Change was always in the air with The Beach Boys and 1967 was the year that a new and fascinating musical era finally took shape. By the fall, the group had lived through one of the most unique timelines in their six-year career. While interspersing some tough road work during the early part of the year with sessions for the ultimately scrapped SMiLE album, the bandmembers must have felt they were living a double life.
On one hand, in the sunny climes of California, they were recording cutting edge, progressive neo-classical, choral-type music, while breaking off to crisscross the U.S. and Europe to celebrate the greatest catalogue of crowd-pleasing, perfect pop.
Upon returning to L.A. that June, the group’s recording sessions had downshifted into the very different, scaled-back, and low-key Smiley Smile dates, with much of their recent material being reworked by Brian Wilson into a minimalistic, quiet, and almost a capella reinvention of SMiLE.
Just prior to the release of Smiley Smile that September, Brian Wilson rejoined Mike Love, Al Jardine, along with his brothers Dennis and Carl Wilson, for a pair of late-August concerts in Honolulu in the hopes of taping a new live album. While noteworthy for Brian being back on the boards in lieu of his replacement Bruce Johnston, the shows were the band’s first following a three-month layoff.
The slightly under-rehearsed performances were a fascinating study in musical de-evolution, providing fans a chance to hear the band’s hits in updated and subdued “Smiley-esque” arrangements. It was the Smiley Smile and Wild Honey albums – released exactly three months apart -- that ushered in a new phase for The Beach Boys. Organic, self-performed tracks, still pushing musical boundaries -- but once again relying on the group rather than session players to record the new material.
As psychedelia continued to revolutionize the planet, The Beach Boys were the first rock band to strip it down to the basics and bring it all back home.
The Beach Boys’ fall 1967 “Fifth Annual Thanksgiving Tour” kicked off on November 17th in Detroit, Michigan and took in 16 shows in just nine days. The trek hit Detroit, Michigan; Richmond, Virginia; Washington, D.C.; Hartford and Fairfield, Connecticut; Boston, Massachusetts -- where the band actually performed on Thanksgiving night; Providence, Rhode Island; South Orange, New Jersey -- along with no less than five New York stops playing Syracuse, Buffalo, White Plains, along with West Point and Jamaica -- on the same day -- before winding things down on November 26th in Baltimore, Maryland.
For the first time, The Beach Boys employed a pair of supplemental musicians to help fill out their sound; keyboardist Daryl Dragon, who would remain a key player for the band both on the road and in the studio for the next five years, and Ron Brown, who alternated with Bruce Johnston on bass. The fall ’67 shows also saw The Beach Boys move away from their signature striped shirts to perform in all white suits. Supporting acts for the run included Buffalo Springfield, Strawberry Alarm Clock, Soul Survivors, and The Pickle Brothers -- with one-off additions for Caesar & His Romans in Buffalo and Bob Brady & The Concords for closing night in Baltimore.
As always, the band’s time on the road saw them fitting in as many dates as possible – with most stops taking in two shows per day.
Mike Love admitted he never batted an eye at playing both early and late shows:
“Everybody forgets when they start out they do four or five sets a night in a nightclub (laughs). And then all of a sudden if you do more than one show, what, you're gonna kill yourself? I mean, some people are like that. But I've always found that the more you sing, the stronger your voice gets.”
Carl with Ron Brown
With the extra instrumentation, the band was able to copy their classic hits more accurately – but Carl Wilson realized that a live show in front of a crowd is a whole other beast than listening to a record alone at home:
“It’s idiotic to get hung up on not being able to reproduce the sound. We know we can’t. But our voices get plenty of exercise on stage and we rest them at other times, so it works out alright.”
In addition to such smashes as “Good Vibrations,” “I Get Around,” “Wouldn't It Be Nice,” “Surfer Girl,” “God Only Knows,” “Help Me, Rhonda,” “Sloop John B.,” and “Barbara Ann,” among others, during the “Thanksgiving Tour” the band uniquely took a risk by incorporating their yet-to-be released new album into their set lists. During the 16 shows on the “Thanksgiving Tour,” the band live premiered no less than four tracks from the still-unreleased Wild Honey LP, which wouldn't drop until December 18th -- including its title track, the album's first single “Darlin',” “Country Air,” and “How She Boogalooed It.”
During the tour, The Beach Boys’ legendary sound man and recording engineer Stephen Desper taped a handful of the concerts for the sole purpose of the band listening back to critique their performances. In 2017, five of those historical “Thanksgiving Tour” soundboards were released as part of the group’s digital release, 1967- Live Sunshine.
Al Jardine remembered being satisfied with the Earthy musical direction the band was leaning into by the of end 1967:
“’Country Air’ – that was charming. Just a real breezy little tune. The songs on Wild Honey were more ethereal, in my opinion. They didn’t have any big tracks. Musically, we devolved to a degree and went back to the basics and we were looking for that natural effect. They’re more natural, easy listening. A whole different direction, a transcendent thing. We just took a direction that lent itself to the natural world.”
Bruce Johnston felt that the material on Wild Honey showcased the band devoid of any internal or external pressures and intent only on making quality music:
“Here’s the most important thing you need to know about Wild Honey. It was just an album for us to exhale and do something real simple; but as it’s Brian’s music, it’s still fabulous and not so simple. The tracks are very basic and fun and really cathartic. I love the album.”
On December 15th, 1967, just nine days after wrapping their “Fifth Annual Thanksgiving Tour,” The Beach Boys closed their year performing in Paris, France at a the star-studded UNICEF Gala in benefit of the United Nations Children’s Fund. In attendance were John Lennon and George Harrison who introduced the group to the Maharishi Mahesh Yogi and subsequently, the practice of Transcendental Meditation, which would play a significant role in The Beach Boys’ music and lives throughout 1968 – and far beyond.
Get a breath of that country air
Breathe the beauty of it everywhere
Get a look at that clear blue sky
The Beach Boys – a beautiful way to wind down 2025. Happy Thanksgiving