Smile seemed doomed to be known as rock’s most famous unfinished work. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band. But the reluctance of the other Beach Boys to embrace Brian’s musical experiments, as well as his own emotional problems and drug abuse, led to the album’s demise. Back in 1967, Smile was to be the crowning achievement of Wilson’s career, a psychedelic masterwork that would rival its contemporary Sgt. But Carlin felt that none of the other books about Wilson and the Beach Boys “had really gotten it right.”Įverything changed in 2004, when Wilson released Smile, an album he had abandoned some 37 years earlier.

Publishers were initially cool to the project, believing that the story had been told. Writing a book about Brian Wilson was something that Carlin “always wanted to do,” and after interviewing Wilson for a magazine profile in 1998, he saw the genesis of a longer work. Although he enjoyed living in New York City, he and his wife always planned to return to Portland, where they wanted to raise their daughter and two sons.

In 1996, Carlin went east to write for People magazine. Today, he is the paper’s television critic and occasionally contributes concert, book, and movie reviews as well. He started as a copy aide, then began contributing freelance stories, receiving assignments with progressively more responsibility. As a student, Carlin noticed a link between the folk ballad “Stagger Lee” and the Rolling Stones’ “Midnight Rambler.” Callahan encouraged him to pursue the idea, which led to an in-depth study project.įollowing graduation, Carlin found himself in the offices of Portland’s daily newspaper, the Oregonian, and soon realized that he knew what he wanted to do with his life. Carlin speaks with authority about the cultural and artistic importance of the genius who wrote, produced, played, and sang on all of the Beach Boys’ best-known songs.Ĭarlin, who majored in English, credits John Callahan, Odell Professor of Humanities, for sparking his interest in identifying connections between popular and classical art forms. It’s a long way from the fabled sun-drenched beaches of Southern California to an office in overcast Portland, where Peter Ames Carlin BA ‘85 discusses Brian Wilson, the mercurial subject of Carlin’s recent book. Peter Ames Carlin ‘85 publishes a critically acclaimed biography of Brian Wilson, the troubled genius behind the Beach Boys.

Catch a Wave by Peter Ames Carlin