Beach Boys, The

Wildly popular vocal-rock group from Los Angeles, California, led by songwriting savant Brian Wilson; acclaimed for their soaring melodies and lush, intricately harmonized vocals, and best known for a string of early and mid-1960s hits about surfing and the sun-filled Southern California beach life. "The Beach Boys," Rolling Stone magazine wrote, "virtually invented California rock."

The band's original lineup consisted of the three Wilson brothers, Brian, Carl, and Dennis, their cousin Mike...