The Beach Boys are an American rock band formed in Hawthorne, California, in 1961. The group's original lineup consisted of brothers Brian, Dennis, and Carl Wilson; their cousin Mike Love; and their friend Al Jardine. Distinguished by their vocal harmonies and early surf songs, they are one of the most influential acts of the rock era. The band drew on the music of jazz-based vocal groups, 1950s rock and roll, and black R&B to create their unique sound, and with Brian as composer, arranger, producer, and de facto leader, often incorporated classical or jazz elements and unconventional recording techniques in innovative ways.

In early 1997, Carl was diagnosed with lung and brain cancer after years of heavy smoking. Despite his terminal condition, Carl continued to perform with the band on its 1997 summer tour while undergoing chemotherapy. During performances, he sat on a stool and needed oxygen after every song. However, Carl was able to stand when he played on "God Only Knows". Carl died on February 6, 1998, two months after the death of the Wilsons' mother, Audree, leaving Brian, Jardine and Love as the three remaining original members. Following Carl's death, the remaining members splintered. Love and Johnston, occasionally with David Marks, continued to tour together, initially as "America's Band", but following several cancelled bookings under that name, they sought authorization through Brother Records Inc. (BRI) to tour as "The Beach Boys" and secured the necessary license. In turn, Jardine left the band and began to tour regularly with his band "Beach Boys: Family & Friends" until he ran into legal issues for using the name without license. Meanwhile, Jardine sued Love, claiming that he had been excluded from their concerts. BRI, through its longtime attorney, Ed McPherson, sued Jardine in Federal Court. Jardine, in turn, counter-claimed against BRI for wrongful termination. BRI ultimately prevailed. Love and Johnston continued to tour as "The Beach Boys" with supporting musicians.  Brian Wilson sought treatments for his illnesses that aided him in his solo career. He toured regularly with his backing band consisting of members of Wondermints and other LA/Chicago musicians. Marks also maintained a solo career. The surviving group members appeared as themselves for the 1998 documentary film Endless Harmony: The Beach Boys Story, directed by Alan Boyd. Following the success of 1997's The Pet Sounds Sessions, many compilations were then issued by Capitol containing new archival material: Endless Harmony Soundtrack (1998), Ultimate Christmas (1998), and Hawthorne, CA (2001).  In 2004, Wilson recorded and released his solo album Brian Wilson Presents Smile, a reinterpretation of the Smile project that he initiated with the Beach Boys 36 years earlier. That September, Wilson issued a free CD through the Mail On Sunday that included Beach Boys songs he had recently rerecorded, five of which he co-authored with Love. The 10 track compilation had 2.6 million copies distributed and prompted Love to file a lawsuit in November 2005; he claimed the promotion hurt the sales of the original recordings. Love's suit was dismissed in 2007 when a judge determined that there were no triable issues.  On June 13, 2006, the five surviving Beach Boys (Wilson, Love, Jardine, Johnston, and Marks) appeared together for the celebration of the 40th anniversary of Pet Sounds and the double-platinum certification of their greatest hits compilation, Sounds of Summer: The Very Best of The Beach Boys, in a ceremony atop the Capitol Records building in Hollywood. Plaques were awarded for their efforts, with Wilson accepting on behalf of Dennis and Carl. Wilson began a brief Pet Sounds tour with Jardine later that year.

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