The Beach Boys' first steps, 60 years ago

As 1962 began, the Beach Boys had a name and a hit.

But they were soon to be without a record label. The industry attitude was that surfing was just a fad, and one wonders if the group would ever have gotten a recording contract without the persistence of Murry Wilson. Years later, Brian Wilson would take note of his dad’s push and recognize its importance. As a father, Murry may not have been ideal, but as a manager of a rock group, he had unrelenting drive and ambition. He hadn’t made it as a songwriter; no matter, his boys would make up for his failure. He’d see to that — and he did.

Surfin’, released on Candix (a small, local label) the previous November, had made it into the Top 3 in the LA radio hit charts and peaked in Billboard magazine’s national charts at Number 75. The record sold somewhere between 10 and 50,000 copies, and the group received a royalty check for less than a thousand dollars. Murry Wilson added a few bucks from his own pocket to make the total an even grand, so that each Beach Boy — the three Wilson brothers, cousin Mike Love and Al Jardine — got two hundred dollars.

Candix Records was having financial trouble, and it folded sometime before the summer of 1962. Russ Regan, then working for Candix’s distributor, Buckeye, remembered that “Candix sold their masters to ERA Records. Because of that, Murry had the right to terminate. They had a clause in their contract that The Beach Boys couldn't be sold to another record company.”

Murry and Hite Morgan, the group's publisher, began a search for a new recording deal. The group also went into Western Studios and cut a number of demos (probably Surfer Girl, Judy, I he Surfer Moon, Surfin' Safari and 409), which Hite and Murry used to help sell the group.

Nik Venet was a 21-year-old staff producer at Capitol Records in 1962 and one of the few men in the business who seemed to understand the importance of ‘teen’ music. Russ Regan suggested Murry take the demo to Venet.

The relationship got off to a shaky start. Murry had called for an appointment, and Venet asked him to wait for two weeks because he was on his way to Nashville on business. Venet believed that Murry was insulted by the delay. But when he heard the demo, he was blown away.

Then, there was a series of disagreements that have occurred in print between Venet and the Wilson family. 

Murry was abrasive in his dealing with Capitol, but he was fighting for his sons. What Venet really objected to were Murry's musical ideas. Venet noted that Murry felt that Brian could be the next Elvis Presley. Venet also recalled that Murry “wanted to elevate the boys by putting them into ‘pretty music’.” 

The feud reveals a lot about the worst side of both camps, and their intermittent battles made the early years of the group's Capitol stay very unpleasant. But regardless of the bad feelings between Venet and the Wilsons, the former did persuade Capitol Vice President Voyle Gilmore to purchase The Beach Boys’ demos for 300 dollars. The signing also included a five percent royalty, and although not a generous deal, it was fairly typical for the times. For the Beach Boys, it was an opportunity to make more records.

And so, it all began…