The Beach Boys on The Midnight Special (1979-04-27)

[@michaelclark4043]

Carl was not only a great singer but a great guitarist as well. He was an all around talented musician. He was the main ingredient of the Beach Boys.

[@bigtake12]

I'm a hard core beatles fan but i have to agree that Carl wilson's early solos way better than George Harrison early rock'n roll solos. He's a great guitar player!!

[@LBNLDC1]

A real live performance of Good Vibrations, a very challenging song. Amazing. Carl’s voice is perfect. God bless Brian for writing a vehicle for it.

[@326cher]

Carl's voice is so angelic!! And I'll always love Dennis.

[@stevenbrockiv4674]

Love them Wilson boy's, Carl is so great love his voice.

[@ms8596]

Nice to see Dennis still with his faculties and looks.

[@Mike583]

I'm listening to this almost to the day,44 years later! 70 & still love listening to their music! What a tragedy, that befell the Wilson Brothers!❤💔💔💔

[@kirstenhaldrup5219]

Wow even Brian clapping with/for the audienceon GV! Good stuff!

[@allsummerlong]

Denny is awesome on "Good Vibrations" and funny how Brian vacates the stage for "Here Comes The Night (Disco Version)" as if to say, "I can't be seen with this..."

[@allsummerlong]

"Lady Lynda" rules too!

[@sleepinthecloud1524]

so great to see Brian rocking out on the bass.

[@sheatiller2465]

Angel Come Home is such a good song.

[@thomasbrown7791]

Great segment love the disco song they did i.hope it's out on DVD some where it was great to see Brian Wilson back performing with the guys I didn't see him at first he was over on the side playing and singing he could still reach the high notes!!!

[@gerrydooley951]

June , 1979 had just gone to see the BB's at Berkeley's Greek Theatre. Came home to my friends apartment, turned on the TV and the Boys were hosting the Midnight Special. It was a great night.

[@rhartnett2419]

Love the concert with everyone there!! Its also great to here see Dennis singing as well!! RIP Carl and Dennis ❤ Thank you Elora for putting it on You Tube 🤩

[@wagonmaster1974]

Beach Boys doing what they do best. Cool to see Wolfman rocking!

[@rickbaker8188]

Carl had thermostat beautiful voice. His singing was amazing. The older I get the more I appreciate the brilliance of their "simple" music.

[@susanmcclellan1773]

Love brian carl and dennis love those wilson boys always.

[@will2741]

This is amazing, and as McGuinn Clark and Hillman were on the show too, it raises the possibility that two of my all time musical heroes, Gene Clark and Dennis Wilson got trashed together afterwards and said nice things about each others music

[@Ned88Man]

knowing what little i know about Gene and Dennis, there is a good chance it happened!

[@ENigma-um8zw]

In 2021 I am SO here FOR Disco Beach Boys ! Hell yeah what a great version of Here Comes The Night, thats hot af

[@GlassTarantulah]

Classico! On wikipedia its says they only performed disco 'here comes the night' once and got booed. Obviously not here! It woke that crowd up and sounds amazing!

[@Ripwejustkilleddaclub]

well its a tv show they were there to make this song look not shitty

[@ms8596]

The disco tune is lip synched. By the time they tried it, disco was already on it's way out. After McCartney (Goodnight Tonight) and the Stones (Miss You), plus all of the Bee Gees success since '76, they figured they try it too to remain relevant. It remains one of their biggest WTF bad decisions.

[@tanyaterrell74]

I had no idea The Beach Boys did a disco song!! Sounds good ❤️❤️❤️

[@andrewcarey5359]

Same didn’t knew either.

[@ms8596]

This was '79. You had McCartney coming out with “Goodnight Tonight” in early '79, the Rolling Stones with "Some Girls" in '78, and the Beach Boys dusting off a song from late '67 album Wild Honey, originally done in an R&B style, and making a disco song out of it in early '79, complete with 7 snd 12" single. Unfortunately, by the point in '79 when this was released, people were getting pretty sick of disco. Bad timing. The die hard fans hated it, and the disco crowd only took it to 44 on the hot 100.

[@fredgien]

It is sad to see Dennis and know what would happen in the next years.

[@tomklonoski176]

But nice to see him appreciated by the crowd when he sang

[@randallkennedy2066]

Dennis had talent.

[@LetitRainNow450]

He was barely drumming. Totally strung out

[@ENigma-um8zw]

I’m just thankful he was able to make and bless us with his music forever and Pacific Ocean Blue and Bambu albums and material-but yeah I 100% wish he was still alive tho. Man the stories that guy could tell, he’d be the best podcast guest or memoir writer. I’d read the fuck out of his tales. Sure by the end it was sad but he lived a fast hot burning life, he was Capricorn Carl was a Sagittarius and Brian is a Gemini, they all lived wild lives more so then the other ‘Boys, and Dennis probably the most of them all in the big scheme of things, I mean when the Mansons are tied to your story that’s a sign of some far out late 60s shit lol I love it and I respect him dearly. He drummed and sang his heart out for audiences, he was noted to have influenced the hard hitting strike of John Bonham and also the power style of Keith Moon both of which note Dennis as a rock drummer influence of theirs. So that’s not nothing. I mean we have to remember; They were one of the first big US rock groups in the early 60s even before the Beatles and went on to compete somewhat till Brian wasn’t able to complete SMiLE and went recluse for several years and the band had to become their own without him or with minimal input aside from a handful of instances like Love You and others where he had dominance of production again. Nonetheless. *Long live the legacy of the Wilson Bros and Beach Boys and RIP Dennis and Carl*

[@Tommy-TwigFan]

@@LetitRainNow450 lmao no

[@jayastor4663]

Thanks very much for posting this one! It brings back some nice memories of the LA Light album for me.

[@charliestoops8815]

Yeah, an underrated one in their discography. Baby Blue, Angel Come Home, Love Surrounds Me, Good Timin’, Lady Lynda, all beautiful songs.

[@timcahill605]

Go l a light album

[@JenniDarlin]

This is FANTASTIC!! Quality is not that bad. Thank you for posting it! ❤❤❤

[@jpinnacle]

Fantastic! Thank you so much for sharing this with us. So great seeing the whole band together on stage like this.

[@momomclagan5180]

Carl❤️

[@TheStarclipse]

Thank You Elora for this Birthday gift 😎🖤🆒🤗

[@Ned88Man]

It seems that all the original 5 are here. There couldn't have been a whole lot more shows where they all appeared on stage together after this.

[@Allthisisthat31]

Thanks for posting. I remember this performance well - for me its again all about "Lady Lynda" - spectacular.

[@NOWtheband]

I LOVE that version of Here Comes The Night, especially the long verison (minus the sax), much more than the original. Sooooo good! :-)

[@MrTonyS.2]

Listen to this 1979 version featuring Brian's 1967 vocals. kzbin.info/www/bejne/rpObc5aCZ6pqjdk

[@guitarraman1237]

Nah, original is wayyy better imo. But i respect your opinion

[@NOWtheband]

@@guitarraman1237 - Thank you for the respect. I respect that. 🙂

[@kevd008]

You know it was a good gig when you see Lady Lynda on the Setlist

[@deniseireland6154]

A true masterpiece, eternal masterpiece!

[@derekbeauchamp2409]

This is brilliant, never seen the whole thing before. Thanks for sharing !!! ❤️

[@Nethanel773]

Whoa! That's Here Comes the Night?! Wow! So much more tight, bright, together and energetic than Good Vibrations. To be fair, Good Vibrations is one of those studio songs that's difficult (at least then) to reproduce live. But they went into Here Comes the Night... Just wow! Don't recall their harmonies being so up front and carrying a song the way did in this performance. Start at 5:20. Sounds like another rock band that can't escape the disco craze at its zenith. 7 seconds in and the harmonies come at you... These guys got it. I mean they sound so alive here! I did not expect this at all. If you listen close enough, their harmonizing has a vocoder-like effect. It could be partially because of the increasing machine precision and clockwork polyrhythms becoming more common with disco music. Thanks for putting this up.

[@TonysMusic1974]

They were never the same after Carl Passed :-(

[@gerrydooley951]

Nope, especially as a live band

[@officialFredDurstfanclub]

I miss him daily

[@andrewcarey5359]

@@gerrydooley951Mike’s band is The Beach Boys one with Carl is not because Mike is the lead singer.

[@gerrydooley951]

@@andrewcarey5359 not sure what you just said, please explain

[@truthtransistorradio6716]

2012 was a good year for the band. Using Brian's backing band and 5 surviving members! Better than the 80s and 90s in my opinion.

[@debussy10]

Brian on bass, Denny singing "Angel Come Home" and playing smash drums, Carl on surf guitar, Mike tearing up the stage (one of the greatest lead singers ever!) and 2 Chuck Berry songs- plus Good Vibrations! Who could ask for more?

[@matthewhartz9566]

yes! and Brian is really kicking the groove in the ass on bass this show

[@msoileau83]

​@@matthewhartz9566 I'm impressed tbh.

[@msoileau83]

Al is solid as always As is Ed and Bruce.

[@patearly9492]

Amazingly cool show! Thank you for sharing and God bless all

[@johnmitchelljr]

Thank you. Good comments.

[@shaykatz5648]

As Brian hadnt been touring with them since about later 60's, it's great to see how Carl, the youngest Wilson, stepped up to fill his vocal shoes! Sadly Brian is only brother alive now. Great job cousin Mike & friend Al Jardine!

[@peterpanassow7814]

Elora, u rock! U have the best videos. 👍

[@karenbrakefield5873]

I liked the disco song. The harmonies are stunning. Never heard it before. These guys make it look easy. And it’s not. This is talent.

[@andrewcarey5359]

What song was that?

[@wmulhernjr]

Here Comes The Night. It’s the only song they lip-synched…

[@andrewcarey5359]

@@wmulhernjr Troll they are not lip synching at all.

[@will2741]

⁠@@andrewcarey5359They literally are. It’s all live except here comes the night.

[@andrewcarey5359]

@@will2741 You do not know that. They ARE the REAL Beach Boys. You are a troll.

[@robertbrown7408]

Dennis stole the show,what a lovely soul he was..

[@butteheadbuttrack4728]

Ty for uploading.

[@seltaeb3302]

I saw Brian Wilson about 20yrs ago with his huge band. Great night & good vibrations..

[@ellenblood415]

Always loved Al Jardine

[@disprogreavette8545]

What a lineup on the Midnight Special that night.

[@paulbeever6812]

ABSOLUTELY SUPERB. DENNIS DRUMMING BRILLIANTLY, BRIAN'S BASS A KNOCK OUT,MIKE'S VOCALS FANTASTIC, THE REST OF THE GUYS UNBELIEVABLE!!! THANK YOU FOR THAT SLPLENDID PIECE OF MUSCAL HISTORY!!!! THE WILSON FAMILY LIVES!!!!

[@davidpanzer1166]

Not Brian on bass.

[@lowenbad]

Or Denny’s drums

[@michaelclark4043]

R.I.P CARL.

[@lowenbad]

8:18 Al playing nothing… almost like “fuck this”.

[@robertbrown7408]

Dennis steals the show for me.What a great performance with Angel come home !

[@javier86050]

Lady Linda, great version

[@kirchfam]

Was that Dennis playing the piano behind Bruce on the keyboards? It was hard to tell.

[@Frenite]

One of the only times they performed “Here Comes The Night”.

[@R68A5050]

They aren't performing it. Here Comes the Night here is straight off LA Light Album.

[@R68A5050]

I know, but what I'm saying here is- the sound we are hearing here isn't live- it is the actual album track

[@davidstorm4015]

This rocks, despite the video quality!

[@ENigma-um8zw]

If you grew up with VHS and CRT TVs this would be the norm, it actually adds to it in my weird opinion, I mean ofc it would be great to have some high res reel or tape of the footage and see a cleaner version, but like you said even despite such quality, this ROCKS! :D

[@B-Rad-Ry]

Sweet Christmas....every single group went disco at this time!

[@bonzodog6872]

The Beach Boys went disco five years after everyone else

[@disprogreavette8545]

Even the Grateful Dead went disco. It was an odd time.

[@skee19]

angel come home !

[@ELVENGADOR858]

BEACH BOYS FOREVER

[@ronaldjoseph4425]

MORE!!!

[@Mina-ok5qm]

My darling Carl ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

[@Mina-ok5qm]

I liked that disco number actually

[@rejectionisprotection4448]

So do I. It's not as bad as I expected. It's still very recognisably the Beach Boys. I remember this song at the time, but I didn't know it was them.

[@SixtiesRule-gi5xf]

Wow! Roger McGuin of the Byrds looking might fine on Rock 'n' Roll Music!

[@karenbrakefield5873]

Damn Dennis is workin it lol. In angel come home.

[@lukehallinan9966]

What a cast😄

[@allanspence1347]

Mike Love gives me the creeps

[@frereanaktom99]

me too

[@rejectionisprotection4448]

Me too (2).

[@jaydickey1049]

Couldn't surf.....or dance.

[@the_Real_Grammy_of_6]

Because he is a creep

[@the_Real_Grammy_of_6]

The Cousin (I don’t say his name because I’m afraid of exploding) is a waste of space

[@petestaint8312]

Everyone sounds great, especially Bobby Figueroa!

[@sofhispalis]

Dennis had a fuckin nice voice!

[@sofhispalis]

I love this album! ♥️

[@gerrydooley951]

he did but it was all downhill from here

[@gerrydooley951]

@@mrsmacca126 great, great album

[@elframo]

I'm 53 and Mike Love still creeps me out

[@frereanaktom99]

i wouldn;t have let him near my daughter

[@KajZu2]

Since I was 14 for ages ago decades since. Love this since my own music succes in carrier LOVE!!!

[@DavidFernley]

carl was amazing

[@kirchfam]

1:26 Carl has chest hair! OMG

[@dingdangdata]

Seriously! Why was he hiding that from us?

[@leokimvideo]

In this era Brian was being controlled by Eugene Landy. God only knows what drugs were being used to numb Brian and all his staged performances in this ere have him literally sidelined as an embarrassment to the group, nice to see him playing bass here. This would also be a few years away from Dennis Wilson's death. You can see in the early 80's Dennis on stage was like looking at a possessed person and the demons were never far away. Carl Wilson was the only one holding the band together. It's the last era of the original Beach Boys line up.

[@tomjones5650]

This was 1979. Brian didn't go back to Landy until 1982...

[@joe22589]

3:41 Stunner-alarm

[@rustybooker]

Not close

[@bryancooper2247]

Lady Linda sucks 🤣

[@the_Real_Grammy_of_6]

I wish I had one of those blur out things…like the ones used on crime scenes for TV. I would use it for The Cousin.

[@thadonis.]

Beach Boys must have done more live gigs than any other band, by far.

[@rafaelsale6364]

I can't believe they made Brian perform on the stage considering the condition he was in.

[@SirKevinH]

He is in great form on here even playing bass on a few songs. He was actually going through a good period at this time. After he lost a good bit of weight and before the drug cocktails from Landy screwed him up. He is very cogent here.

[@rickbaker8188]

Sorry, spell checking my note, the most beautiful voice...

[@stevefaure415]

Beach Boys pull off Good Vibrations with basically, it seems, mostly the original lineup. They're got a few guys playing behind them for sure but I don't think any other vocalists and it looks like it's only Dennis playing drums, which wasn't always the case.

[@yankeeponge9659]

Never heard from Dennis much he was real and the ONLY surfer among them.

[@rocknroll909]

Brian and Dennis looking good here

[@Frenite]

5:03: Who’s the guy with the curly hair behind Mike Love?

[@EloraBB]

ed carter

[@Allthisisthat31]

@@EloraBB as he is often called, "Smilin' Ed Carter" :-)

[@ImaginationMeme]

14:39 doesn’t want to reveal the bald underneath his hat

[@7Burns]

What a great live performance of 'Good Vibrations'. Never heard a better one, I guess. The description says it's on DVD. What DVD ist this on?

[@Blend42]

Is this the hairiest Brian got? Also does he disappear off of stage for Here Comes The Night? (and maybe Angel Come Home/ Lady Lynda). Goes from Piano for Good Vibrations to Bass for Surfin USA then back to piano again for the 2nd Good Vibrations. Guess he wasn't too down for the newer stuff?

[@gerrydooley951]

It is, it was never that big and bushy again.

[@bozoallen464]

as usual, @ 1:45, ..mike's more worried about what Brian's doing,..instead of concentrating on his deep breathing,..yoga!!!!

[@bozoallen464]

again @ 2:00

[@bozoallen464]

What a DICK!!! THEY we're all riding Brian's coattails!!!

[@bozoallen464]

He & Murray r the reason 'Smile' never came out when it should have!! "Stick to the formula!..thats too farvout!! ..people r gonna think u r 'Out There!!" Not according to John & Paul- who said- "We'll jump on that ticket,...and ride!!"

[@gerrydooley951]

@@bozoallen464 It was all up to Brian regarding Smile. He made the decision to shelve it

[@1401minstrel]

@@bozoallen464 I'm not a Mike fan, but in 1979 he had good reason to be concerned about what Brian was doing.

[@richardhintz6890]

Watched this when it first came on midnight special. With disco and new wave coming? I needed dirt dog California

[@steves4533]

That beach boys disco song was ha ha.

[@darrenjray]

Does anyone else suspect they're using a backing track for 'Here Comes the Night'?

[@fredgien]

darrenjray Playback...

[@jonchapple]

They're miming the whole thing, by the sounds of things.

[@McGarvey_music_1]

@@jonchapple I don’t know all the numbers seem like they’re performed live for the most part. The disco one definitely is playback.

[@rocknroll909]

​@McGarveymusic210 yeah there are a few small instrumental imperfections throughout the other songs that definitely sound like they are live

[@stardragon16]

Yes, Jardine was playing guitar one handed at 8:17

[@slendus8363]

can you post the Tavares performances please

[@sourgoodtimes]

L O V E

[@UkrainianPaulie]

Death before disco!

[@nates.9744]

Did Dennis lip-sync/redo his vocal for Angel Come Home here? Sometimes he’s a bit off sync but I say this bc it sounds like everything else on the track here is live.

[@DaleRay-op7hh]

Go Dennis Go

[@joshuamorin1771]

Some of those attending the concert looks like Greg Brady. The girl he is dancing with looks like Marcia, his sister.

[@ms8596]

It's a weekly TV show. The audience is selected for looks and danceability.

[@moboutmen]

The Beach Men

[@user-ld2cy8ox2m]

11:23

[@richardhintz6890]

Then there was this momentary lapse of reason

[@rhondaeverett8284]

Yup lol

[@tonyjrduran5331]

DENNIS CARL WILSON ON DRUMS

[@miguelrenteria7672]

Can you upload Paul Williams cried like a baby live performance which was on the midnight special 1975 if you have it?

[@kirstenhaldrup5219]

Love Denny!

[@kirstenhaldrup5219]

These songs are such reminders of relationship failures sadly. So sad for Carl and Denny

[@kirstenhaldrup5219]

Rewatching! Love Dennis (hot, sexy and outgoing) and Carl ( so beguiling) the glue of the family

[@kirstenhaldrup5219]

Love Denny 1000 times over

[@figmo397]

The disco number was hilarious and clearly lip synched. If you don’t believe me, look at Al Jardine’s left hand doing nothing while he pretends to play the guitar with his right hand. Brian didn’t even pretend to be involved!

[@ms8596]

Same thing with Carl. Not really even going through the motions. Dennis tapping on the high hat. Disco was already dying and they laid this egg. Bruce Johnston should have been fired for this.

[@seltaeb3302]

Why did you cut out the other acts?

[@EloraBB]

wasn't me! just got the file like that, take it up with whatever beach boys fan had it originally :)

[@seltaeb3302]

@@EloraBB will do, & get my lawyers on to it!

[@leannmeixner8073]

Right after this, Carl left the band for while and tried a solo career.