Very nice rendition, though I still prefer the original Beach Boys' version on "Surf's Up". Sometimes we forget how wonderful Bruce Johnson's voice was. He never got the respect for what he contributed to The Beach Boys, especially during those years when Brian was "out of it". He and Carl were so very vital and really kept that group going for many years.
@tonyrocco55 Interesting how people's opinions differ. I really don't like the original album version but think this stripped down performance is simply one of the greatest OGWTs I've seen. I agree with you, though, that Bruce Johnson's contribution to the BB is massively underrated and he was probably the best out and out musician in the band. And as you say, what a voice.
@MrDoncos MICHAEL TSARION IS THE WORLDS PREMIER CONSPIRACY RESEARCHER/LECTURER/AUTHOR. DR. BILL DEAGLE, LEO ZAGAMI, JORDAN MAXWELL AND ALEXANDRE DUMAS PERE ARE HIGHLY INFORMATIVE AS WELL. P.S. MELTING EUPHORIA IS SIMILAR TO OZRIC TENTACLES AND GONG.
Words fail me! Would you believe that there are still people that haven't heard this song?? I'm so glad that it found me. I think Bob's nodded off. Unforgiveable.
Beautiful and remember this broadcast originally and noticing Bob Harris asleep in the background the idiot ... composistion that is way beyond the concepts of most musicians especially Andrew Lloyd -Webber who only knows one melody.
Bruce was a huge fan and supporter of Brian and he loved his work especially Pet Sounds. Disney Girls is a good example of Brian's influence on Bruce's songwriting.
@belladeballe "You are so Beautiful" it's a Joe Cocker song. He had the hit with it. Dennis just sung it in concert because he liked it I guess, and I must say, because it fitted him so well. But it's neither a BB nor a Dennis Wilson song.
@raffaelegr Actually a good few people have said that Dennis Wilson actually did write You are so Beautiful but just never got the credit for it. Billy Preston's input was apparently minimal and Joe Cocker had nothing to do with writing the song, he merely covered it.
@boyders16 Even wikipedia says "an uncredited Dennis Wilson", you are right. But to say that Joe Cocker "merely" covered it is like saying that Elvis merely covered That's All Right Mama and half of the songs he sung! Joe Cocker made it a hit song at # 5
never fall into the trap of thinking the art gives you any idea of what the artist is like. Great art frequently comes from complete a**eholes. It's still great art though.
Bruce Johnston is a jerk. I went to a beach boys concert in '07. Before the concert I was eating dinner in a restaraunt right next to where the Beach Boys were gonna perform. In that same restaraunt was Bruce Johnston. Me and my mom went up to him for an autograph. My mom said "Excuse me, I don't mean to bother you..." when he cut her off and said "Then Don't" in a real sassy tone. What a jerk, to a little kid to:(
@DonZabu Are you serious? His voice is totally in pitch, flawless, pure. How can you explain the fact that Bruce is one of the most wanted background singers in the music business. Just for example: Pink Floyd "The Wall", several Elton John songs, albums, The King´s Singers...The list is vast.Then, Brian Wilson has only one ear! That´s why BW has problems singing in pitch in concerts. I know because I´m a singer/background singer/musician also .It´s hard. + I HAVE TWO HEARING EARS! Take that!?
@MrBosoxfan11 i would say the same thing. dont bother people when they eat..maybe he was relaxing before a long show..sorry but they are just people and its you who got a need to varify that you have meet him with him writing his name down on a piece of paper..either way you should have waited to he was leaving or something..because then he would likely have said" sure, why not."
@belladeballe Yes Bruce a few beautiful songs for the BBs, but he did not write ' You Are So Beautiful" as far as I know. i thought it was Dennis wilson and Billy Preston. Nothing against Bruce; that's just the way I have always heard it
my interpretation of the lyrics is that its about an acid head who is dreaming of the life he could/could have had if he wasnt living in a dream world. yeah...a sad sad song way i hear it. Beautifully great none the less
It is a great composition and that's why it's great both with just Bruce and the piano as well as the fantastic arrangement/production on the Surf's Up LP. The timing was perfect for it's release
in 1971 with the nastalgia thing just starting, but it remains solid in 2009. Thank you Bruce
Bruce Johnston is a talented guy with a nice voice -- always liked its sunny timbre; added nicely to the Beach Boys' sound when he came in. But his vibrato here is bugging me. Less is more, Bruce!
Look, it was his song to take whatever liberties he wanted to take. Grant these facts: the recorded Beach Boys version is a production gem; the song as performed by Bruce Johnston, The Beach Boys, or Art Garfunkel, is a good nostalgic tune, and deserves to be played by those who grew up with the tune --- and those who WILL grow up with this tune.
Very interesting to see. Probably promoting "Going Public". Too bad he plays some bum chords, but his singing is good and it keeps me wondering what he could have done if he hadn't turned into a Mike Love Loving money making machine.
You're right, it's OGWT. And some bright spark producer decided to put Bob Harris in the back of the shot, 'course Bob can't do anything at all without ruining the performance - so it looks like he's nodded off :) Nice unplugged performance from Mr Johnson though.
Crikey Bruce, how many words do you think you can add in to the lyrics just because you're playing it slowly?!
Could have been much better - I love the way the original on Surf's Up is so simple and childlike...on this version, I'd say easy on the melodrama there Brucie baby!
You should put that copy of Sunflower on Ebay - it would be worth a lot of money since "Disney Girls" is on Surfs Up and is a Bruce Johnston composition.
The guy is right. In case you don't know and from what you're saying you don't know in fact, all the Beach Boys albums have come out in doubles since a few years and that of Surf's Up came out on the same CD of Sunflowers as a "bonus". I have it too and the cover is of Sunflowers album, but on the back side there is the listing of both albums.
That's what he meant when he said that he has Disney Girls on Sunflowers. And it wouldn't be worth a lot of money, but about 10 dollars. This is for how much you can buy it in every music store.
@raffaelegr How do you know he owns one of the two-fer cd's? Did you ask him? He said copy - how do you know he's talking about a cd at all and not an album? Answer - you don't.
@RP50 you're kidding right? He said according to his "copy of Sunflowers" and it can only be the two-fer cd, because as you well pointed out the song itself is in the Surf's Up album and the only way one can have it in the Sunflowers album is in that CD where the song is "technically" in the Sunflowers album even though it's not.
@raffaelegr Read his post again. It says "my copy of Sunflower" not Sunflowers. You (nor I) still knows whether he is even talking about a cd - it could be an album. I have the cd and if you look on the spine, it's official title is 'Beach Boys Sunflower Surf's Up.' You can only show one cover at a time in the jewel case so it comes with the earliest one facing out. You can always turn the booklet around and show the Surf's Up cover.
@RP50 You're over reacting to a joking comment I made. The guy I made it to evidently wasn't offended, so why are you? I'm going to chalk this up to cultural differences and let it go at that.
@RP50 The point here is that you answered very arrogantly to him and I didn't like it at all and I answered arrogantly to you as well. Now you know how mspendl828 might have felt! We're all Beach Boys fans here (I suppose) and we should be treating each other with respect as we are part of the same family.
Great to see Bruce in the mid-70s! Since he wasn't with the Beach Boys at that time I've never seen him perform during those years. Thanks for posting!
Thanks for posting this. I saw Bruce Johnston & Mike Love (performing with "Beach Boys" backup band at the Araneta Coliseum in Manila a year or 2 ago and they were fantastic. They played what seemed like all of their greatest hits & they sounded great.
Class!
marcm729 1 month ago
The OTHER "Beach Boy"? Yeah right. :)
Adamc753 3 months ago
Will someone please wake Bob Harris up. Tell him its not bed - time yet.
Keep of the Horlicks pal !
sawguitar85 4 months ago in playlist sawguitar85's favorites
Beautiful. Creativity at its supreme best!
rosafilms 5 months ago
who's the guy at the beginning?
sergejisd 5 months ago
Very nice rendition, though I still prefer the original Beach Boys' version on "Surf's Up". Sometimes we forget how wonderful Bruce Johnson's voice was. He never got the respect for what he contributed to The Beach Boys, especially during those years when Brian was "out of it". He and Carl were so very vital and really kept that group going for many years.
tonyrocco55 6 months ago
@tonyrocco55 Interesting how people's opinions differ. I really don't like the original album version but think this stripped down performance is simply one of the greatest OGWTs I've seen. I agree with you, though, that Bruce Johnson's contribution to the BB is massively underrated and he was probably the best out and out musician in the band. And as you say, what a voice.
Peace and love.
ghasgfhag 2 months ago
Oh wow. Amazing. Thanks so much for posting.
JazzJonnie 7 months ago
Is that Carl sitting in the background?
flyingburitto 8 months ago
@flyingburitto Looks more like OGWT host "Whispering" Bob Harris
RayNDeere 7 months ago
Raw and stripped down on production and we are left with a wonderful performance of a truly great song.
Take a bow Bruce Johnson
MrDoncos 8 months ago
This has been flagged as spam show
@MrDoncos MICHAEL TSARION IS THE WORLDS PREMIER CONSPIRACY RESEARCHER/LECTURER/AUTHOR. DR. BILL DEAGLE, LEO ZAGAMI, JORDAN MAXWELL AND ALEXANDRE DUMAS PERE ARE HIGHLY INFORMATIVE AS WELL. P.S. MELTING EUPHORIA IS SIMILAR TO OZRIC TENTACLES AND GONG.
uriahheep108 6 months ago
Words fail me! Would you believe that there are still people that haven't heard this song?? I'm so glad that it found me. I think Bob's nodded off. Unforgiveable.
remoteuser65 9 months ago
Words fail me! Would you believe that there are still people that haven't heard this song?? I'm so glad that it found me.
remoteuser65 9 months ago
Beautiful and remember this broadcast originally and noticing Bob Harris asleep in the background the idiot ... composistion that is way beyond the concepts of most musicians especially Andrew Lloyd -Webber who only knows one melody.
surreytownsoulie 10 months ago
Fantastic song & performance!
One of my all time favourite songs!
BiggyJiggi 11 months ago
why is that guy sleeping back there?
predlycon 1 year ago
i like the guy sleeping in the back, kinda just dozing off
NotreDameRoxmysox 1 year ago
@NotreDameRoxmysox Hilarious!!!! This is one of my favorite Beach Boys songs though. Strangely, absent Brian Wilson's talent.
wyatbroadcasting 1 year ago
@wyatbroadcasting yep! same here; this, god only knows, and surfer girl are my favorite
NotreDameRoxmysox 1 year ago
@wyatbroadcasting I can never see this as a Beach Boys song, this is for me a solo Bruce Johnston song.
He had two great composing moments in his life; this one and "I write the songs".
That´s good enough for me....
ClubViking63 1 year ago
@NotreDameRoxmysox That's Whispering Bob Harris. A legend!
KosmicCharley 1 year ago
Muito bom!! Grande performance e grande musica!! =>
EnfInfanati 1 year ago
Anyone else besides me notice that Bruce looksalot like Brian Wilson/ P.S. Love love this an Cass Elliot's cover
coolsweetgroovy 1 year ago
Yes Art Garfunkel does this perfectly!
sfmarklh 1 year ago
He sings it the way her hears it in his head! The emotion and feeling can be duplicated by no one.
TrumanBurbank00 1 year ago
Yes, this is one of the most beautifol pop songs ever written...beautiful like Clapton's Wonderful Tonight...I love it
discman3311 1 year ago
Lovely song. Don't forget he's only got a small recording crew in front of him not a live audience yet he still gives a great performance.
cjknotty 1 year ago
LISTEN TO ART GARFUNKEL
SING THIS EVEN BETTER
jocksmen 1 year ago
Bruce was a huge fan and supporter of Brian and he loved his work especially Pet Sounds. Disney Girls is a good example of Brian's influence on Bruce's songwriting.
dumbangel75 1 year ago
Anyone else notice besides me that Bruce Johnston looks like he could be Brian Wilson's long lost twin?
coolsweetgroovy 1 year ago
Only heard this song for the first time earlier this year at a Beach Boys concert in Melbourne. Great song and it went down so well with the crowd.
ALFAGOMMA 1 year ago
almost brought me to tears
falconhead67 1 year ago
Thanks BRUCE- Thanks for the memories and the beautiful heart ....
rentatrip1 1 year ago
Lovely song lovely performance! Thanks for posting this>
sfmarklh 1 year ago
Is Bob asleep?
Wonderful song.
clivetemple 1 year ago
Follow that.
helenaZZZZirlandaise 1 year ago
@belladeballe "You are so Beautiful" it's a Joe Cocker song. He had the hit with it. Dennis just sung it in concert because he liked it I guess, and I must say, because it fitted him so well. But it's neither a BB nor a Dennis Wilson song.
raffaelegr 1 year ago
@raffaelegr Actually a good few people have said that Dennis Wilson actually did write You are so Beautiful but just never got the credit for it. Billy Preston's input was apparently minimal and Joe Cocker had nothing to do with writing the song, he merely covered it.
boyders16 1 year ago
@boyders16 Even wikipedia says "an uncredited Dennis Wilson", you are right. But to say that Joe Cocker "merely" covered it is like saying that Elvis merely covered That's All Right Mama and half of the songs he sung! Joe Cocker made it a hit song at # 5
raffaelegr 1 year ago
Bruce's best!!! I miss the Beach Boys vocals at 2:49, but great either way!!!
lakefloor 1 year ago
Wake up Bob Harris!
garty22 1 year ago
never fall into the trap of thinking the art gives you any idea of what the artist is like. Great art frequently comes from complete a**eholes. It's still great art though.
ghancox 2 years ago
Bruce Johnston is a jerk. I went to a beach boys concert in '07. Before the concert I was eating dinner in a restaraunt right next to where the Beach Boys were gonna perform. In that same restaraunt was Bruce Johnston. Me and my mom went up to him for an autograph. My mom said "Excuse me, I don't mean to bother you..." when he cut her off and said "Then Don't" in a real sassy tone. What a jerk, to a little kid to:(
MrBosoxfan11 2 years ago
*chortle*
Sorry, but the thought of Bruce Johnston cutting someone off with that sissy-ass voice of his is hilarious.
DonZabu 2 years ago
@DonZabu Are you serious? His voice is totally in pitch, flawless, pure. How can you explain the fact that Bruce is one of the most wanted background singers in the music business. Just for example: Pink Floyd "The Wall", several Elton John songs, albums, The King´s Singers...The list is vast.Then, Brian Wilson has only one ear! That´s why BW has problems singing in pitch in concerts. I know because I´m a singer/background singer/musician also .It´s hard. + I HAVE TWO HEARING EARS! Take that!?
robinwikman1 1 year ago
@robinwikman1
You mocked Brian Wilson's lack of two ears. Your argument is invalid.
DonZabu 1 year ago 2
@DonZabu Please read my message again. Brian´s got only one (1) ear. Smile!
robinwikman1 1 year ago
@MrBosoxfan11 dont you think he was relaxing before the show..and i would get anoyed too if someone did that when i was eating.
wendel88 1 year ago
@MrBosoxfan11 i would say the same thing. dont bother people when they eat..maybe he was relaxing before a long show..sorry but they are just people and its you who got a need to varify that you have meet him with him writing his name down on a piece of paper..either way you should have waited to he was leaving or something..because then he would likely have said" sure, why not."
wendel88 1 year ago
@belladeballe Yes Bruce a few beautiful songs for the BBs, but he did not write ' You Are So Beautiful" as far as I know. i thought it was Dennis wilson and Billy Preston. Nothing against Bruce; that's just the way I have always heard it
BeachBoysGuy1 2 years ago
I always loved Bruce. He and Carl have been my favorites, even though I love all of the BB. I'd marry a sweet and sentimental guy like Bruce :)
genatzvalee 2 years ago 3
Listen....and weep.....
One of the most beautiful pop songs ever written...and just about the most wonderful performance you could ever ask for................
ghasgfhag 2 years ago 19
oh and , the middle eight. dear god. if that doesnt move you waw, your not human.
LoserOnLineLOL 2 years ago 9
@LoserOnLineLOL Agreed - best Beach Boys song that wasn't written by Brian Wilson. Superb.
dunara 1 year ago
my interpretation of the lyrics is that its about an acid head who is dreaming of the life he could/could have had if he wasnt living in a dream world. yeah...a sad sad song way i hear it. Beautifully great none the less
LoserOnLineLOL 2 years ago 2
bruce actually said it is about drug abuse contracting with a vision of life in the 50's so you're probably right
TaylorConrad8098 2 years ago
Beautiful....and reminds me of my Disney Girl
KevinMeeds 2 years ago 2
It is a great composition and that's why it's great both with just Bruce and the piano as well as the fantastic arrangement/production on the Surf's Up LP. The timing was perfect for it's release
in 1971 with the nastalgia thing just starting, but it remains solid in 2009. Thank you Bruce
John Hunter Phillips
BeachBoysGuy1 2 years ago 3
I don't know everytime i hear this song, it makes me real sad.
brotherjohn25 2 years ago 2
Wow.... ranks right up there with Brian's stuff.... They really should have kicked Love out of the room and collaborated more.
Winonasalibi 2 years ago 2
Who is this guy that is sleeping?
beachboysgermany 2 years ago
Looks like Carl Wilson.
NyeTunes 2 years ago
@NyeTunes Far, far away from Carl Wilson. Carl had the greatest voice, from all of them.
eduleon 2 years ago
I write the songs that start Bob Harris sleeping...
thefonz003 2 years ago 2
Wow this is pretty good. much better than his solo version of deidre.
ThePeacepoet 2 years ago 2
What a beautiful song and beautiful man :o)
smileysmile1 2 years ago
Now if they only got his name right!!
It's BRUCE JOHNSTON.
steelyglenn 2 years ago 2
This is great to see. I never knew this footage was out there.
VIDEOFREAK076 2 years ago
fuckin brilliant
defrooneyqueenrocks 2 years ago
Great song and Introduction. Thanks for sharing!
SandyDog102 2 years ago
Amazing middle-8, or bridge, or whatever you wanna call it.
airpbj 2 years ago
Beautiful...we should all have a Disney girl....I did have!
KevinMeeds 2 years ago
Beautiful song and performance by Bruce.
Thank you Bruce
an old friend
JHP
BeachBoysGuy1 2 years ago
He looks like Bruce Jenner a little.
hist101 2 years ago
Bruce Johnston is a talented guy with a nice voice -- always liked its sunny timbre; added nicely to the Beach Boys' sound when he came in. But his vibrato here is bugging me. Less is more, Bruce!
SnuffyWuffles 2 years ago
rare beach boys songs of my channel!!!
iwojima654 3 years ago
Look, it was his song to take whatever liberties he wanted to take. Grant these facts: the recorded Beach Boys version is a production gem; the song as performed by Bruce Johnston, The Beach Boys, or Art Garfunkel, is a good nostalgic tune, and deserves to be played by those who grew up with the tune --- and those who WILL grow up with this tune.
NewMusic89KCFV 3 years ago 3
a song for all time....it made me cry
johnnytheb26 3 years ago 2
yup,it's very moving
minifuzz5 2 years ago
Very interesting to see. Probably promoting "Going Public". Too bad he plays some bum chords, but his singing is good and it keeps me wondering what he could have done if he hadn't turned into a Mike Love Loving money making machine.
sander15 3 years ago 3
I reckon this is "The Old Grey Whistle Test" and the guy in the background is the presenter, Bob Harris, listening intently (or having a nap!)
Gemear 3 years ago 2
You're right, it's OGWT. And some bright spark producer decided to put Bob Harris in the back of the shot, 'course Bob can't do anything at all without ruining the performance - so it looks like he's nodded off :) Nice unplugged performance from Mr Johnson though.
octomonkey1980 3 years ago
David Hepworth and Mark Ellen joke about Bob in the background on the DVD commentary!
sparksrule 2 years ago
They do indeed! :) No offence to Bob (not his fault) but it is kinda distracting having him there. Bruce did so well.
octomonkey1980 2 years ago
The best , one of my all times favorites. Certainement une des meilleures chansons qu'il puisse exister pour moi.
banbansouad 3 years ago 2
The recorded version is way better watching this clip it looks like he's making it up as he goes along.
limpdog20 4 years ago
great song and great performance. would love to hear more from you, bruce,,,,,,,,!
zahmacunn 4 years ago
The guy in the background is......not Carl.He's asleep, whoever it is.
knightsaber67 4 years ago
Bruce Johnston - the BEST Beach Boy!
Sounds great on that acoustic piano, unplugged...without any other instrumentation.
BeachGirlLaw 4 years ago
Bruce is the coolest...
dennisandvicki 4 years ago
Check the vid...sitting in the back ground....it's Carl Wilson!!! Great johnston tune!..met him and Carl in 1995!..Nice guys!! :-)
sunray65 4 years ago
I don't agree with you that the man in the background is Carl, since he was much heavier at the time. Guessing it's the host of the programme.
MorseMoose79 4 years ago
Crikey Bruce, how many words do you think you can add in to the lyrics just because you're playing it slowly?!
Could have been much better - I love the way the original on Surf's Up is so simple and childlike...on this version, I'd say easy on the melodrama there Brucie baby!
PaulStaveley 4 years ago
The Scottish guy is wrong. Disney Girls is a Johnston/B Wilson song. (according to my copy of Sunflower anyway!)
mspendl828 4 years ago
You should put that copy of Sunflower on Ebay - it would be worth a lot of money since "Disney Girls" is on Surfs Up and is a Bruce Johnston composition.
RP50 4 years ago 4
The guy is right. In case you don't know and from what you're saying you don't know in fact, all the Beach Boys albums have come out in doubles since a few years and that of Surf's Up came out on the same CD of Sunflowers as a "bonus". I have it too and the cover is of Sunflowers album, but on the back side there is the listing of both albums.
raffaelegr 1 year ago
That's what he meant when he said that he has Disney Girls on Sunflowers. And it wouldn't be worth a lot of money, but about 10 dollars. This is for how much you can buy it in every music store.
raffaelegr 1 year ago
@raffaelegr How do you know he owns one of the two-fer cd's? Did you ask him? He said copy - how do you know he's talking about a cd at all and not an album? Answer - you don't.
RP50 1 year ago
@RP50 you're kidding right? He said according to his "copy of Sunflowers" and it can only be the two-fer cd, because as you well pointed out the song itself is in the Surf's Up album and the only way one can have it in the Sunflowers album is in that CD where the song is "technically" in the Sunflowers album even though it's not.
raffaelegr 1 year ago
@raffaelegr Read his post again. It says "my copy of Sunflower" not Sunflowers. You (nor I) still knows whether he is even talking about a cd - it could be an album. I have the cd and if you look on the spine, it's official title is 'Beach Boys Sunflower Surf's Up.' You can only show one cover at a time in the jewel case so it comes with the earliest one facing out. You can always turn the booklet around and show the Surf's Up cover.
RP50 1 year ago
@RP50 You're over reacting to a joking comment I made. The guy I made it to evidently wasn't offended, so why are you? I'm going to chalk this up to cultural differences and let it go at that.
RP50 1 year ago
@RP50 The point here is that you answered very arrogantly to him and I didn't like it at all and I answered arrogantly to you as well. Now you know how mspendl828 might have felt! We're all Beach Boys fans here (I suppose) and we should be treating each other with respect as we are part of the same family.
No hurt feelings
raffaelegr 1 year ago
Comment removed
helenaZZZZirlandaise 1 year ago
Great to see Bruce in the mid-70s! Since he wasn't with the Beach Boys at that time I've never seen him perform during those years. Thanks for posting!
MorseMoose79 4 years ago
What a great song... I met him, and he's a true gentleman; a class act..
pinch100 4 years ago 3
This song is sad... it brings back too many good memories.
MichaelJordan060627 4 years ago
Thanks for posting this. I saw Bruce Johnston & Mike Love (performing with "Beach Boys" backup band at the Araneta Coliseum in Manila a year or 2 ago and they were fantastic. They played what seemed like all of their greatest hits & they sounded great.
Love2Singa 4 years ago 3