Gone But Not Forgotten

14 years ago, the angelic voice of Beach Boy Carl Wilson was stilled by lung cancer that had spread to his brain. Carl had been diagnosed the previous summer and had valiantly joined the Beach Boys on their summer tour. Spending much of the time sitting on his stool, bloated by chemotherapy and apparently wearing a wig, Carl's voice didn't appear to be weakened by the ravages of cancer. Or, at least that was what I told myself from my 2nd row seat at Pine Knob. I did not fail to notice that Carl would help himself to hits of oxygen between songs.

Late that same summer, I had received the bad news that my father was suffering from terminal lung cancer and was given a few months to live. The doctor's bleak diagnosis turned out to be correct and he died on Pearl Harbor day 1997.

My Dad and Carl were both smokers all of their lives. I followed the news of Carl's fight with interest, and rooted for him just like I rooted for my Dad. When I heard the news, around Christmas, that original short-term Beach Boy David Marks had taken Carl's place I feared the worst. Those fears were confirmed when Carl succumbed on February 6, 1998. I remember seeing the news reported on the front page of the Sunday Free Press. To lose my Dad to Cancer, and then one of my musical heroes, two months apart, from the same illness was grimly ironic. I was still mired in depression at the time of Carl's death, just starting to climb out of my haze. My Dad had died very young, in his early 60's after beating the odds a few years previously on a brain aneurysm. How could this be? And now Carl Wilson was dead. He was 51 years old. It felt like the pit of depression that I had fallen into was lined with walls of slick ice.

I bumped around in my depressed state for another couple of months, not truly coming out of it until my son, Lucas, was born on April 16.

By the way, I had the good fortune to meet Carl on several occasions and actually spent several hours in his company. The picture of myself with Carl back in the early 80s is one of my most treasured bits of musical memorabilia. He was a really good guy, extremely patient with his fans.

Carl's angelic tenor/falsetto can be heard fronting the Beach Boys on such classics as "Good Vibrations," "God Only Knows, " "Darlin'" and maybe my favorite Carl vocal "I Can Hear Music." To dip a toe into the well of this man's talent is rewarding indeed. Carl would never be the greatest songwriter in the Beach Boys. He was in brother Brian Wilson's shadow and was later eclipsed by his brother Dennis Wilson. But he had that voice. Here are two Carl songs from the great 1971 "Surf's Up" album. Enjoy!

"Feel Flows" was featured over the end credits of the cool flick "Almost Famous!"

"Long Promised Road" set to some vintage footage of Carl wandering around London during their 69 tour!