Eyeblog

Harvey Kubernik interviews Brian Wilson

Published: 15/7/2009

File under: General

Author Harvey Kubernik talks to Brian Wilson about That Lucky Old Sun his new collaboration with Sir Peter Blake.

Let’s start with the origins of the piece. For you, what is it about the song, ‘That Lucky Old Sun’ that inspired you to build an entire piece around it?

The song itself is quite old and, because of its age, it’s correct to say that it’s about how this slave worked his ass off in the hot sun. To me, there was also something about it that felt like life in Los Angeles. When I started to obsess about recording it, I went over to Tower Records in Sherman Oaks with a notion to get a copy of the Louis Armstrong record. That’s the one I remembered best, that’s the one I wanted to hear, so I went looking for that record.

What drew you to that particular song? Is there something that strikes a particular chord with you?

I connected with the lyrics. What speaks tome is that it’s about trying to make the best of your life. That’s something I think everybody can relate to, so one day I was playing my keyboard, and this was after I had written about ten or twelve songs with Scott Bennett, and I said, ‘I want to make a concept out of this album.’ I went to the store, got the CD, learnt it and re-constructed the chords.

Tell me about the first time you heard Louis Armstrong’s version of ‘That Lucky Old Sun.’

When I first heard his version I was moved by the lyrics and melody, but the chords disappointed me so I created a new, modern chord pattern that put new life in the song.
Whenever I record something I didn’t write, I think it’s essential to bring your own vibe into it. You’ve got to, otherwise you’ll get snowed under. From the moment the notion came into my head, ‘That Lucky Old Sun’ was always going to be the title song of this project. I thought Louis’ voice sounded very good. I think of it as spiritual.

Do you think the song’s themes are universal?

Yes. I like spiritual music and I like spiritual concepts. ‘That Lucky Old Sun’ is a spiritual record. I listened to it and adapted the arrangement to completely different chords. I changed the chords to be a little more modern.

So you’ve got these songs you’ve written with your band member Scott, and you’ve got the idea to do a project called
That Lucky Old Sun. How did the two become one?

When we got the word from London that the people at the Royal Festival Hall wanted an extended piece, Scott and I proceeded to write more songs and re-work the lyrics, and I wrote the music. It took us about two weeks to do that. I knew the concept could work because I knew people loved the song, ‘That Lucky Old Sun’. I felt pretty strongly about that. Plus I know what I like. Anyone who ran across that song would be pleased. In September of 2007, when we premiered it at the Royal Festival Hall, the audiences there loved it.

Hold on a second. You’re getting ahead of the story. How did this all come about? Why did they come to you in particular?

It was Glenn Max, the producer of the Meltdown Festival & Music Programmes, at the Southbank Centre, who offered the commission to compose and perform a brand new work to celebrate the re-opening of the Royal Festival Hall. We had played Pet Sounds there and it was also where we first performed Brian Wilson Presents Smile. The Royal Festival Hall is kind of like a second home tome. They wanted me to come back, and I wanted to go back and play there, and they suggested that I should come back with something special. They presented that idea tome in a way they got me excited to do it, so we premiered it there and then recorded it.

When you were asked to write a brand new piece, ‘a suite’, how did you feel?

When they asked if I would perform a suite for their grand opening after they had redone the hall, I felt very proud and honoured.

This was the first, brand new, full-length piece you had written since finishing Brian Wilson Presents Smile. Did finishing it create the emotional space needed for That Lucky Old Sun?

The success was such a turn on that I wanted to create that same feeling but in a more modern concept album.

Did you feel a creative pressure for That Lucky Old Sun to be able to stand alongside your best-known albums?

Of course I did, an artist always wants to grow musically and have the public love what they hear. You have to realize there was a lot of pressure on me after Brian Wilson Presents Smile but its success gave me the motivation I needed to create That Lucky Old Sun.

Have you ever really thought about why England has become your spiritual, second home and why the country embraces your work more widely than in America? I mean, you debuted 'Brian Wilson Presents Smile' at the Royal Festival Hall on the South Bank, and you performed and premiered That Lucky Old Sun, a brand new piece, at the same venue.

Because they appreciate good music more than Americans, the music goes to their heart. Those people are more in tune with and more grateful to hear music than America. When you are 85 years old, and that’s not for a while, you’ll still love music just as much, or even more, when you are 85. London is like that. The British people are my favourite people except for the Japanese. They are the friendliest people in the world to me.

Brian Wilson interviewed by Harvey Kubernik, who first saw the Beach Boys perform at a record shop in Culver City in 1962. As a music journalist for nearly forty years and born in Los Angeles, California, Kubernik has been one of Brian Wilson’s staunchest supporters.

The full interview can be read in the book, which is part of the fine art collection that includes 12 limited edition screenprints by Peter Blake. Click here to see the prints and view this stunning piece in more detail.

Read about and see pictures from Wilson’s secret gig at the official launch evening here.
 

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