Released August 19, 1996 Artist The Beach Boys Label River North Records | Length 37:47 Release date 19 August 1996 Producers Joe Thomas, Brian Wilson | |
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Recorded October 5, 1995 -
June 12, 1996 Stars and Stripes Vol. 1
(1996) The Pet Sounds Sessions
(1997) Genres Rock music, Country music, Country pop Similar The Beach Boys albums, Rock music albums | ||
Stars and Stripes Vol. 1 is the 28th studio album by American rock band The Beach Boys, released on August 19, 1996 on River North Records. Produced by Joe Thomas and Brian Wilson, Stars and Stripes Vol. 1 is a collaborative album between The Beach Boys and various country musicians. Despite its Vol. 1 sub-title, the album is the band's only venture into the genre of country pop music, and is the last studio album to feature founding member Carl Wilson who died in 1998.
Contents
Brian Wilson, at the time recently remarried and in his best mental state for many years, was persuaded to re-join the group and act as co-producer. According to Brian's wife Melinda, during the album's recording, "They [the Beach Boys] treated him [Brian] like an invalid, all the time saying, 'Do this, don't do that, are you okay?'" The album's failure prevented him from getting a record contract, leaving the group's highly anticipated Andy Paley collaborations in limbo.
Recording
Most of the guests were mainstream country stars who had each had at least one #1 country hit before participating in this album, the four exceptions being James House, Junior Brown, Kathy Troccoli, and Timothy B. Schmit. (Troccoli and Schmit are not primarily country artists, being more closely associated with the Christian and rock genres respectively.)
Tammy Wynette had recorded a version of "In My Room" with Brian Wilson, but it was kept back for the projected Stars and Stripes Vol. 2, which never appeared. Her performance is shown in the television documentary Beach Boys: Nashville Sounds, and was later included on the tribute album Tammy Wynette Remembered in 1998.
Release
Stars and Stripes Vol. 1 easily outsold Summer in Paradise, but overall was not a major hit and was poorly received by critics. Consequently, further volumes in the series were canceled.
The album went out of print for some years, but was reissued on CD in May 2008. Beach Boys: Nashville Sounds features studio footage of its making and interviews with participants. The documentary was the final appearance of Carl Wilson with the original Beach Boys and the last time the original band were together to promote an album until the 50th anniversary reunion album That's Why God Made the Radio in 2012.
Sales chart positions
Personnel
Songs
1Don't Worry BabyLorrie Morgan3:18
2Little Deuce CoupeJames House2:52
3409Junior Brown2:22