David Leaf, adjunct associate professor of music industry and musicology at The UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music, has just released his latest book, SMiLE: The Rise, Fall & Resurrection of Brian Wilson. At its core, the book explores the mythic, long-delayed album SMiLE—a masterpiece that remained unfinished for over thirty years. But Leaf’s book reaches far beyond the album. It is a portrait of Brian Wilson, the visionary force behind the Beach Boys, both his meteoric rise and his catastrophic fall—and the unlikely story of his comeback.
Told with the insight of a journalist and the intimacy of a friend, Leaf’s account is a powerful story of a musical genius. But he is not only documenting Wilson’s story—he lived parts of it alongside him.
In this interview, Leaf reflects on his extraordinary friendship with Wilson and offers a deeper look into the making of this book.
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How did you first become interested in Brian Wilson?
When I was in college, I had never heard the name Brian Wilson before I picked up a copy of Rolling Stone magazine. The Beach Boys were on the cover, and I read that article, which was promoting a new album called Surf’s Up. I bought the album because of the article. Coincidentally, the Beach Boys were playing Georgetown University nearby, and my roommate and I went with a friend. I was hooked.
But I was also outraged by the story of Brian Wilson, of what had happened to this man who had given the world “Good Vibrations.” My roommate and I talked and talked about it, and finally he said, “If you’re so upset, why don’t you do something about it?” And so I decided to move to California and write a book on Brian Wilson.
Just like that, you moved to California?
Yes. I arrived on a Saturday night. On Monday morning. I was walking out of the California unemployment office where I had transferred my claim from New York to LA. I got $95 a week. You could live on that in California in 1975.
The unemployment office was located at Fifth and Broadway in Santa Monica. I left the office, walked north on Fifth Street and there, walking towards me was Dennis Wilson of the Beach Boys. I walked up to him and I said, “Hi, Dennis. My name is David Leaf. I just moved to California to write a book about your brother.”
He laughed and said: “Good luck.” And he then proceeded into a small brick building, which I later found out was Brothers Studio, which the Beach Boys owned.
Did Dennis introduce you to his brother?
No. Eight months after that first meeting with Dennis, I was at the YMCA in West LA shooting baskets with a college friend, and two guys walk onto the court and say, “Do you guys wanna play two on two?” Well, one of them was Stan Love, who had just retired from the NBA (and who just passed away), and is the brother of the Beach Boys co-founder and lead singer Mike Love, and with him was Brian Wilson.
So, you and your friend played two on two with Brian Wilson and a Lakers power forward?
It was unbelievable. The whole time we were playing basketball, I was thinking to myself, “How are my friends back East gonna believe this?” Obviously we didn’t have iPhones to take a picture.
Not long after that, I did a story for the Anaheim Bulletin on an upcoming Beach Boys concert, and I interviewed Mike Love at his Santa Barbara estate. I was writing a lot about the Beach Boys, and I was invited to their 15th anniversary party. I took pictures at the party, and some of them ended up on the inner sleeve of their next album. I also began publishing a fanzine called Pet Sounds, which I printed at the UCLA print shop.
I’m curious—did you have a connection with UCLA at that point?
My cousin was an associate dean, but it was just a coincidence. But the fanzine led to the book contract.
What was Brian Wilson like in those days?
An introvert. I talked with all of his friends. Two were these women who lived in Brentwood, and they helped take care of him. Brian needed help, and there was kind of a whole network of guardian angels around Los Angeles who were looking out for this guy.
These women said, “David, you’re writing a book about Brian. Rather than interview him, why don’t you just come over for dinner when he’s here and spend some time with him?” And so I did, and I started spending more and more time with him.
That was the start of your personal friendship?
Our friendship began while I was writing The Beach Boys and the California Myth.
You mentioned earlier that, back in college, you had first heard of Brian Wilson’s unfinished album SMiLE, which he finally finished in 2004. You were a big part of that process, and you made a documentary about it.
Yes, Beautiful Dreamer: Brian Wilson and the Story of SMiLE. Brian wanted me with him every step of the way. Like I was Linus’ blanket. But I had a production company to run. I told him that the only way for me to be there was if I made a documentary, and we did it.
What do you hope readers take away from this new book, SMiLE: The Rise, Fall & Resurrection of Brian Wilson?
My editor asked me to write it as an oral history. The story is told by the people who lived it, who were there. So, if you love music, if you love music history, if you love redemptive stories, then this is a book for you. It is the story about a musical genius and his greatest work, but also one about the triumph of the human spirit.