future. We’ll see you at
the Seminole Hard Rock in Tampa on July 18th. Mike Love: “Thanks Ray!”
The Beach Boys will be performing at Tampa’s Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino on July 18th at 8:30 p.m.,
as part of the Hard Rock Heatwave summer event promotion. Tickets for
the 21and over concert are $69 and available through Ticketmaster
outlets, the Hard Rock Store inside the casino at 5223 Orient Rd, or charge by phone at 1-800-745-3000. Visit the Seminole Hard Rock Tampa official website at www.seminolehardrocktampa.com.
Contact classic rock music journalist Ray Shasho at rockraymond.shasho@gmail.com Purchase Ray’s very special memoir called ‘Check the Gs’ -The True Story of an Eclectic American Family and Their Wacky Family Business … You’ll LIVE IT! Also available for download on NOOK or KINDLE edition for JUST .99 CENTS at amazon.com or barnesandnoble.com- Please support Ray so he can continue to bring you quality classic rock music reporting. ~~Pacific Book Review says Ray Shasho is a product
of the second half of the 20th century, made in the USA from parts
around the world, and within him is every trend in music, television,
politics and culture contributing to his philosophical and comically
analytical reflections collected in his fine book of memories. I found Check the Gs to
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memories of my own life, as I too am within a few years of Ray. So to
all, I say if you have a bit of grey hair (or no hair), buy this book!
It’s a great gift for your “over-the-hill” friends, or for their kids,
if they are the history buffs of younger generations trying to figure
out why we are the way we are.
