"Brian Wilson, you are under arrest for failing to surf, neglecting to use a state beach for surfing purposes, and otherwise avoiding surfboards, surfing and surf."
Huntington Beach, California, colloquially known as “Surf City, USA,” is a silly town with a lot of heart. Famous for hosting surf contest-induced riots, its lightly trafficked MAGA-adorned libraries and banning rainbows, Orange County’s fourth largest burgh never fails to go full Kafka.
And, thus, perfectly sensible for Huntington Beach officials to honor the late Brian Wilson with a paddle-out. The Beach Boys‘ mastermind died on June 11, this year, at the fine ripe age of 82. Derek Rielly penning the moving tribute, “The only surprise surrounding the death of ol Brian Wilson yesterday was that he was still alive.”
Well, even though Wilson grew up in Hawthorne, California and lived his last years in Beverly Hills, Huntington Beach decided on the paddle-out, Visit Huntington Beach tourism director Kelly Miller explaining, “I was having lunch with Dean Torrence (of Jan & Dean fame) … and he was very close to the Wilson family. One of our staff members, just before we went to lunch — we call him Cool Kevin, he’s a big surfer — and he said we should do something for Brian like a paddle out, so Dean and I were chatting some more, and we decided we should do this.”
The wheels turned quick and, yesterday, the paddle-out was conducted.
Now the funny bit, Wilson only ever went surfing once in his life. John Belushi and Dan Aykroyd played members of the California Highway Patrol, surf squad, in a Saturday Night Live sketch and cited the crooner for “failing to surf, neglecting to use a state beach for surfing purposes, and otherwise avoiding surfboards, surfing and surf.”
They then drug him to the beach and forced him to paddle.
According to sources, Wilson actually hated the whole experience and was angry that he agreed to it.
When I leave this mortal coil, I hope Huntington Beach celebrates me by hosting a country music line dancing festival.
I’ve never done it but imagine it’s awful.
Bravo, Chas. Gave me a chuckle with the whole line dancing tribute
I thought that was a photo of Dayne Reynolds
Line Dancing….
you’ve never done lines and go dancing?
RIP…Brian Wilson…story…..I have a couple of very old friends who knew and hung out with Brian after he listened to Sgt Peppers lonely hearts club band…went into a depression…so he basically went and locked himself in his house….he missed the beach so much that my friend suggested he bring the beach to the house…so they ordered a truck of sand and filled the house with …a beach in his house….so question ….what source said Brian didn’t like the beach..is that BG or BS?
Seems Chas and Derek have their own agendas at times.
I remember that sand story also.
Dennis Wilson (who did surf ), was probably way cooler than Chas and Derek put together.
Envy maybe.
Waves or no waves—Brian definitely caught and rode some of the magic and care-free spirit of surfing in his songs.
No one else has come close to what he did.
https://uploads.disquscdn.c… Dennis Wilson, being way cooler than Chas or Derek.
Funny vid.
No doubt, Dennis Wilson (the real surfer in the bunch), was the cool-one in the bunch, and Brian was the (musically), gifted-one.
Umm, I wonder what Chas could get arrested for?
PS
RIP
Brian………
Ronnie G had a similarly bad experience at HB
The Beach (Grit) Boys!
Dane Reynolds could play him. Both extra girt. Was Brian Wilson the Dane Reynolds of the harmony makers of his time? Is Pet Sounds overrated or an act of genius?
Geez, how much cocaine left the nostrils of those three when they hit the surf?
Surely the next morning shower drip released enough cocaine to kill a horse. I do miss the 80s…
Except that’s from the mid 70’s but yessss
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