by Martin H. Rots

Brian Wilson's mental instability and struggles with depression are well known.  Brian suffered a breakdown in 1965 while touring with the Beach Boys.  Glen Campbell, poised to become a star in his own right, was chosen as his temporary replacement and Bruce Johnston was later hired as a permanent member of the band.  Relieved of the burden and stress of touring, some of Brian's best music was created during this period including the classic album Pet Sounds and the single, Good Vibrations.  During this extended creative period, the image of Brian playing piano in the sandbox in his living room comes to mind.  The Bare Naked Ladies even did a song about it called, Brian Wilson.   During Wilson's solo, Pet Sounds Symphonic Tour in 2002, he opened the show with the song. 

Danny Hutton of Three Dog Night is a long time friend of Wilson and the two became close during this period.  Not long after Brian discovered cocaine, he and Hutton went to a party at the Beverly Hills Wilshire Hotel given by Alice Cooper.  When the pair walked in, Hutton waded right into the action, Brian stood frozen, just inside the door, completely intimidated by what lay before him.  Brian, ill at ease in social situations wanted out and he wanted out now.  On the verge of a panic attack, Brian looked around the room and was horrified to see a strange, thin man acrobatically leaping across the furniture in his direction.  He landed on the floor in front of Brian and deadpanned, "You're Brian Wilson."

"Yeah," mumbled Brian.

"Hi, I'm Iggy Pop," the strange man said with a smile.

Iggy walked Brian around the party to put him at ease and it wasn't long before he introduced him to Alice Cooper.  Brian was surprised to find how normal Cooper, like Iggy, was off stage.  Before long, Brian, Iggy, Alice and Danny all headed to Brian's house for a late night jam session. 

According to Wilson's autobiography, Wouldn't It Be Nice, "I positioned everyone around the piano and began playing Shortnin' Bread.  With me singing lead, I instructed Alice to repeat, "Mama, mama, mama" and Iggy to chant "Shortnin', shortnin', shortnin."  At first, this was big fun but after chanting for fifteen minutes, the song lost its charm.  Brian however, pressed on and continued to play the tune accompanied by Alice and Iggy, who were becoming disillusioned by their meeting with the southern California musical legend.  It wasn't long before the pair stopped singing and the whole process broke down.  Suspicious that Brian was putting them on, they prepared to leave.  Wilson continued, "after about an hour of singing "Shortnin' Bread, they realized that either I really was as off the deep end as rumor had it or I was having fun at their expense.  In truth it was a combination of both."

As they left, Iggy told Brian, "This is too much for us.  Too damn weird."  

To learn more:
http://www.brianwilson.com/brian/index.html
Wouldn't It Be Nice by Brian Wilson