deliriouslove1970. The life & times of Gary and Denise Flanders. (Free and worth every penny. If you would like to compliment the editor, send to garytheflan@deliriouslove1970.com. If you would like to complain, call your mother.)

Sixty years ago my parents and I opened Flanders Music in Tecumseh Michigan. They had the silly confidence in their fifteen year old son that he knew enough about records and current music that he could be the Record Buyer (the person who decided which records to stock to sell in the store). For me it was a dream come true.

Bill and Betty Flanders, in a bold move for them, took out a full page ad in the local newspaper. When they came to the Record Buyer, I put on my ‘Beatle Boots’, a high collar shirt and sports jacket, and decided to hold my current favorite album by the new bad boys from England, The Rolling Stones.

But, there he was in the upper bin of the album rack on the cover of the newest Beach Boys album. From right to left: Al Jardine (cousin and best friend), Brian himself, Brian’s brother Carl, Mike Love (neighbor and good friend) and Brian’s other brother Dennis. ‘Plus three more great new songs written by Brian Wilson’.

In early 1966 The Beach Boys put out a single that was pretty much down the line ‘happy California’ catchy with nice harmonies. It sold fairly well for a Midwest audience like Michigan. I thought it was ok and a pretty good late teenage love ditty.

But then something happened. DJ’s and folks who bought the single turned it over and found ‘God Only Knows’. It even caught my attention. This was not the light weight bushy blond haircut California pablum I was used to from The Beach Boys. This was intricate harmonies with a strong meaningful message. Hmmm…

On May 16, 1966 out came the album ‘Pet Sounds’. Capital Records wanted to promote a Cali sounding standard that Brian hated: ‘Sloop John B’. He did his best to make it relevant and the single sold well. But it was the rest of the album that was astonishing. Sales were ‘so-so’ but the critics loved it. George Martin, the Beatles producer said it was one of the greatest rock albums ever. John Lennon played it over and over. Paul McCartney was jealous and challenged the other boys in the group to create something that would keep up with the Beach Boys’ Pet Sounds. This led to Sgt Pepper.

I began to realize that Brian Wilson could hear things no one else could. It was a slow and reluctant conversion but after many decades I understood Brian was a musical genius. I needed to reconsider all of his music.

I found a fun creative album that almost everyone hated – I loved it. I have now spent decades thinking about Brian and his music. After all of the stories, some true, some fiction, tales of mental illness, drug use, neurodivergent tendencies, the real reason he was deaf in his right ear, weird lifestyle, the strange psychologist who controlled him, I have concluded that Brian Wilson could hear things no one else could and he recorded a bunch of them. RIP Brian.