Beach Boys

Screenwriter Oren Moverman talks with Fresh Air's Terry Gross about the film's depiction of the Beach Boy's troubled life. We'll also listen back to an interview Gross recorded with Wilson in 1988.

We remember Timothy White, the editor in chief of Billboard Magazine. He died Thursday at the age of 50. He was in his office at the time. This interview first aired January 12, 1995.

Legendary composer, producer, arranger and performer Brian Wilson, formerly of the Beach Boys. He's just come out with his first solo album of new material in ten years. It's "Imagination" (Giant).

Record producer and musician Don Was. He co-founded the funk rock group, "Was (Not) Was." This year he won a Grammy for Producer of the Year. In addition, he's produced a number of albums for Bonnie Raitt (Was produced Raitt's "Nick of Time" album which revived her career), Rolling Stones, Lyle Lovett, Al Green, Iggy Pop, and the B-52's. He's ventured into documentary film production with "I Just Wasn't Made for These Times," about ex-Beachboy Brian Wilson. Was directed the film.

Editor-in-Chief of Billboard Magazine Timothy White has written a new book that traces the evolution of the "myth" of Southern California through the lens of the Beach Boys and the Wilson family. It's called "The Nearest Faraway Place: Brian Wilson, the Beach Boys, and the Southern California Experience."

Rock historian Ed Ward talks about the Beach Boys's legendary concept album, which was never released. Many of the songs eventually appeared on their later, official releases, often in a watered-down form.

Rock and roll historian Ed Ward takes the first of a two part look at surf music.

Brian Wilson suffered a nervous breakdown and spent years in seclusion. Now he's back with a new solo album. He tells Fresh Air's Terry Gross about how he approached songwriting early in his career, the influence of drugs on his music, and the role the controversial Dr. Eugene Landy plays in Wilson's personal and professional life.