Bruce Johnston Quotes

The Beach Boys are not a superstar group. The music is the superstar of the group.

The original Beach Boys are Brian, Dennis and Carl Wilson, Mike Love, and Alan Jardine.

We came from the '60s era, when we started and made so many hits. The song value from the '60s was so darn good, you've got The Beatles, The Beach Boys, all of Motown, and plenty of other people, too... amazing records, amazing songs.

I think I got turned onto The Beach Boys for the first time with the 'Endless Summer' album in 1974. The power of that music still, to this day, bypasses the brain and goes straight to the heart. You don't have to think about it; it's something that you feel.

I'm the lead singer of the Beach Boys and an ambassador of this amazing music that touched a generation.

I remember being turned on to The Beach Boys, hearing 'Surfin' U.S.A.,' I guess, in 1960. But The Beatles really did it to me.

Growing up, I was surrounded by music by the Stones, Carole King, and the Beach Boys. I didn't know who Michael Jackson was till I was about 13.

I grew up in the '70s, and I hear in my own stuff a lot of what I grew up listening to, which is to say I hear a lot of Billy Joel, Paul McCartney, Carole King, Joni Mitchell and Stevie Wonder.

When I was a kid, my first favorite song was probably Lou Reed's 'Walk on the Wild Side.'

Barry White, Smokey Robinson and Curtis Mayfield are big influences for me. But I'm also a metal head. I was in a bunch of punk rock bands. The Bee Gees, hip-hop and the Beach Boys are just as much of an influence on me as Smokey.

But when we listened to the radio, it was Bill Haley and the Comets or the Everly Brothers.

No one has their own identity like the Ronettes did back in the day.

I wrote all the lyrics on 'Good Vibrations' and most of them in 'Kokomo.' 'Kokomo' was extremely popular and fun to sing - it's probably one of the bigger sing-along songs in our show. But then 'Help Me Rhonda,' 'Surfin' USA' and 'California Girls' and 'I Get Around' and 'Fun, Fun, Fun' are great songs as well.

My first two records were influenced by the Beatles and the Beach Boys.

I consider the Stooges to be pop music.

I like The Four Freshmen, anything with good harmonies, some Beach Boys. I like the girl groups as well, like The Dixie Cups and all that.

I just got exposed to electronica, and I really liked it. I am also good with alternative rock. I like Lana Del Rey, Adele, Dido, Jack Johnson, and I love the Beatles and the Beach Boys.

I grew up listening to pop; I grew up listening to '60s pop music, the Beatles, the Monkees, Herman's Hermits and all that stuff. So I had a very strong background of listening to great pop music.

Well, obviously I wanted it to sound as original as possible. I suppose the influences that we had were probably from the actual power point of view we wanted to be like the Who. Vocally we wanted to be like the Beach Boys, whatever was good at the time.

Rap bores me, and all the glamour rock groups like Bon Jovi just amuse me. They obviously have a place, but they all sound like they use the same guitar player to me.

My first introduction to pop music was probably the Osmonds, the Jackson 5, the BeeGees... Then the Beatles eventually. My father was pretty specific about what we listened to early on.

You had to read what I wrote if you lived in L.A. in 1975 and cared about pop music.

I really like The Cars. They're just so over the top and super pop, but I don't feel guilty. I'm proud of all the music I listen to.

And my biggest revelation that will never be beaten is the Beatles. I couldn't believe that I'd gone my whole life without knowing all those songs.

I don't hate pop music. I liked the Beatles, but then, I knew them.