Becoming the Beach Boys, 1961-1963 - Murphy, James B.

Examines the iconic band's origin story: how five teenagers with no musical training formed a band, wrote a song about the surfing craze gripping the West Coast, recorded it with the help of several key individuals, and scored a #3 hit in Los Angeles. Drawn from original interviews and newly uncovered documents, the book untangles many of the myths of the band's convoluted early history.