Brian Wilson has been selected as the recipient of 2011's Gershwin Award and the Chairman’s Award at the 2011 NARM Convention.
It seems only natural that Wilson, the shy southern California kid from Hawthorne who turned the music world upside down with The Beach Boys in the 1960's, would be selected to receive two of music's most prestigious awards in the same year.
As long as this list may be for artists throughout the world, Brian Wilson remains in a class exclusive from most. His inherent ability to translate compositions by his feelings into grand musical visions have sometimes been overshadowed by his years of substance abuse and reclusiveness. This sometimes misunderstood architect was labeled a "troubled genius." Years of distorted history and poor journalism followed, further derailing the value of his contribution to popular music and the bountiful catalogue he created with The Beach Boys.
Although he released a very strong self-titled solo album in 1988, it was overshadowed by The Beach Boys #1 smash hit "Kokomo," written "Papa" John Phillips, Terry Melcher, Scott McKenzie and cousin Mike Love. It wasn't until September 2004 when Wilson independently released the mythical SMiLE sessions in a fully realized format as Brian Wilson Presents SMiLE that public perception and opinion began to turn. In 2005 Brian received a Grammy© for best instrumental for "Mrs. O'Leary's Cow," a track from his SMiLE release. Oddly, the recording included vocals…something the Grammy© people overlooked.
Since that time Wilson has released two cohesive and stunning collections: 2008's That Lucky Old Sun, an album that celebrates Los Angeles in all its historical glory, and 2010's Brian Wilson Reimagines Gershwin, a 14-track collection that afforded Brian the opportunity to readapt and co-write two incomplete Gershwin recordings.
Past recipients of the NARM Chairman’s Award include Cyndi Lauper, Daryl Hall & John Oates, BB King, Chicago, Carlos Santana, Garth Brooks, Billy Joel, Lena Horne, Frank Sinatra, Stevie Wonder, Smokey Robinson, Barbra Streisand, Liza Minnelli and Fleetwood Mac.
Past recipients of the Gershwin Award include Paul McCartney, Burt Bacharach, Julie Andrews, Stevie Wonder, Quincy Jones, Clive Davis, Frank Sinatra, Lionel Richie, James Taylor and K.D. Lang.
In the meantime, Brian Wilson purists and hard-core Beach Boys fans eagerly await the release of the original SMiLE sessions on Capitol/EMI Records later this year. There isn't a Brian Wilson Award for newly accomplished recording artists who demonstrate unique composition abilities in the recording studio yet, but there should be.
© David M. Beard/All Rights Reserved
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