#gerald johnson

[carlwilsonappreciation]

Carl Wilson photographed by Penni Gladstone for the Los Angeles Times in 1981.

“‘I got tired of doing the safe old thing, going out and doing the shows. And for the first time, the energy wasn’t there. It just didn’t do it for me. ‘Playing with The Beach Boys had always been a great thrill, and we had always managed to make it new each time. When I started noticing that wasn’t so anymore, I got itchy to make music — record, sing loud, rock — and have a good time. And, to see what I could do on my own, too.’ It was a natural feeling after his years in The Beach Boys. ‘My role in the group [The Beach Boys] was to lay back and keep it together — be supportive, and help make it the most cooperative atmosphere I could. ‘But in doing my album, and then touring clubs and opening for the Doobie Brothers, I had to be there and put myself there every moment. No falling back into the woodwork. ‘That was really good for me. I have a kind of shyness,’ he says, stumbling a bit, ‘in my personal life, so that helped me a bit. I got through that.’” - Scrantonian Tribune (March 13, 1983)

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round 2.5

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Voting ended onAug 19, 2023

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[carlwilsonappreciation]

Carl and his band appeared on Solid Gold (the episode, hosted by Dionne Warwick, aired on May 30, 1981).

“[‘Hold Me‘] is sort of different because… Myrna Smith, who co-wrote all the songs with me, sings on the record with me. And she was one of the Sweet Inspirations, she’s a real angelic, very beautiful lady, real gutsy and just real pleasure to be with. And it’s just a real bouncy kind of r&b oriented kind of thing. I really loved doing it. It was the first thing that we wrote and also the first thing that we recorded. […] The thing is that I, I had the opportunity to stretch myself as an individual, and I had to really put myself out there, you know, really go for it. And it’s a thing where I got to express the funkier side of myself. Sure, there’s more risk in it. The thing I found is when we started to record it, it just unfolded real simply, it’s like breathing to me — singing and making music is real, you know, it’s been real central in my life. It was a good deal of fun. The thing that I’m doing now excites me a lot because it’s so different than my experience with the group.” - Carl Wilson, The Robert Klein Radio Show (1981)

[carlwilsonappreciation]

Carl Wilson and Myrna Smith interviewed (interspersed with rehearsal footage of the band) on People Now, April 12, 1981. Footage courtesy of Elora.

“I guess I was rarin’ to go because I’d come in screaming [in the recording studio] and then have to back off.” - Carl Wilson, The Indianapolis News (April 1981) “My approach was a little harder — I wanted it to be funkier, with more rough edges. In fact, Jimmy [Guercio] asked me to back off a little. But it rocks even harder on stage.” - Carl Wilson, Argus Leader (August 23, 1981) “Carl and I had talked before about possibly doing some songs, and when the opportunity arose it was perfect. I was a little bit nervous at first. I had written some other songs, but nothing with anybody of the caliber of Carl Wilson.” - Mryna Smith, The Salina Journal (April 12, 1981)

[carlwilsonappreciation]

Carl Wilson during his 1981 solo tour.

“I met him at The Boarding House night club in San Francisco in 1981, during his first solo tour. I had a dinner table close to the stage and when he mentioned his ‘Carl Wilson’ album, I stood up and handed him mine that I’d brought along. After showing the album to the audience, he said to me, ‘Thanks — 10 bucks is in the mail,’ and the crowd laughed. During intermission between shows, he came out of the dressing room and I approached him to sign my album and he asked me if I had liked the show and I nodded yes and shook his hand and said, ‘Carl, thank you for all the great music,’ and he looked me in the eye and thanked me back. When he came back to S.F. in 1983, I attended his concert at the Old Waldorf, and the show was even better than the first one.” - Mikie, Endless Harmony message board (2023) “Got some great players here; I feel very fortunate to be with these people who’ve all developed a great talent for doing different things.“ - Carl Wilson on his band, at My Father’s Place in Roslyn, NY, on April 11, 1981

[carlwilsonappreciation]

"Hold Me" live on Tomorrow With Tom Snyder, April 14, 1981.

“I’ve known Myrna for quite a few years. She lives with my manager, Jerry Schilling. I’d always gotten along with her really great, she’s a very angelic kind of person and easy to be with. We just got together to see what would happen if we tried to make up some songs. The first song was ‘Hold Me,’ the song that she sings on also, and from there we just knew it was going to work." - Carl Wilson, The Houston Chronicle (April 5, 1981) “Also the writing [on both solo albums] is R&B influenced. It’s like when we were doing Pet Sounds, I’d go home and put on my Motown records, and the Memphis soul Stax/Volt records. I just have a really big collection of those records and have always loved that expression, that form. And I wanted to make a record where I could sing in a freer way. And I wanted to make a record that was rough around the edges: play loud, sing loud, and have fun. I wanted to see what I could do.” - Carl Wilson, PBS LateNight (1983) “There will be some surprises at what the music sounds like. I put my heart and soul into it, and it gave me a chance to sing in a way that was a lot funkier than with The Beach Boys. I just sort of wanted to do some tunes where I could bear down a little bit and keep it real focused and simple.” - Carl Wilson, The Salina Journal (April 12, 1981)

[carlwilsonappreciation]

"Heaven" live on Tomorrow With Tom Snyder, aired on April 14, 1981.

“Paula Haynes told me that every time Dennis heard Carl Wilson’s song, ‘Heaven,’ from one of Carl’s solo albums, that Dennis would cry.” - Denny Remembered by Edward Wincentsen “I know that Dennis is really excited for me. Yet it’s a departure from them [The Beach Boys], so I think it’s a little bit mysterious. I think that seeing the album come out, and all this activity, they’re probably going to wonder what will happen in the future. But I’m a pretty loyal person and I put a lot of myself into the group in past years. I wouldn’t call it an extension of my work with The Beach Boys. It’s just something I’m doing right now and I’m really into it.” - Carl Wilson, The Tennessean (April 19, 1981) "The result [the album Carl Wilson] is a minor pop masterpiece, eminently listenable on many a late night.” - review by Bill Missett, North County Times (April 2, 1981) “[The album] Carl Wilson is just that: All Carl. And he carries it off very well. Now, if the world would just notice…” - review by Cameron Cohick, Fort Lauderdale News (April 17, 1981)

[carlwilsonappreciation]

The Carl Wilson Band, 1981. Photos 1 & 2 courtesy of Bobby Crab via David Maida (x), photo 3 is a screenshot from Carl Wilson - Here And Now.

"Carl’s got himself a roaring, ripsnorting rock ’n’ roll band, complete with a bassist who could get a corpse dancing and drummer who could beat it back into the grave. The lead guitarist and keyboards player wail like banshees, and the second vocalist, ex-Sweet Inspiration Myrna Smith who co-wrote the songs on the album, enchants like a siren. And Carl himself, a grin just visible through his full beard, wouldn’t even get an audition as a choirboy. […] [As the show ends] there’s a split second of stunned silence at the end of it all as the audience wonder whether that really was a Beach Boy up there on stage — then they’re baying for more as they stamp the house down. Carl returns with a funky, throbbing, stomping version of the old showstopper ‘I Thank You.’" - review by Michael Oldfield, Melody Maker (May 9, 1981)