Song of the Day-Love Lost

Today's song of the day, well, if it were a vinyl record we would be blowing the dust out of the grooves! It goes back to one year after I was born. Yeah, that old!  It has often been said that Beach Boy Major Domo Brian Wilson developed the sound of the Beach Boys by combining the then current rock'n'roll sound of Chuck Berry, with "jazz-based" vocals reminiscent of the Four Freshmen. Brian grew up listening to the Four Freshmen, a group that his father (and first Beach Boy manager) Murray Wilson loved. The Four Freshmen had a very cool, very modern vocal blend. Before my Dad died back in 1997, I got a chance to go and see the Four Freshmen with him because they were one of his favorites. He loved the great 50's, pre-rock vocal groups. And my Dad loved a lot of the Beach Boy's records because of the similarity of their sound. It was a great evening of music from another era. One of very few I got to spend with my Father. But that night we bonded over great vocal harmonies.

The Four Freshmen were started by four students at Indiana's Butler University in 1948. By 1997, all the original members had passed away or retired, though, founding member and leader Bob Flanagan still managed the group. Bob would come up during the show and take a vocal on one song during the set. Bob passed away in May of last year at the age of 84. Joined, I am sure by many in that night's audience as my wife and I were the youngest there by about two decades. There is still a Four Freshman, and from their  website (yes they have a website-I don't mean to be "ageist" but I don't know that many in the Four Freshmen demo have or use computers!) and from their photos, appear to have an average age  of about 34! What I find interesting is that  believe you will see this more and more among rock'n'roll groups whose music will live on, in artfully played and very entertaining shows performed by talented "interpreters" or "impersonators" if you will. There are Beatles tribute bands in every major state. Some, like the Fab Faux, offer "state-of-the-art" performances. Others, obviously, are not as talented. But still fun. I wouldn't be surprised to see the 70 year old Beach Boys replaced in upcoming years by younger performers, bashing out "Surfin USA" for an "ever-graying" audience.

Here is the Four Freshmen tune "Love Lost" from the album of the same name released in 1959. The tune was written by the Four Freshmen themselves and you can see a direct connection between the Four Freshmen sound and the Beach Boys sound. Give it a listen!