Sunflower is the sixteenth studio album by American rock group The Beach Boys, their first on Reprise Records. The album reached a respectable no. 29 in the UK, but only achieved no. 151 on the US albums chart during a four week stay, becoming the lowest charting Beach Boys album until 1978's M.I.U. Album equalled it.
The album's critical reputation has grown since its original appearance; notable for the emergence of significant songwriting contributions by all members of the band. In 2003, the album was ranked number 380 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time.
After their last album, 20/20, Dennis Wilson was the first Beach Boy to head back into the recording studio, producing five tracks in the first two months of 1969: "Forever", "San Miguel", "Got to Know the Woman", "What Can the Matter Be?", and "Celebrate The News". Bruce Johnston's "Deirdre" was also recorded during these sessions. In early March the entire band went into the studio to record "Loop de Loop" and "All I Wanna Do", and also finish up Dennis's "Forever".
On April 12, The Beach Boys sued Capitol Records for unpaid royalties and unpaid production fees in the amount of two million dollars. This was the second time that they had sued Capitol (the first being in the spring of 1967), and it may have contributed to a lack of promotion of The Beach Boys' final Capitol releases.
They then turned their attention to "Break Away", written by Brian Wilson and his father Murry, who used the pseudonym Reggie Dunbar. At the time, it was thought that it would be their last single for Capitol and was a very small hit in the U.S., where it reached number 63. It did much better overseas, peaking at number six in the UK. "Celebrate the News" was the b-side, and neither song was released on a Beach Boys album.
After they were done recording "Break Away", the band went on a tour of Europe. When they got back, they recorded two more Dennis Wilson songs, "Slip on Through" and "I'm Going Your Way". Next on the agenda was a rerecording of "Cotton Fields", a Lead Belly song that was released on The Beach Boys previous album, 20/20. Al Jardine was the producer for this recording of the song.
After giving Live in London to Capitol, the band began to work seriously on a new album. In October and November 1969, they started recording "Walkin'", "Games Two Can Play", "Add Some Music to Your Day", "When Girls Get Together", "Soulful Old Man Sunshine", "Raspberries, Strawberries", "This Whole World", and "Tears in the Morning". They also continued work on Dennis's "Slip on Through".
In fall of 1969, The Beach Boys intensified work on their new project. Their reputation had fallen sharply in the US since 1967, but Mo Ostin decided to sign them to Reprise Records in November (reportedly on Van Dyke Parks' urging) despite Brian Wilson's personal attempts at sabotage by painting his face green before meeting with label executives. Part of the deal was to revive their Brother Records imprint, initially founded during the Smile era and used only for the Smiley Smile album, and the "Heroes and Villains" and "Gettin' Hungry" singles before becoming dormant.
The picture of the band on the front sleeve, featuring all six group members, was taken on the golf course at the family ranch owned by Dean Martin (named The Hidden Valley Ranch) near Thousand Oaks in Ventura County, California. Dean's son Ricci Martin, a friend of the band, took the photograph, also featuring Brian's daughter Wendy, Alan's first son Matthew (later an auxiliary Beach Boy himself), Mike's children Hayleigh and Christian (the latter a current touring member of the Beach Boys Band), and Carl's son Jonah.
The inner gatefold spread on the original vinyl LP featured a series of photographs taken by designer/photographer Ed Thrasher at the Warner Brothers studio backlot.Sunflower is the sixteenth studio album by American rock group The Beach Boys, their first on Reprise Records. The album reached a respectable no. 29 in the UK, but only achieved no. 151 on the US albums chart during a four week stay, becoming the lowest charting Beach Boys album until 1978's M.I.U. Album equalled it.
The album's critical reputation has grown since its original appearance; notable for the emergence of significant songwriting contributions by all members of the band. In 2003, the album was ranked number 380 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time.
After their last album, 20/20, Dennis Wilson was the first Beach Boy to head back into the recording studio, producing five tracks in the first two months of 1969: "Forever", "San Miguel", "Got to Know the Woman", "What Can the Matter Be?", and "Celebrate The News". Bruce Johnston's "Deirdre" was also recorded during these sessions. In early March the entire band went into the studio to record "Loop de Loop" and "All I Wanna Do", and also finish up Dennis's "Forever".
On April 12, The Beach Boys sued Capitol Records for unpaid royalties and unpaid production fees in the amount of two million dollars. This was the second time that they had sued Capitol (the first being in the spring of 1967), and it may have contributed to a lack of promotion of The Beach Boys' final Capitol releases.
They then turned their attention to "Break Away", written by Brian Wilson and his father Murry, who used the pseudonym Reggie Dunbar. At the time, it was thought that it would be their last single for Capitol and was a very small hit in the U.S., where it reached number 63. It did much better overseas, peaking at number six in the UK. "Celebrate the News" was the b-side, and neither song was released on a Beach Boys album.
After they were done recording "Break Away", the band went on a tour of Europe. When they got back, they recorded two more Dennis Wilson songs, "Slip on Through" and "I'm Going Your Way". Next on the agenda was a rerecording of "Cotton Fields", a Lead Belly song that was released on The Beach Boys previous album, 20/20. Al Jardine was the producer for this recording of the song.
After giving Live in London to Capitol, the band began to work seriously on a new album. In October and November 1969, they started recording "Walkin'", "Games Two Can Play", "Add Some Music to Your Day", "When Girls Get Together", "Soulful Old Man Sunshine", "Raspberries, Strawberries", "This Whole World", and "Tears in the Morning". They also continued work on Dennis's "Slip on Through".
In fall of 1969, The Beach Boys intensified work on their new project. Their reputation had fallen sharply in the US since 1967, but Mo Ostin decided to sign them to Reprise Records in November (reportedly on Van Dyke Parks' urging) despite Brian Wilson's personal attempts at sabotage by painting his face green before meeting with label executives. Part of the deal was to revive their Brother Records imprint, initially founded during the Smile era and used only for the Smiley Smile album, and the "Heroes and Villains" and "Gettin' Hungry" singles before becoming dormant.
The picture of the band on the front sleeve, featuring all six group members, was taken on the golf course at the family ranch owned by Dean Martin (named The Hidden Valley Ranch) near Thousand Oaks in Ventura County, California. Dean's son Ricci Martin, a friend of the band, took the photograph, also featuring Brian's daughter Wendy, Alan's first son Matthew (later an auxiliary Beach Boy himself), Mike's children Hayleigh and Christian (the latter a current touring member of the Beach Boys Band), and Carl's son Jonah.
The inner gatefold spread on the original vinyl LP featured a series of photographs taken by designer/photographer Ed Thrasher at the Warner Brothers studio backlot.false2025-11-07 20:08:25Sunflower20122012-10-092012-10-0937PopPop RockRockSunshine Pop111251210976527d59692-165f-43ce-acbb-2eb14d21cddfebfc1398-8d96-47e3-82c3-f782abcdb13d464dba39-079e-3ea4-84e1-1829324de678/media/data/media5/Music/The Beach Boys/Sunflower/folder.jpgThe Beach BoysThe Beach BoysThe Beach Boys are an American rock band that formed in Hawthorne, California, in 1961. The group's original lineup consisted of brothers Brian, Dennis, and Carl Wilson, their cousin Mike Love, and friend Al Jardine. Distinguished for their vocal harmonies, adolescent-oriented themes, and musical ingenuity, they are one of the most influential acts of the rock era. They drew on the music of older pop vocal groups, 1950s rock and roll, and black R&B to create their unique sound, and under Brian's direction, often incorporated classical or jazz elements and unconventional recording techniques in innovative ways.
The Beach Boys began as a garage band, managed by the Wilsons' father Murry, and with Brian as composer, arranger, producer, and de facto leader. In 1963, they had their first national hit with "Surfin' U.S.A.", beginning a string of top-ten singles that reflected a southern California youth culture of surfing, cars, and romance, dubbed the "California sound". They were one of the few American rock bands to sustain their commercial standing during the British Invasion. Starting with 1965's The Beach Boys Today!, they abandoned beachgoing themes for more personal lyrics and ambitious orchestrations. In 1966, the Pet Sounds album and "Good Vibrations" single raised the group's prestige as rock innovators. After scrapping the Smile album in 1967, Brian gradually ceded control of the group to his bandmates.
In the late 1960s, the group's commercial momentum faltered in the US, and despite efforts to maintain an experimental sound, they were widely dismissed by the early rock music press. Carl took over as the band's musical leader; records from this period later enjoyed a cult following among fans. In the mid-1970s, as their concerts drew larger audiences, the band transitioned into an oldies act. Dennis drowned in 1983 and Brian soon became estranged from the group. Following Carl's death from lung cancer in 1998, the band granted Love legal rights to tour under the group's name. In the early 2010s, the original members briefly reunited for the band's 50th anniversary. As of 2022, Wilson and Jardine do not perform with Love's edition of the Beach Boys, but remain official members of the band.
The Beach Boys are one of the most critically acclaimed and commercially successful bands of all time, selling over 100 million records worldwide. They helped legitimize popular music as a recognized art form and influenced the development of music genres and movements such as psychedelia, power pop, progressive rock, punk, alternative, and lo-fi. Between the 1960s and 2010s, the group had 36 songs reach the US Top 40 (the most by an American band), with four topping the Billboard Hot 100. In 2004, they were ranked number 12 on Rolling Stone's list of the greatest artists of all time. The founding members were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1988.