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The Lost Beach Boy: The True Story of David Marks one of the founding members of the Beach Boys

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A book about David Marks was long overdue, and I'm glad that Jon Stebbins (who published a fine biography of the late Dennis Wilson in 2000) was the one who took on the job. Most people haven't heard of David Marks. He was a childhood neighbor of the Wilson family. He grew up next door, playing with Carl and Dennis, learned about music from older brother Brian--who also, David notes, "taught me how to throw a football." From the Beach Boys' earliest days as a garage band, David Marks was there. He played on their first six albums, where his pictures remain, yet received no gold records, and was not on the stage when the group was inducted into the Rock 'n Roll Hall of Fame in 1988.

Marks left the Beach Boys when tyrannical manager/father Murry Wilson held him to a threat to quit. He was replaced by Al Jardine, who'd taken a time-out from the band. Barely sixteen years old, Marks returned to the South Bay section of Los Angeles, continued playing music with his own band The Marksmen, studied piano and guitar, and hung around with a dazzling array of LA musicians, including Warren Zevon. By the time he was sixteen, he'd signed recording contracts with no fewer than three companies. In time Marks became a highly accomplished studio musician. Though he toured briefly with the re-formed Beach Boys in 1999, Marks' dependencies, and his disinclination to play the same old things, led him away from the band again.

Unfortunately, this book also has to detail Marks' "lost years" grappling with drug and alcohol dependency. Stebbins doesn't overdramatize, and the reader is fortunate to see Marks sober, healthy, acting as a spokesman for Hepatitis C awareness, and finally receiving some recognition for his accomplishments with the Beach Boys: He recently was honored with the other surviving Beach Boys founders at Capitol Records, for example, and along with Brian Wilson and Al Jardine, Marks appeared at the grand opening of the Beach Boys memorial site in Hawthorne, California, near where both families' houses were torn down to make way for... a freeway. (Sometimes the cliches just write themselves!)

Stebbins also provides some new angles to many subjects passionately debated by Beach Boys fans. Marks' relationship with Mike Love is explored to great advantage, and Stebbins makes a strong argument for the belief that pressure and blackballing by Murry Wilson kept David Marks' post-Beach Boys records from getting the air time they deserved.

A niche book for a niche market. But hey, if it's your niche, you'll like it.

After reading Timothy White's "The Nearest Farawar Place" you might think that there is little else to be said about the Beach Boys and Brian Wilson and yet all of these great books keep coming out about the band using White's book as a reference and going into all sorts of various directions.

As other reviewers have noted, this book is long overdue. The "replacement Beach Boy" phenomina helped the band in some ways. David Marks/Al Jardine and then Chapman/Fataar and Bruce Johnston all had a role at one point or another in allowing Brian to stay in the studio and create unparalleled music. But it also hurt in some ways too in that fans do like to see the original lineup as much as possible. For all intents and purposes David Marks was really the original 5th Beach Boy, at least from the fans perspective. He was the one that we saw and heard on the first 4-5 albums before being replaced by Al Jardine- who was there before him but did not appear regulalry on the albums until much later. After that David's role was kind of swept under the rug until he returned to the band in 1997.

Fortunately this book focuses on his relationship with the Beach Boys during and after his tenure and does not spend too much time on his other bands. No offense to David but this would have been boring had they spent too much time talking about The Moon or David and the Marksmen. Although I have to admit that I was curious to hear his post-Beach Boys work after reading this. You end up getting a lot of extra insight and given that he experienced something similar to what Pete Best did it is actually very positive. And he clearly loves and admires Brian Wilson. Even after learning that Brian had the hots for his mom and was calling her at 3 in the morning when Dave and his dad were out of town. That part made me really laugh out loud and want to high five Brian too. Glad to know Denis wasn't the only one causing a little mischief from time to time! :)

Jon Stebbins has written a great book detailing the life of original Beach Boy David Marks. This is a must for Beach Boy die hards but can also be a great starting point for just casual fans as well. This book strips away the myths about the beginnings of the Beach Boys, the originals members and who exactly played on their albums -- guess what? but the early Beach Boys DID play on their albums contrary to popular myths that has grown up recently. Studio musicians did not come until later after their first 5-6 albums. David Marks finally gets his due for his guitar playing and introducing the other boys to various influences. It is long overdue. And someday hopefully he will take his just earned place in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame where he should have been from the start! Jon Stebbins has made a valuable contribution for setting the historical record straight.

Thank you Jon Stebbins for stepping forward and dispelling some very well established myths about the beginnings of the Beach Boys AND for giving a talented musician his day and say! I came to my fandom relatively late in life and when I first heard of David Marks, I said "who???"

Who indeed. He was only there at the beginning of what became the Beach Boy juggernaut and at the tender age of 15 told Murry Wilson to 'take this job and shove it.' He was summarily replaced with Al Jardine (who had replaced HIM initially at the behest of MW) and, if Murry had anything to say about it, systematically written out of the Beach Boys' history.

But it didn't end there. Marks' talents were powerful and prodigious enough to gain the ears, audience and following with some of the brightest stars of the industry. And Stebbins covers the flipside of that, the drug and alcohol abuse, with unflinching candor.

Marks today is cleans and sober and a powerful advocate on behalf of Hepatitis C. He has lived to tell the tale, and I'm thinking you don't necessarily have to be a Beach Boy fan to read and appreciate it.

Stebbins' prose lets the story to tell itself--I found it a wonderfully well-told cautionary tale as well as an important testament to one of the most influential bands in rock history. A great read!

David Marks and Jon Stebbins have not just given us a new book on the Beach Boys. With their close attention to detail, their access to sources previously untapped - including David himself! - and David's willingness to bare it all, they have created a book that is personal and intimate, and one that redefines Beach Boys history as no other book or film has ever done.

David was the kid who lived across the street from the Wilson brothers. As it turns out he was also a bandmate of those brothers, and an influence in the first couple of years - the first 4+ albums, the first ten singles, including seven hits - an influence far beyond the Beach Boys' mythology that has existed for the last 45 years or so. When David left the band in late 1963 he totally walked away, leaving Murry and the others to craft a story that has become "truth." The only problem was, it was a lie. THE LOST BEACH BOY tells the real story for the first time ever.

David's tenure in the band was short, but oh-so-important in the formation of the California Myth. I won't re-hash the book here, i will just state that there are things that Beach Boys fans have believed to be true for all this time that are, in fact, not. Whoever said this book contains no new information is either someone else who was there and witnessed the early years of the Beach Boys and thus knows all of this from personal experience, or they're delusional. There is a TON of new information on early tours, growth of songs, Brian's deteriorating ability to cope with life on the road, Al's re-entry, Murry's manipulations...and what happened to David after he left the band.

In many ways it is a sad book. It is a story of lost opportunities, lost chances, lost friendships. But it is also a book about redemption: David has come out the other side of all of his problems, and now enjoys a life of love and acceptance, with a wife and friends who love him for who he is, not for who he was or who he might have been. It is a beautiful and, as i said, intimate book, an easy read, and a MUST-read for all Beach Boys fans who are interested in the truth.

It shocks me to read some reviews that say this book doesn't have any new information or is limited to just music fans. These people must not have any soul! This book is beautifully written and contains all the elements of a good novel - humour, heart-break, fame, loss, irony, etc. If you didn't shed a tear on the last page as David and Brian stand in their old neighbourhood and, well I won't spill it, but I have no trouble admitting it was a very emotional scene. As for new information about the Beach Boys, this book is full of new facts, dates and information and highlights an entirely new perspective on the genesis of the Beach Boys. You can't be a fan of the Beach Boys and not learn something from this book and you can't be human and not be affected by the 'heart' in this story.

The early history of the Beach Boys is usually given short shrift by rock writers. As a result, many Beach Boys fans are unaware that David Marks was a member of the band for almost two years and played on the group's first five albums. Jon Stebbins and David Marks insightful book rectifies this oversight and gives us a rich and rewarding look at America's favorite bands formative years. Early tours and recording sessions are recalled with warmth and detail. For Beach Boys fanatics there is a host of new information that was previously unknown. After reading this book, one emerges with a new appreciation for David Marks. The book makes a persuasive argument that guitarist Marks played a pivotal role in the development of the group's early sound and deserves some credit for their success.
The book, however, is more than just another Beach Boys tome. Marks was thrust into the limelight at the age of thirteen and was an ex Beach Boy before his fifteenth birthday. Stebbins and Marks present a fascinating story of life in the fast lane and its pitfalls. It is a story of bruised egos, lost chances, rock star excesses and finally redemption. David Marks life keep you interested long after the Beach Boys have exited the narrative. This is a quite an achievement. I strongly reccommend this book.

This may be the only true version of the origin of the Beach Boys that exists. David Marks was there from the very beginning and he was an integral part of their initial success. The fact that his involvement was largely "sanitized" from all authorized Beach Boys biographies by Murry Wilson makes this book even more important. Buy it, read it. You won't regret it. It is a real eye opener!

When it comes to author's who can really dig deep and express in writing form the true soul of a person, Jon Stebbins is at the top of the list. I was very much impressed with his previous book, The Real Beach Boy and was even more impressed with this book (The Lost Beach Boy) as well. The book was realistic, was not candy coated, it showed the ups and downs and reality of life and how it affects some people, something we can all relate to at times. I already had respect for Dave Marks as a musician, but now I have even more respect for him as a person and being a survivor in all aspects. I had the honor of meeting Dave Marks and his lovely wife Carrie on a few occasions at Beach Boys related events out in California and also in Conneticut, he is a very down to earth person and is filled with so much talent, this book showcased all of this and so much more. Kudos to Jon Stebbins on writing yet another fantastic book, I hope to see more books from you in the near future!

I'm a solid Beach Boy fan starting around 1964 so I was never aware of David Marks' story. Also, I had previously read Jon Stebbins' biography of Dennis Wilson and didn't realize it was the same author until mentioned in the book.

With that caveat, this is an enjoyable book but a struggle to make into a complete book. David Marks was a young boy suddenly thrust in the new role of a Rock Star but also managed by a band member's father who felt immature behavior should not be tolerated. Mix that with immaturity and whether resigned or fired, Marks is out of the band. Unfortunately for him, lightening didn't strike twice and for true commercial success of a book, there is just not enough story here. But there is a story, early success, great disappointment, and later depths in alcohol and drugs.

But all that is happening in an exciting era in Los Angeles with famous touches like running into the Manson crew at Dennis Wilson's house, and later haircuts by Jay Sebring who is later killed by the Manson crew at Sharon Tate's house. If you have interest in that era or rock n roll history, this is a worthwhile read and it was for me. But it's not deep or long enough for everyone. Irrespective, overall the Beach Boys come off as regular guys thrown in an irregular world. It is great to see that later in life they kept somewhat in tough and even gave David a job as a touring guitarist. A great book for music lovers only.