LONDON - NOVEMBER 14: Brian Wilson of the Beach Boys performs at the UK Music Hall Of Fame 2006, at Alexandra Palace on November 14, 2006 in London, England.
Samir Hussein/Getty ImagesThe Beach Boys are getting back together for their milestone 50th anniversary. In an announcement Friday, the band said it will reunite next year for a 50-date world tour and new studio album in addition to commemorative musical releases.
In a statement, Brian Wilson said: “This anniversary is special to me because I miss the boys and it will be a thrill for me to make a new record and be on stage with them again.”
Mike Love, the only founding member who’s been actively touring, said his bandmates reunited at Capitol Records to record another take on their classic song “Do It Again.”
“Brian paid me a compliment saying, ‘How can a guy sound that great so many years later?’ Later on, while working out some harmonies on a new song Brian had written, I got a chance to return the compliment,” Love recalled. “It was a thrill to be around a piano again with Brian, Alan and Bruce and experience firsthand the brilliance of Cousin Brian’s gift for vocal arrangements.”
Wilson, Love and the other surviving members of the group — Al Jardine, Bruce Johnston and David Marks — have recorded several new tracks for their upcoming album, slated for a 2012 release by EMI-owned Capital Records. Also on tap: a greatest-hits collection and comprehensive box set for Boys superfans.
The band was founded in California in 1961 by Wilson siblings Brian, Carl and Dennis along with cousin Love and childhood friend Jardine. Marks joined the group in 1962, but left one year later. The band has had its rocky moments, including lawsuits and in-fighting.
“It’s no exaggeration to say that The Beach Boys are one of the greatest and most loved bands that the world has ever produced, and true American icons,” said Roger Faxon, CEO of EMI Group, in a statement. “We are incredibly proud to take this next step with them as our partnership enters its fiftieth year, and I can’t wait to see the band back together doing what they do better than anyone else.”
