Beach Boys in the 1980s and ’90s
Dennis Wilson's Death
The death, by drowning, of drummer, Dennis Wilson, in December, 1983 temporarily cast doubt over the band's future at the start of the decade, but they soldiered on, employing Dennis's friend and co-drummer, Mike Kowalski as his full-time replacement.
Did Mike ever think that The Beach Boys would cease to exist after Dennis's untimely demise?
"It was Carl, Mike, Bruce, and Al – they made the decisions and we were the players," replies Mike, "and if they did decide not to tour, then so be it, but it seemed that back then, there was a market - people still wanted to hear it.
The nostalgia thing was going on in ’84, ’85, ’86, and The Beach Boys had too many hits, you know what I mean? Too many hits that people wanted to hear, that was part of their growin...