There’s a lot that can be said about the Beach Boys, as a band, given their complex history. Formed in 1961, the band has had members come and go, and is still technically active, though three of its ...

The Beach Boys leader, whose death was announced on Wednesday, was a brilliant writer, arranger and producer whose ambitions propelled his band — and contemporaries like the Beatles — into the future.

Ever since people could jump in a car and hit the open road, they have been singing about it. In the early 1900s, songs like “The Motor Car,” “The Auto Race,” and “In My Merry Oldsmobile” were ...