The Beach Boys bring Holiday Harmonies tour to Ottumwa
By Tracy Goldizen
Fun
Photo : The Beach Boys are bringing their Holiday Harmonies tour to the Bridge View Center in Ottumwa at 7:30 p . m . Dec . 14 .
The holidays have always been an important season for Mike Love ’ s family , including his Wilson cousins . So when The Beach Boys formed in the early 1960s , creating a holiday album was a natural fit .
Now , Love and The Beach Boys are bringing their holiday sounds to Ottumwa with their Holiday Harmonies tour , set to perform at Bridge View Center at 7:30 p . m . Dec . 14 .
“ Christmas was traditionally a really important time of year for the Wilson and Love families ,” Love said . “ Christmas was special because we would get together and rehearse the songs , have dinner and then go caroling around the neighborhood .”
Brian , Dennis and Carl Wilson were all part of that tradition as children , as well and Love and his sister , who would play the harp while caroling every year in the Los Angeles area . “ It was really natural for us to do a Christmas album because of the importance of the Christmas holidays for the families ,” Love said .
The first holiday album by the group was recorded in the 1960s with its most notable hit , “ Little Saint Nick .” Its popularity endures today .
“ The Beach Boys had a holiday album in the ‘ 60s , and it keeps selling every year . It ’ s pretty awesome that it sells records every year ,” Love said . “ It ’ s a fun song . We made a little Christmas fantasy record about Santa having a hot-rod sled ,” Love said , that he co-wrote with his cousin , Brian Wilson .
The holiday tour has become a Christmas tradition for the group . “ Our music has been played in every mall in the USA for five decades or more , so I think it makes sense , and it brings back a lot of good memories of getting together , as it is for so many families ,” Love said .
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