Wouldn't It Be Nice: My Own Story

Wouldn't It Be Nice: My Own Story is the first memoir by American musician Brian Wilson, written with celebrity journalist Todd Gold and published by HarperCollins in 1991. The book was heavily criticized for the implausibility of Wilson being its actual author. It inspired multiple defamation lawsuits from Wilson's family members and associates. Wilson later disowned the book and testified that he had been interviewed for about "thirty-to-forty hours" and only skimmed through a rough draft before it was published. In 2016, it was superseded by I Am Brian Wilson, a new autobiography written with Ben Greenman.[1]

Wouldn't It Be Nice: My Own Story
AuthorBrian Wilson, Todd Gold
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
GenreAutobiography, memoir
PublishedHarperCollins
Publication date
1991 (1991)
Media typeHardcover
Pages398
ISBN978-0-06018-313-4

Authorship and legitimacy

The book's authorship and authenticity was "seriously challenged" by Wilson's past biographers.[2] His psychologist-turned-business partner Eugene Landy said that he was not involved with the writing,[3] but court documents proved that he was a close partner in the writing and production process.[4] Wilson stated under oath that he was interviewed for about "thirty-to-forty hours" and that he had only skimmed through a draft of the book before it was published.[4]

In several articles published by Billboard in 1991, writers including David Leaf, Timothy White, and Neal McCabe accused the book of plagiarizing earlier texts on Brian Wilson and the Beach Boys written by White, Jules Siegel, Paul Williams, and Tom Nolan.[4] Todd Gold responded that "any celebrity book relies on extensive culling of magazine articles and past interviews and recycling", and that "everything was paraphrased to the best of our ability as told through Brian's eyes."[2] Gold told The Washington Post that he used notes prepared by writer Henry Edwards during interviews for a similar, unfinished book project in 1987.[5]

According to biographer Peter Ames Carlin, "the stories being related had been lifted nearly word for word from earlier biographies, only with the pronouns changed to reflect Brian's first-person perspective. In other sections the narrative read like depositions for their various court cases, while others ripped the Beach Boys for various personal and professional shortcomings."[6] Musicologist Philip Lambert wrote: "The book is plagued by factual misstatements, language and opinions that are implausibly Brian's, and text that defies credulity".[4]

Lambert argued that, despite its flaws, Wouldn't It Be Nice should not be completely disregarded. He explained that while the book may have been corrupted by motivations in self-interest and legal maneuverings, "it may still provide some nuggets of truth about Brian's day-to-day existence while under Landy's care."[4] Lambert concluded that the biography "can be useful ... if accessed through the proper filters. I don't accept the book's text at face value, but if it's consistent with other sources and rings true, I'm willing to consider it a qualified authority."[5]

Reviews and lawsuits

The New York Times noted that the book was suspiciously published as Wilson was in the midst of numerous lawsuits, but that his "co-author, Todd Gold, a writer at People magazine, helps give the story its brisk, anecdotal pace and pop-psychological facility."[7] Journalist Nick Kent observed that "the most disturbing aspect of the text was the way Brian's story was suddenly hijacked in the middle and turned into an unsolicited testimonial to the miraculous healing powers and all-round good guy qualities of flat-out genius Eugene Landy."[8] David Felton of Rolling Stone wrote "the autobiography reads like some slick parody of the end of Psycho, with the psychiatrist telling the police: 'Brian was never all Brian, but he was often only Landy. Now the Landy half has taken over. Probably for all time.'"[8]

Mike Love did not read Wouldn't It Be Nice, but filed a defamation suit against HarperCollins regarding how he was presented in the book. HarperCollins settled the suit for $1.5 million.[9] According to Love, the suit allowed his layer access to interview transcripts in which Wilson confirmed "that I had been the inspiration of the group and that I had written many of the songs" that were the subject of Love's 1992 lawsuit for songwriting credits.[10] Other defamation lawsuits were filed by Brother Records, Carl Wilson, and the Wilsons' mother Audree.[11] Their lawyers argued that HarperCollins was aware that Brian's statements in the book were either manipulated or written by Landy.[12]

References

Citations

  1. Giles, Jeff (April 12, 2016). "Read an Excerpt From 'I Am Brian Wilson: A Memoir'". Ultimate Classic Rock.
  2. Lambert 2007, pp. xi–xii.
  3. Carlin 2006, pp. 272–273.
  4. Lambert 2007, p. xi.
  5. Lambert 2007, p. xii.
  6. Carlin 2006, p. 273.
  7. Pareles, Jon (November 3, 1991). "Beached Boy". The New York Times.
  8. Kent 2009, p. 66.
  9. Hedegaard, Erik (February 2016). "The Ballad of Mike Love". Rolling Stone.
  10. Love 2016.
  11. Carlin 2006.
  12. Griffin, Gil (July 29, 1995). "Brian Wilson's Mom Sues Her Son's Publisher; Claims Libel". Billboard. 107 (30): 10, 32. ISSN 0006-2510.

Bibliography

Further reading
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