The Lost Beach Boy

David Marks, the forgotten founding member of The Beach Boys, talks to Ken Sharp

For many years, David Marks was a mere footnote in music history, a forgotten figure relegated to an obscure answer in a rock trivia game. In his candid new book, The Lost Beach Boy, co-written with Beach Boys authority Jon Stebbins, Marks finally tells his story. It shatters the mythology surrounding his role in the band, and offers a wealth of fascinating insight into the group’s formative years.

You lived across the street from the Wilsons in Hawthorne, California. Tell us about the area and the Wilson home.
The neighbourhood bordered between Hawthorne and Inglewood at Kornblum Avenue. I lived directly across the street from the Wilsons. My side of the street was a new tract home development and all the houses were exactly the same in terms of floor plan. On the Wilson side, that neighbourhood had been there for quite a while. It was run-down, there were no sidewalks and they lived in a pretty small and modest two-bedroom home.

Describe the household dynamic.
It wasn’t Leave It To Beaver (laughs). It wasn’t Tobacco Road either. The outward appearance of the household was happy. The boys were always running around doing something while Murry was on the phone and Audree was wearing the apron in the kitchen. There was nothing really unusual about it, …

by Ken Sharp
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