Beach Boys Not Too Old to Rock 'n Roll
Boys of summer roll into Bryant Park for GMA Summer Concert show today.
Aug. 15, 2007 — -- They're in their 60s and still on tour, 40 years after their classic album "Pet Sounds" was released in 1966. That raises a question: Are the Beach Boys too old to rock out?
The band, formed in 1961, pioneered the Southern California surfing sound with hits like "California Girls" and "Surfin' USA." The Beach Boys, in one incarnation or another, have toured nearly nonstop ever since.
You can see the Beach Boys perform live on "Good Morning America" this Friday.
The group, however, has changed significantly since its beginnings. Brian Wilson, the band's founder and main lyricist and composer, stopped touring with the band in the late 1960s but, despite his struggle with mental illness, continued to write music. In December 1983, Brian's brother, Dennis Wilson, drowned. And in 1988, another brother, Carl Wilson, succumbed to lung cancer at age 51.
Only two band members from the early days still perform as the Beach Boys -- Mike Love, 65, a founding member, and Bruce Johnston, 62, who joined the group in the 1960s -- and they see no reason to stop.
"If you love what you do and it has a following and people want to hear you and you love music -- there is no reason to quit," Love told ABC News in an interview last year.
Classic rock acts like the Beach Boys also sell tickets.The Rolling Stones were the highest-grossing concert draw in 2005-06, bringing in $437 million in ticket sales.
"You see acts like the Rolling Stones, Madonna and Paul McCartney. These are people that can reliably sell out places like Madison Square Garden and sell tickets for big money," said Nathan Brackett, senior editor at Rolling Stone magazine.
With more music being sold or downloaded online, it's more important for musicians to bring in money at concerts, and it also helps performers connect with their listeners.
"There is kind of a vacuum where the album used to be ... live music is kind of filling that void," Brackett said.
Brackett said that for many baby boomers, going to a concert has replaced a night out at the theater. But baby boomers aren't the only ones showing up at classic rock concerts.
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