A Grammy Salute to The Beach Boys, the latest in a series of “Grammy Salute” specials, will tape Wednesday, Feb. 8, three days after the 65th annual Grammy Awards are held in Los Angeles. The live concert special will feature a star-studded lineup paying tribute to the classic pop/rock group. It will tape at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood and will air on CBS later this year.
The show will tape six weeks after the airing of the previous “Grammy Salute” special; Homeward Bound: A Grammy Salute to the Songs of Paul Simon, aired on Dec. 21.
Here’s something they probably won’t tell you on the “Grammy Salute” special: The Beach Boys never won a Grammy in competition, despite four nominations. Even their masterwork “Good Vibrations” went 0-3 at the Grammys. (During The Beach Boys’ 1960s heyday, Grammy voters were still trying to decide what they thought of contemporary pop/rock.)
Grammy voters have since decided they like it – and The Beach Boys in particular – very much. The group received a lifetime achievement award from the Recording Academy in 2001. Wilson was named MusiCares person of the year in 2005. Five Beach Boys recordings have been voted into the Grammy Hall of Fame, which functions as a second chance for the Grammys to reward worthy records they may have missed the first time around.
Since The Beach Boys’ heyday, Brian Wilson has received six more Grammy nominations, winning twice – best rock instrumental performance for “Mrs. O’Leary’s Cow” (2004) and best historical album for The Smile Sessions (Deluxe Box Set) (2012).
The Beach Boys were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1988 (with Elton John doing the honors). Wilson was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2000. He received the Kennedy Center Honors in 2007.
The Beach Boys logged four No. 1 hits on the Billboard Hot 100 – “I Get Around” (two weeks in July 1964), “Help Me, Rhonda” (two weeks in May/June 1965), “Good Vibrations” (one week in December 1966) and “Kokomo” (one week in November 1988). Brian Wilson was not involved with the latter smash, which was featured in the Tom Cruise film Cocktail.
The group notched two No. 1 albums on the Billboard 200 – Beach Boys Concert (four weeks in December 1964) and Endless Summer (one week in October 1974).
The Beach Boys were formed in Hawthorne, Calif., in 1961. The group’s original lineup consisted of brothers Brian, Dennis and Carl Wilson; their cousin Mike Love; and friend Al Jardine. Three of the members are still living – Brian Wilson, 80; Love, 81 and Jardine, 80. Dennis Wilson died in 1983 at age 39. Carl Wilson died in 1998 at age 51.
The Recording Academy, Joel Gallen’s Tenth Planet Productions, and CBS are behind A Grammy Salute to The Beach Boys. AEG Ehrlich Ventures, headed by Ken Ehrlich, the former executive producer of the Grammy Awards telecast, oversaw past specials in this series.
The musical directors of several Grammy-branded specials have received Primetime Emmy nominations for outstanding music direction. Two have won in that category. Don Was won for The Beatles: The Night That Changed America (2014). Greg Phillinganes won for Stevie Wonder: Songs in the Key of Life – An All Star Grammy Salute (2015).
Rickey Minor was nominated for music direction of two Grammy-branded specials – Stayin’ Alive: A Grammy Salute to the Music of The Bee Gees (2017) and Aretha! A Grammy Celebration for the Queen of Soul (2019). Davey Johnstone was nominated for Elton John: I’m Still Standing – a Grammy Salute (2018), and Sheila E, Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis were nominated for Let’s Go Crazy: The Grammy Salute to Prince (2020).
