1 Music Teacher Told The Beach Boys’ Brian Wilson: ‘You Failed My Class, but You Scored Big in Music’
Brian Wilson is an award-winning songwriter and vocalist. He’s one of the founding members of the Beach Boys — even if he failed one music class. Here’s what the musician wrote about his experience in I Am Brian Wilson: A Memoir.
Brian Wilson appeared in the rock band The Beach Boys
God only knows what fans would do without the Beach Boys. According to the Beach Boys’ website, this surf rock band was formed in 1961, featuring brothers Brian, Carl, and Dennis Wilson, their cousin Mike Love, and friend Al Jardine.
That means Brian Wilson was around 19 years old when they first created the group. Since then, he co-wrote hits like “God Only Knows,” “Wouldn’t It Be Nice,” and “I Get Around.” He was even inducted into the Songwriters’ Hall of Fame for his arrangements — despite failing one music class while in school.
The Beach Boys’ Brian Wilson failed a music class in school
The Beach Boys were passionate about music before they were chart-topping musicians. Love explained in his memoir his parents instilled a love for the community — even if he disagreed with their music taste.
In I Am Brian Wilson: A Memoir, Brian Wilson detailed his life before joining the surf rock band. That includes his experience taking music classes in high school.
“When I was first interested in music, I took a class in high school with a guy named Fred Morgan,” Wilson wrote. “He was an interesting teacher. He taught us that music was a contrast, pale parts versus emotional parts and that not all the instruments in a song had to go in the same direction.”
“He failed me in the class because I didn’t know how to write classical music, but he got me thinking about some of the different ways music can work,” he added. “Later on, I ran into him at a high school reunion. ‘You failed my class, but you scored big in music,’ he said. My own ideas were just beginning…”
Some even credit the Wilson brothers’ father with instilling a love of music. For some years, Murry Wilson acted as the band’s manager before he was dismissed for being “disruptive” during the Beach Boys’ recording sessions.
The Beach Boys released their song ‘Be True to Your School’
Before he joined this band, Brian Wilson attended Hawthorne High School in California — his brothers Carl and Dennis were enrolled in the same school. The Beach Boys even mentioned their love for their alma mater in “Be True to Your School.”
The band initially included this song on Little Deuce Coupe, earning over a million Spotify streams. Mike Love returned to Full House to perform “Be True to Your School” on “Our Very First Telethon.” Now, music by the Beach Boys is available on most major streaming platforms.
