Smile

"Brain Wilson. SMILE: Excellent! The man is my

hero. I love him. I weep when I hear his band, I hear him sing. I love

him." --Sir Paul McCartney

The story of the Brian Wilson's legendary SMiLE album

from Beach Boys authority David Leaf. The story of SMiLE is a

story without precedent, appropriate for music that was and remains

groundbreaking.

This is the first book to tell the full story of Brian

Wilson and SMiLE, including the details of the original SMiLE recording

sessions and their increasingly legendary status as well as the final release

of the album, the accompanying concerts and film, and its afterlife.

With over two dozen new interviews as well as generous

excerpts from his extended 2004 interviews with Brian Wilson and SMiLE collaborator

Van Dyke Parks, the book tells the story of SMiLE by those who

were there in 1966 and from the participants in its 2004 resurrection,

including all the members of Brian Wilson's band. It also features fan memories

of what it was like to see Brian Wilson Presents SMiLE and

what it meant to them.

With a foreword by Melinda Wilson and an anthology of

essays from SMiLE historians, devotees, and music professors,

this book promises to be the definitive word on the subject.

"If I had to select one living genius of popular

music, I would choose Brian Wilson." George Martin

"He's a modern-day Stravinsky, the way he

constructs his music."--Questlove

"I don't think there is anyone hsi equal in pop

music."--Linda Ronstadt



"[T]he only real pop genius in the world..."--Sir

Elton John