He was born Benjamin Baldwin and his name was changed to
Bruce Arthur Johnston after he had been adopted in Peoria,
Illinois. He grew up in Los
Angeles.He is a musician and singer-songwriter who attended private school
and studied classical piano.He
switched to contemporary music while still at school and worked with a
young Phil Spector and Sandy Nelson, who he played for on his Top 10 hit
"Teenbeat".He became
a back-up performer for artists including Eddie Cochran and the Everly
Brothers.He was half of the
Bruce and Jerry duo and made his solo single "Take This Pearl".He began his record producing career
at Del-Fi Records and produced and co-wrote an album by Ron Holden as well
as several singles.He resumed
his own solo career and recorded the album Surfin' around the World.He began to collaborate with Terry
Melcher and they worked together as producers as well as becoming the duo
Ben & Terry and The Rogues.He replaced Glen Campbell in The Beach Boys when he left in 1965 and
his first vocals with them were on "California Girls".In 1966 he flew to London
to play the album Pet Sounds for
John Lennon and Paul McCartney to hear.He left the band in 1968 but still
guested on all their albums except M.I.U.
and he rejoined the band officially in 1978.As a songwriter he has written songs
including "Disney Girls" which was recorded by Captain &
Tennille and Art Garfunkel. His song "I Write the Songs" was a
hit for Barry Manilow and recorded by over 200 artists, selling 25 million
copies, and winning a Grammy Award.He wrote and performed the
backing vocals for Pink Floyd's album The Wall and Elton John's "Don't Let the Sun
Go Down on Me".He
has won a "Song of the Year" Grammy and still performs 170
concerts a year with The Beach Boys.Robert Lee portrayed him in the 1990 movie Summer Dreams: The Story of the Beach Boys.He appeared in the 1978 movie Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Heats Club
Band as well as an episode of Baywatch.
Beach Boys Recordings
Livin' With a Heartache (Carl
Wilson/Randy Bachman)
