Introducing...

           CARL WILSON

            Although not always known as the lead Beach Boy, Carl Wilson seemed to always be the glue that kept The Beach Boys together. Born in 1946, the brother of Brian and Dennis Wilson, Carl is best known as lead guitarist and sometime lead vocalist. After Carl sang the lead vocals on one of the band’s hit singles “God Only Knows”, he was more and more frequently featured as a lead singer for the band. After Brian Wilson’s leaving of the Beach Boys due to personal issues, Carl naturally became the next ‘leader’ of the band, heading many recording sessions and becoming the main singer of the group. However, Carl Wilson is also prominently known as being an extremely against the Vietnam War (he had to let The Beach Boys tour the United Kingdom without him while he petitioned with the draft board for this war).

           In 1981, Wilson decided that it was time for him to branch away from the Beach Boys because he thought the band’s ‘glory days’ had run out and they were already seeing it become increasingly difficult to record new material. In the same year, he put out his first solo album titled Carl Wilson which was received well, due to his obvious popularity from The Beach Boys. He then went on to record a second album, titled Youngblood. However, when this album was released, Carl was once again back with the Beach Boys, officially part of the band once again in 1983.

          Carl was diagnosed with brain and lung cancer in early 1997, however, displaying his extreme dedication, throughout his treatments he never stopped performing and played through the Beach Boys’ entire summer tour. A moment of this tour always loved was when Carl would stand up every show (although Carl still performed, he would need to sit while singing and receive oxygen very frequently) and sing “God Only Knows” to the crowd. Tragically, Carl passed away, due to his cancer, in February of 1998, fighting a one year battle with cancer. However, Carl will forever be remembered through the legacy of music that he has put forward both on his own and with The Beach Boys and through The Carl Wilson Foundation which strives to raise funds for cancer research, started by Carl’s family.

Sources: http://www.carlwilsonfoundation.org/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carl_Wilson



http://www.beachboysfanclub.com/memory/index.htm