Jardine, Alan 1942–

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Jardine, Alan 1942–

PERSONAL: Born September 3, 1942, in Lima, OH; married; wife's name Mary Ann; children: Matt, Adam. Education: Attended El Camino Junior College.

ADDRESSES: Home—CA. Agent—c/o Jake Hooker, Edge Management, 10850 Wilshire Blvd., Ste. 380, Los Angeles, CA 90024.

CAREER: Founding member of musical group the Beach Boys, singer, bassist, song writer, producer, 1961, 1963–1998; Brothers Records Corporation; Endless Summer Band.

WRITINGS:

Sloop John B.: A Pirate's Tale (children's book), illustrated by Jimmy Pickering, Milk and Cookies Publishing (Ottawa, Ontario, Canada), 2005.

Contributor of lyrics to various songs, including "California Saga.",

SIDELIGHTS: Alan Jardine loved music from an early age, playing whole songs on the ukulele at just six years old. When he was still a child, Jardine moved with his family from Ohio to Hawthorne, California, where he later met Brian Wilson in high school. Jardine joined the Wilson brothers in forming the Beach Boys, playing bass guitar and occasionally singing lead vocals to start. He took a brief break from the group to pursue becoming a dentist, but returned just two years later. His background in folk music had a major effect on the development of the band's sound, which came to be considered synonymous with everything inherent in the California lifestyle.

Eventually, Jardine went on to write songs for the group, most notably "California Saga," as well as to produce. He was instrumental in convincing the band to produce the hit song "Sloop John B," which appeared on the Pet Sounds album. His voice can also be heard on a number of the group's most popular songs, including "California Dreamin'," "Help Me Rhonda," "Heroes and Villains," "Then I Kissed Her," "Transcendental Meditation," and "Cotton Fields." Jardine stopped touring with the band in 1998, after the death of Carl Wilson, but remained part of the underlying corporation, Brothers Records Inc., which the band had formed in the early 1970s to promote their material. He performs on his own or with his family, though a dispute over his ability to incorporate the Beach Boys' name into his own group's name led to a trademark infringement law suit in 2001. Regarding his music, Jardine says on his own Web site: "I've never considered myself a creator, I am an inventor. I like to invent things. Right now, I'm inventing my music."

In Sloop John B.: A Pirate's Tale, Jardine creates a children's adventure book based on the Beach Boys hit song. The story recounts the tale of a boy and his grandfather who set out on the Sloop John B., only to be caught in a thick fog and then encounter a pirate ship. The pirates attack, and the boy manages to save his grandfather from being forced to walk the plank. Illustrations for the book, done by Jimmy Pickering, are in a mixed-media style; their collage appearance makes the pictures appear three-dimensional. A contributor to Publishers Weekly remarked that "this traditional folk song makes for a jaunty seafaring story buoyed by … stylish, textured illustrations."