Murry Wilson

Murry Gage Wilson (July 2, 1917 – June 4, 1973) was an American musician, record producer, and businessman who acted as the first manager of the Beach Boys, a rock band formed by his sons Brian, Dennis, and Carl Wilson, his nephew Mike Love, and their friend Al Jardine. For most of the 1960s, Murry also worked as a music publisher for the band.

Murry Wilson
Wilson in the 1960s
Born
Murry Gage Wilson

(1917-07-02)July 2, 1917
Hutchinson, Kansas, U.S.
DiedJune 4, 1973(1973-06-04) (aged 55)
Whittier, California, U.S.
Resting placeInglewood Park Cemetery
OccupationPublisher, talent manager, machine business owner
OrganizationSea of Tunes (1962–1969)
Children
Musical career
GenresEasy listening
Occupation(s)Songwriter, record producer
InstrumentsPiano
Years active1952–1969
LabelsCapitol
Associated actsThe Beach Boys, the Hollywood Flames, the Sunrays

After the Beach Boys dismissed Murry as their manager in 1964, he produced the sound-alike group the Sunrays, and recorded a solo album, The Many Moods of Murry Wilson (1967). In 1969, Wilson sold off their publishing company Sea of Tunes for $700,000 (equivalent to $4.88 million in 2019), then considered an undervalued sum. In 1973, he died aged 55 of a heart attack.

Early years

Murry Gage Wilson was born in Hutchinson, Kansas, the son of Edith Sophia (née Sthole) and William Coral Wilson.[1] His mother was of Swedish descent.[2] His family moved west to Los Angeles when he was five. The family was initially so impoverished that they camped in a tent on the beach when they arrived. He met his future wife, Audree Neva Korthof, while attending Washington High School; they were married on March 26, 1938.[3]

Wilson had a blue-collar background. As a young man, he worked at Southern California Gas Company until the birth of his first son Brian, after which he took a job as a foreman at a Goodyear Tire & Rubber factory, where he lost an eye in an industrial accident.[1] During this period he began writing songs. His biggest success came later with a dance song, "Two-Step Side-Step", which was featured by Lawrence Welk on his radio program in 1952[3] and covered on record by RCA Victor Western Swing artist Johnnie Lee Wills, as well as country music singer Bonnie Lou. He also wrote "I'll Hide My Tears", recorded in the early 1950s by doo-wop group the Jets, a reconfiguration of the Hollywood Flames.[4]

Brian stated in 2005 that people often mislabel Murry as an untalented songwriter, but "[he] had talent, he sure did. He was a talented man. He had some music in him ... My favorite song of his was one called 'His Little Darling and You'. It was a ballad."[5] Murry later founded a machining business, but maintained an active interest in music, which he passed along to his sons, encouraging them to learn to sing and play instruments.

The Wilson brothers had a problematic relationship with their father. Many stories of abuse have surfaced, including a supposed incident where Murry hit Brian in the head with a 2×4, resulting in the permanent loss of hearing in his right ear.[6] Murry denied such reports when approached by Rolling Stone in 1971. According to biographer David Leaf, Murry then "telephoned Brian and angrily demanded that he retract the stories. Brian reportedly laughingly told his dad, 'I'll tell you what. Let's tell them that I shit in your ear, and you hit me in the head with a plate."[7]

Managing the Beach Boys
The Beach Boys, 1964

After the Beach Boys' formation, Murry became the group's business manager, co-producer, and publisher in the early part of their career. Known as a domineering and manipulative man,[8] Murry was a tough negotiator on the band's behalf, organizing a contract signing with Capitol Records.[9] Around June 1962, Murry and Brian established the music publishing company Sea of Tunes to safeguard Brian's compositions.[10] The Beach Boys' first few records credited Capitol A&R director Nik Venet as producer. After April 1963, Capitol allowed Brian to produce their records himself, following Murry's insistence.[11]

Murry accompanied the group on their first Australasian tour in January 1964, and required that the band not fraternize with women, use profanity, or drink alcoholic beverages. During his early years, Wilson charged the group $100 for breaking these requirements, but for this tour, he raised the fine to $1,000, which he would subtract from the touring proceeds. At the time, Wilson's influence on the Beach Boys ignited tensions within the group.[12]

In early April 1964, following incidents involving the recording sessions of the singles "Fun, Fun, Fun" and "I Get Around", Brian relieved his father of his managerial duties.[13] In 1966, Brian reflected, "We love the family thing – y'know: three brothers, a cousin and a friend is a really beautiful way to have a group – but the extra generation can become a hang-up."[14] In Carl's recollection, "I remember having a conversation with my dad in his bedroom at home. I said, 'They really don't want you to manage the group anymore.' When I think about it, that must have really crushed him. After all, he gave up his home and business for us. He was kind of crackers over us."[15]

Later years

Even after Murry's formal business relationship with the Beach Boys ended, he remained in close contact with the group, letting Brian know his thoughts about the band's decisions.[13] Brian also periodically sought advice from his father.[15] In 1964, Murry sold off his machinery business and separated from Audree.[16] Although their marriage ended in divorce in 1966,[17] they remained closely involved with each other until his death.[18]

After he was relieved as the Beach Boys' manager, Wilson produced and managed the Sunrays

In June 1964, Murry produced three tracks for David Marks' group the Marksmen: "Car Party", "Casanova", and "Leaves".[16] During the mid-1960s, Murry produced and managed the Sunrays,[19] a group comprising five students who attended Hollywood Professional High School. The Sunrays earned some media attention and a bit of airplay for their initial singles, but never broke into the national Top 40. Their two best-known singles, "I Live for the Sun" and "Andrea", were regional hits in California. Members of the Sunrays described Murry as "the [nicest] man ever" and denied seeing any abuse from him toward the Beach Boys.[20]

For the Beach Boys' 1965 album Summer Days (And Summer Nights!!), Brian wrote a novelty song inspired by his father: "I'm Bugged at My Ol' Man".[21] In July, Murry sent a letter to Brian requesting that he be officially granted sole ownership of Sea of Tunes, per a verbal agreement they had reached in 1962.[22] According to historian Keith Badman, "Brian allowed Murry to take total control to stop his father's continual hassling on the matter."[23] In 1966, the Beach Boys released the album Pet Sounds. Murry later praised the album, calling it a "masterpiece of accomplishment for Brian", and believed that it had become a ubiquitous influence on the music heard in product commercials.[24]

In October 1967, Capitol released Murry's The Many Moods of Murry Wilson.[25] While promoting the album in Britain, he told Disc & Music Echo that "after 'Good Vibrations' Brian lost a lot of confidence. He didn't think he could ever write anything as good as that again ... With [my] LP I'm going to nudge my boys' competitive spirit."[26] In early 1969, he co-wrote the Beach Boys' song "Break Away" with Brian, and was credited under the pseudonym "Reggie Dunbar" on the record, which was released without much commercial success.[27] In October, he returned to the studio to work on various productions, including a song titled "Gonna Be Alright".[28]

In late 1969, Murry sold Sea of Tunes, over the band's objections, for the undervalued amount of $700,000 (equivalent to $4.88 million in 2019).[17][29][23] In the early 1990s, the catalog was estimated to be worth between $20 million ($37.5 million in 2019)[30] and $40 million ($69 million in 2019).[31] Brian later suggested that his signature was forged by his father on several related business documents, making the sale illegal.[30][32]

In April 1970, Murry assembled a tape comprising songs that he had recorded at Sunset Sound Recorders called "So Much in Love" and "Love to Be Your Lover". The tape begins with a spoken interlude in which Wilson suggests the Beach Boys should record these songs, as he "doesn't have long to live".[33] In August 1971, Wilson cut a song he wrote called "Won't You Tell Me".[34] The Sunrays released their version of the song on the 1996 compilation For Collectors Only: Vintage Rays.[35] A version featuring Brian and Carl on lead vocals remains unreleased.[36] On September 11, Disc & Music Echo reported that Dennis had permanently left the Beach Boys was in the process of "setting up a production and publication company with his father".[37] In 1972, Murry worked on various songs, including one called "Take Back the Time".[38] In October, he recorded a commercial jingle that he intended to offer to the Kentucky Fried Chicken restaurant chain.[39]

Death and legacy

During his final years, Murry regularly socialized with Dennis. Audree recalled, "They were buddies. It's the most amazing thing ... Dennis called his father on Mother's Day and Murry told him, 'I'm just going to live about a month.' Dennis didn't tell me this, thank God! I didn't need to know that, but he could tell Dennis that."[40] On June 4, 1973, Murry died at his home in Whittier, California after suffering a heart attack at the age of 55.[41][18] Brian and Dennis did not attend the funeral, but Dennis visited Murry's body in the morgue.[18] Murry was buried in Inglewood Park Cemetery in Inglewood, California.[42] Shortly after Murry's death, Brian told an interviewer that he was planning to record Murry's song "Lazaloo". It was also reported that Brian wrote a song, "Just an Imitation", as a tribute to his father.[18] As of 2020, a tape of the song has yet to surface.[43]

In a 2004 interview, Brian recalled of his father, "He was the one who got us going. He didn't make us better artists or musicians, but he gave us ambition. I'm pleased he pushed us, because it was such a relief to know there was someone as strong as my dad to keep things going. He used to spank us, and it hurt too, but I loved him because he was a great musician." In his 2016 memoir, Mike Love wrote that Murry was "a driving force in the Beach Boys’ early success, but his greed and vindictiveness deny him any tribute. The most forgiving thing I can say about him is that he was simply an inheritor of his own father’s cruelty."[41]

Engineer Chuck Britz said of Murry: "I was one of the few people who liked Murry. I always did. I admired him for the way he got the kids mad at him that made them also conscious of what they were trying to achieve. I realize that maybe he did it the wrong way, but at the same time, he did make them work as a team which was the way it should be."[44] Band promoter and co-manager Fred Vail said,

I used to describe Murry as an Army drill sergeant. He was very firm, but he was a good and honest man. The role he played in the group was one of the key reasons for their success. ... Murry wasn't in it for the money. Murry was in it to help his sons, to help make his sons a hit band. He wasn't greedy like a lot of other managers. With Murry, it was love, it was family. ... I never saw him attack the boys physically. I saw him fine the boys for cussing or for doing some childish pranks. But his important role in the boys' career was overlooked.[15]

Murry was portrayed in two television movies: in 1990's Summer Dreams: The Story of the Beach Boys, by Arlen Dean Snyder, and in 2000's The Beach Boys: An American Family, by Kevin Dunn. In the 2014 biopic Love & Mercy, Murry is portrayed by Bill Camp.[45]

Discography

References
  1. "Ancestry of Gov. Bill Richardson". Wargs.com. Retrieved October 6, 2012.
  2. "American Ancestors – No. 71 Royal Descents, Notable Kin, and Printed Sources: The Immediate New England and Royal Ancestry of the Beach Boys". Web.archive.org. Archived from the original on December 3, 2010. Retrieved May 31, 2017.CS1 maint: BOT: original-url status unknown (link)
  3. Badman 2004, p. 10.
  4. Murphy 2015, p. 43.
  5. Sharp, Ken (January 2006). "Christmas with Brian Wilson". Record Collector. United Kingdom: 72–76.
  6. Carlin 2006, pp. 11–14.
  7. Leaf 1978, p. 15.
  8. Gaines 1986, p. 37.
  9. Gaines 1986, pp. 78–81.
  10. Badman 2004, p. 23.
  11. Badman 2004, p. 35.
  12. Gaines 1986, pp. 111–112.
  13. Gaines 1986, pp. 112–113.
  14. Taylor, Derek (October 5, 1966). "The Beach Boy Empire". Hit Parader. p. 13. Archived from the original (JPG) on May 25, 2017. Retrieved August 7, 2015.
  15. Badman 2004, p. 54.
  16. Badman 2004, p. 57.
  17. Eidem, Steve (2008). "Murry Wilson Biography". AlbumLinerNotes.com.
  18. Badman 2004, p. 329.
  19. Badman 2004, p. 257.
  20. "The Sunrays Facts". sunrays718.tripod.com.
  21. Carlin 2006, pp. 73–74.
  22. Badman 2004, p. 95.
  23. Badman 2004, p. 258.
  24. Nolan, Tom (November 11, 1971). "Beach Boys: A California Saga, Part II". Rolling Stone.
  25. Badman 2004, p. 202.
  26. Gaines 1986, p. 195.
  27. Gaines 1986, p. 192.
  28. Badman 2004, p. 256.
  29. Carlin 2006, p. 145.
  30. Heller, Karen (October 23, 1991). "A Beach Boy's Blues For Brian Wilson, The Days Of "Fun, Fun, Fun" Have Ebbed. Although He Has A New Book, He's Also Involved in Several Lawsuits. "drugs," He Says, "put A Gash in My Mind."". The Philadelphia Inquirer.
  31. "Beach Boys' Mike Love Wins His Case, Stands to Collect Millions". Los Angeles Times. December 13, 1994. Retrieved October 1, 2012.
  32. Letovski, Irv (September 19, 1989). "Brian Wilson Sues Music Publisher". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved September 17, 2011.
  33. Badman 2004, p. 268.
  34. Badman 2004, p. 297.
  35. "For Collectors Only: Vintage Rays - The Sunrays | Songs, Reviews, Credits | AllMusic" – via www.allmusic.com.
  36. Doe, Andrew G. "From The Vaults..." Bellagio 10452. Endless Summer Quarterly. Retrieved July 4, 2020.
  37. Badman 2004, p. 298.
  38. Badman 2004, pp. 304, 322.
  39. Badman 2004, p. 322.
  40. Badman 2004, p. 326.
  41. Love 2016, p. .
  42. Wilson, Scott (August 19, 2016). "Resting Places: The Burial Sites of More Than 14,000 Famous Persons, 3d ed". McFarland – via Google Books.
  43. Chidester, Brian (March 7, 2014). "Busy Doin' Somethin': Uncovering Brian Wilson's Lost Bedroom Tapes". Paste. Retrieved December 11, 2014.
  44. Leaf, David (1990). Surfin Safari / Surfin U.S.A. (CD Liner). The Beach Boys. Capitol Records.
  45. Rosenberg, Alyssa (November 14, 2014). "In movies this fall, all parents are bad parents". The Washington Post.

Bibliography

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