Speaker 1 (00:00):

B-R-A-Z-E-N.

John Meglen (00:07):

I remember being there when we were all sitting in the office going, “What do you mean, the Beach Boys? How much more American can you get on the 4th of July than the Beach Boys?”

Tom Wright (00:19):

It’s 1983 and the Beach Boys are preparing to play a free concert on the mall in Washington DC to celebrate July 4th. But there’s a problem. US Interior Secretary James Watt, who has oversight over federal lands and parks, has just made a startling announcement.

John Meglen (00:38):

James Watt, for whatever reasons, decided that these rock and roll bands that attract drugs in a really bad element should not go and play on the 4th of July in front of the Washington Monument.

Tom Wright (00:54):

On tour in Canada with John Meglen, their promoter, the band has just heard that they’re banned from playing July 4th in the nation’s capitol and they’re pissed.

John Meglen (01:03):

Carl was always sensitive. Mike, of course, revolted. Al revolted, Dennis revolted. We had spent so much time tagging them America’s band.

Tom Wright (01:20):

The early 1980s were a time of teeth gnashing over drugs and the negative influence of hard rock music on youth culture. But the Beach Boys, with their California surfer vibe, were hardly Ozzy Osborne. Hearing of his interior secretary’s actions, president Reagan and his wife Nancy, fellow Californians, would soon come to the rescue, and the Beach Boys, always PR-savvy, would turn this negative publicity into an opportunity to mount a comeback.

(01:55):

I’m Tom Wright, an author and podcaster.

Adam Wilkes (01:58):

I’m Adam Wilkes, a concert promoter, and this is Night of Show.

Tom Wright (02:14):

We met John Meglen, Adam’s colleague, back in episode one when he helped Prince get back on top in 2007. But John got his start as a young promoter in the 1980s with bands like the Beach Boys.

John Meglen (02:29):

Well, at that time in the early ’80s, I was just a young gun, like a lot of others in the company, and I think in the early ’80s, at a point I was assigned to work on the Beach Boys.

(02:43):

There were certain gigs if you got assigned to, you’re like, “oh, fuck, I got the Beach Boys.” If you got a Neil Diamond tour, those were Cadillac tours, okay? If you got a Dylan tour, that really sucked because like, one tour he stayed in youth hostels.

Adam Wilkes (03:03):

And with the Beach Boys, was it just, you guys just had such a hustle, right? You’re doing two shows a day, you were doing five shows in three days.

John Meglen (03:09):

We were a machine on the road. We would base out of a city, like we’d stay up at the Sagamore on Lake George, New York, and then we would have a couple of Learjets and we’d go down to the Glen Falls airport, because you couldn’t land a big jet there. That’s all you could land, was little jets, and we’d fly out and play an afternoon somewhere, and then an evening somewhere, come back.

Tom Wright (03:34):

Even though the Beach Boys in the early 1980s were still a popular act, they often played small venues, unlike the superstars of today.

John Meglen (03:42):

I mean, they would literally, there were times where we would be circling a state fair, try to use a walkie-talkie from the airplane, trying to find out if the opening act was off the stage yet because we wanted to land, get right to the venue, they would go on the stage. Soon as they’d come off the stage, we’d go straight into the cars, back to the plane, fly to the next city, do it again, and then fly back to where we were staying. We didn’t hang out. We just like, did the show, got out of there, went to the next city, did the show, got out of there, went back to the base hotel.

Adam Wilkes (04:19):

You don’t hear about bands touring like that anymore, especially superstars like that. What… Was it just unique to them?

John Meglen (04:27):

The thing about the Beach Boys… I mean, maybe you could say that Jimmy Buffett had that vibe later, but the fact is, they created a whole style, a whole culture.

Tom Wright (04:42):

You could call that culture endless summer, and it went back to 1961 when the band was formed in Hawthorne, California. The original lineup consisted of brothers Brian, Dennis and Carl Wilson, their cousin, Mike Love, and friend, Al Jardine. The group’s first national hit, “Surfin’ USA,” came two years later, followed by a string of top 10 singles that created what became known as the California Sound. By 1983, however, the Beach Boys had long since transitioned to an oldies act, traveling the country incessantly. They hadn’t had a number one hit for 17 years.

John Meglen (05:20):

The ’80s, the Beach Boys just were not on top of the world like they were in the 1960s. You have no idea what it’s like to go to Edmonton, Canada in the middle of the winter, and the local guy has put sand all over the floor of the arena so they could have a winter beach party, and people would check their coats at the door and go in and play on the beach in the middle of the winter. It was such a… To this day is, they created a cultural phenomenon regarding California summers.

Tom Wright (06:06):

Behind the scenes, the band wasn’t so laid back. Brian Wilson, a musical genius, and his brother Dennis, the band’s drummer, were battling drug addiction and mental illness. Dennis and Mike Love, the clean-living lead singer who preferred meditation to drugs, had even taken out restraining orders against one another. But the band remained popular, and Mike Love, by then the defacto leader, had planned a way to put them back in the national spotlight.

John Meglen (06:35):

It happened to be during the time period that the Beach Boys did their famous 4th of July concerts at the Washington Memorial in Washington, DC.

Tom Wright (06:46):

The first of these July 4th concerts in 1980 had attracted 500,000 people. It was broadcast on FM radio around the country as the group brought their signature nostalgic surf rock to the nation’s capitol. The concert became an HBO special, and the Beach Boys returned to the Mall to play July the 4th, the next year. The Grass Roots, riding a wave of interest in ’60s oldies acts, also played July 4th on the mall in 1982, and that’s where the trouble started.

Nancy Reagan (07:18):

Many of you may be thinking, well, drugs don’t concern me, but it does concern you. It concerns us all, because of the way it tears at our lives. Say yes to your life, and when it comes to drugs and alcohol, just say no.

Tom Wright (07:35):

In the 1980s, as Asian heroin poured onto the streets of America’s cities, Nancy Reagan famously launched her Just Say No campaign. It was a time of deep concern about drugs, partly real and partly fanned by fear over youth and urban culture. Joyce Nalepka was director of the National Federation of Parents for a Drug-Free Youth, which was chaired by Nancy Reagan. In 1982, she and her family went to the Mall to watch the July 4th party, where they happened upon the Grass Roots concert.

(08:10):

In an interview, Joyce later said her six-year-old kid had witnessed drug abuse, alcohol and mud wrestling, and so they left. A couple of months later, Joyce bumped into the wife of Reagan’s interior secretary, James Watt, whom she told about the incident. Forgotten now, Watt was one of those 1980s political figures, almost a caricature of the era.

John Meglen (08:32):

He was a weird looking-dude, by the way. I think he was like, bald-headed, had kind of ground, square glasses.

Tom Wright (08:38):

Then in his mid-40s, Watt was a rapacious capitalist who handed over acres of federal land for coal mining and oil drilling. He was also known for making sexist and racist remarks, even as he moralized about wayward youth. These kinds of figures were starting to look like dinosaurs, even in the 1980s, and Watt was the butt of many jokes, like this SNL sketch.

Aide (actor) (09:02):

Good morning, Secretary Watt.

James Watt (actor) (09:07):

Oh boy. I am a jackass, I tell you. Every time I open my mouth, someone gets mad. Everybody hates me. Why? Why?

Tom Wright (09:21):

It wasn’t long before Watt gave an interview to the Washington Post, saying he was banning rock bands from the July 4th celebration on the Mall. Watt claimed he wanted to stop, and I quote, “the wrong element” from attending. Instead, for the 1983 concert, he arranged for, quote, “patriotic, family-based entertainment” end quote, to be provided by the US Army Blues Band and Las Vegas crooner Wayne Newton.

John Meglen (09:47):

I believe James Watt, when he made his declaration of none of these rock bands like the Beach Boys should be playing on the 4th of July, part of his statement was that they attract the drug culture and bad people. So, I don’t know if he was trying to… Maybe he thought he would please Nancy Reagan when she was starting her Just Say No program by doing that, but it totally backfired on him.

Tom Wright (10:18):

When the story hit the pages of the Washington Post, other media jumped on it.

Reporter (10:23):

Interior Secretary James Watt, well known for his controversial views on land and water use, today expressed some strong views on rock use. Not the quarry kind, but the 4th of July concert on the Mall kind. It’s what some rock fans are calling the unkindest cut of all.

Tom Wright (10:39):

One radio station called the Beach Boys, who were then on tour in Canada, for comment. Bruce Johnston, the band’s keyboardist, later told an interviewer what Mike Love had said to the reporter.

Bruce Johnston (10:50):

He said, “You know, they should drill James Watts’ ass for brains.”

Tom Wright (10:56):

Watts’s decision to paint the Beach Boys as dangerous radicals was hilarious. Okay, some members took drugs, and Dennis Wilson had spent time in the 1960s with the Manson family, but the band was more conservative than anything. Mike Love in particular was a huge Reagan fan, and the band had played at his inaugural ball. In the 1980s, love even helped finance the Parents’ Music Resource Center. The group behind the parental advisory stickers on albums and CDs deemed to promote sex, violence or drugs. Watt should have been celebrating the band, not banning it. The backlash was immediate.

John Meglen (11:37):

In fact, it started, I believe, with the George Bush and his wife.

Tom Wright (11:43):

The Vice President put out what must be one of the weirdest ever White House statements, and I quote, “They’re my friends and I like their music.” Student groups who hated conservative figures like Watt found themselves in rare agreement with the White House.

Student (11:59):

Seems a shame that Mr. Watt cannot stick to his self-appointed task of destroying the environment without having to bring musical bigotry into the bargain.

Tom Wright (12:08):

It was Reagan, though, who felt most let down. Trashing the environment was fine, but the Beach Boys…

John Meglen (12:14):

To insult the Beach Boys, which James Watt did, is insulting the Reagans. I don’t know if you get much more American than Ronald and Nancy Reagan. And you don’t get much more American than Beach Boys.

Tom Wright (12:26):

In a speech, President Reagan decided to make light of the situation, saying he was bringing in his special envoy to the Middle East to diffuse tensions.

Ronald Reagan (12:35):

I’ve just called in Ambassador Phil Habib to settle the Jim Watt Beach Boy controversy.

Tom Wright (12:44):

Reagan then ordered Watt to the Oval Office, where he gave him a plaster statue of a foot.

John Meglen (12:50):

Well, Ronald Reagan ended up awarding him with a plaster boot with a hole in the front of the boot, signifying, you know, the shoot yourself in the foot award.

Tom Wright (13:03):

And then Reagan forced Watt to walk out of the West Wing, foot statue in hand, to meet the press.

James Watt (13:10):

This is shooting yourself in the foot.

Reporter (13:12):

And where did you get it from?

James Watt (13:12):

The president handed it to me.

Tom Wright (13:16):

By way of an apology, two months later, the Reagans invited the Beach Boys to play a Special Olympics benefit on the south lawn of the White House. Dressed in tight shorts, polo shirts and tennis socks, the Beach Boys were warm and solicitous towards the First Family and their guests. The whole atmosphere felt buddy-buddy, as the audience, filled with ’80s stars, was urged by Mike love to join in and sing along with the band.

Mike Love (13:44):

A little louder from this side.

(13:45):

(singing)

Tom Wright (13:49):

After the performance, Ronald and Nancy Reagan came up on stage.

Ronald Reagan (13:54):

We were looking forward to seeing them on the 4th of July.

Tom Wright (13:58):

As the president spoke, Mike Love hugged Nancy.

Ronald Reagan (14:02):

And if you didn’t believe that our whole family have been fans of yours for a long time, just look at Nancy.

Tom Wright (14:12):

But it was too late to change the plans for July 4th. The Beach Boys were committed elsewhere. The next month, as the crowds gathered on the Mall, it began to rain. As Wayne Newton took the stage, many in the audience began to jeer.

Wayne Newton (14:27):

The one or two of you that might be booing might as well go home, because we’re going to have a hell of a good time without you.

Tom Wright (14:34):

As for James Watt, his career was all but over. He tried to backpedal, telling an interviewer that he’d never even mentioned the Beach Boys. In fact, Watt claimed he’d never even heard of the band, and it had all been a big misunderstanding.

(14:50):

Two months later, while making a speech, Watt drove the final nail into his own coffin. Discussing the members of a new board under his supervision, Watt mocked Affirmative Action. And I quote, “I have a black, a woman, two Jews, and a cripple,” end quote. Amid the outcry, Watt submitted his resignation. He’s still alive, aged 85, but we couldn’t get hold of him.

(15:16):

This, however, is not the end of our story. As they say, there’s no such thing as bad publicity, and no one understood this better than Mike Love.

John Meglen (15:29):

That’s why the thing became as big as it did. I think he was on Nightline or something, a bunch of those things. So, Mike did not shy away from the press at all, and he would, in his Mike Love way, which is never yelling, but Mike had a way of intimidating people with just his language.

Tom Wright (15:56):

As Mike Love took to the TV circuit, the Beach Boys were on everyone’s lips again, John remembers.

John Meglen (16:02):

We can see the results in ticket sales. It made them hot again. You know, you’re always looking for those little surges of adrenaline, surges of something that can catch on, that will be a hook.

Tom Wright (16:18):

The next year, 1984, the band was back on the Mall for July 4th, accompanied by Ringo Starr on drums. The crowd, at 750,000 people, was double the number that had turned out for Wayne Newton. For the next year’s July 4th party, ’80s icon, Mr. T., from the A-Team television show, also a big supporter of Nancy Reagan’s Just Say No campaign, played drums for the Beach Boys.

John Meglen (16:43):

All I remember was Mr. T kept yapping and yapping and yapping, and Carl Wilson, bless his soul, just got up, turned around and said, “Would you shut the fuck up?” And everybody applauded.

Tom Wright (16:57):

The Beach Boys were back in the limelight. Even Jimmy Page of Led Zeppelin, considered one of the best guitarists of all time, joined the band on stage in 1985.

PA Announcer (17:07):

The Beach Boys, with Special Guest Jimmy Page.

John Meglen (17:12):

What was crazy about it, it was really kind of the first appearance to Jimmy Page since Led Zeppelin. And I just remember standing on the side of the stage, and when they announced Jimmy Page and he walked out, you could literally feel the ground shake.

Tom Wright (17:31):

The next year, the Beach Boys played on the USS Iowa battleship in New York Harbor for the centenary of the Statue of Liberty, which had just been renovated.

John Meglen (17:40):

Who’s sitting on top of the USS Battleship Iowa unveiling the Statue of Liberty? Who’s playing the music? The Beach Boys.

Tom Wright (17:50):

And then in 1988, the band released “Kokomo” from the soundtrack to the Tom Cruise movie, Cocktail. It was their first number one since “Good Vibrations,” 22 years earlier. But all this success masked a growing turmoil. By then, Brian Wilson was gone.

Adam Wilkes (18:10):

Why did Brian leave the band at that time?

John Meglen (18:12):

He wasn’t healthy. He needed to get his head together, I guess you’d say, and all of that. Brian was never comfortable touring anyway. I don’t know. Maybe he’d rather write songs in his room.

Tom Wright (18:29):

Dennis Wilson too was gone. He drowned while swimming off a boat at Marina del Ray in Los Angeles. He was found with drugs and alcohol in his system.

John Meglen (18:42):

You could talk about the Beach Boys and say they’re America’s band. They had all their issues, like every other American family does.

Tom Wright (18:52):

After the White House concert in 1983, Reagan had told the Beach Boys to call him if they ever needed anything. So now, Dennis’s family called in the favor. His wife wanted a burial at sea for the only member of the Beach Boys who actually surfed, and Reagan personally helped make arrangements with the Coast Guard. It was a fitting tribute for a member of a band that the Reagans had loved and supported.

John Meglen (19:18):

You’re talking about a California couple, and they grew up loving the Beach Boys like the rest of us.

Tom Wright (19:46):

We want to hear from you. Perhaps you experienced a life-changing moment at a concert or meeting one of your favorite artists. Send us your best stories via voice message at NightOfShow.com/contact. That’s NightOfShow.com/contact. We’ll include the best of them on future episodes, and you stand to win Night of Show Merch, also available on the show’s website, NightOfShow.com. Thanks for listening.

(20:14):

Night of Show is a production of Project Brazen in partnership with PRX. It’s written and presented by me, Tom Wright, and Adam Wilkes. The executive producers are Adam Wilkes, Paul Gongaware, John Meglen, Tom Wright, and Bradley Hope. Sandy Smallens is the executive producer for Audiation. The story editor is Joe Levy. Mariangel Gonzales is senior producer. Matthew Rubenstein is the producer. Edited and mixed by Tom Sullivan and Paul Vitolins at Autography. Original Music by Paul Vitolins, with additional music by Tom Sullivan. Theme music by William Whitman. Lucy Woods is Head of Research. Ryan Ho is the creative designer for the project, with Cover Art Design by Julien Pradier. Clearance counsel is Innes Smolansky, Esquire.

Speaker 1 (21:08):

Audiation.