David Marks was born on August 22nd, 1948 and was just 13 when he joined The Beach Boys as an official member in 1962. Although his time with them was fairly brief (he left in October the following year), his musical skills contributed greatly to the band's early sound, as he formed a dynamic twin-guitar attack with the young Carl Wilson.
David Marks: Forced Out of The Beach Boys
Rebellious by nature, David refused to let hmself be bullied by the overbearing, Murray Wilson, the father of Brian, Dennis and Carl, who as the group's manager, dominated proceedings with an iron fist, just as he had dominated his three sons throughout their childhood.
"There were disputes between my parents and Murry Wilson over money and managerial issues," he recalls. "I was an equal partner with the Wilsons and Mike, so once the money started rolling in, Murry wanted to cut everyone out except his own kids.
"He even cheated his own nephew so what chance did I have? I wanted to quit, and announced it several times, but my father wanted me to stay. He told me, ‘Stick it out a few more years and you’ll be a millionaire’.
"Eventually, my mother and Murry came to blows and she pulled the plug on it. I was relieved. I had already started writing and recording with The Marksmen, so I was ready to move on and do my own thing."
David Marks and Al Jardine
It has often been reported that the young guitarist was forced out of The Beach Boys because Al Jardine, who had left shortly before David joined, had returned to reclaim his place in the band in the summer of 1963. But as David explains, this was not the case.
"It’s a big misconception that Al and I replaced each other," he says. "We were actually in the Beach Boys at the same time. We toured and recorded together. If I hadn’t have left, it would have been the six of us. Brian could have stayed home and the five of us would go out and tour and there wouldn’t have been a need to bring in Bruce (Johnson)."
David Marks: Room to Grow
Suite 101: Did you come to regret your decision to leave The Beach Boys?
"I regret not having the financial freedom at this stage in my life that the other guys have, but musically, I got to grow and expand and master my craft in a way the others couldn’t because they had to perform the hits or answer to record labels.
"Besides, I always followed Dennis anywhere and I suspect if I had stayed in the Beach Boys and had all that access to the same vices he did, I would have died young, too."
Suite 101: Please tell us about your time with The Marksmen.
"The Marksmen, like the Beach Boys, was a double-edged sword. On one hand, I got to write, produce and arrange all my own music and it was a thrill to be 16 years old playing a fuzz-tone solo in a room full of middle-aged string players playing the arrangements I wrote myself, but the disappointment over the lack of success discouraged me from making my own music for decades.
"I was content being a session player on other people’s music. Now I can look back more objectively and see it was pretty good. I just had the bad luck of trying to break in at the same time as The Beatles hit America and also Murry Wilson was working behind the scenes to sabotage my band, so we never really stood a chance."
David Marks: Leaving California
By 1969, David Marks had tired of LA and decided to move to the east coast. What made him decide to relocate to the other side of the country?
"I had had five major label deals by the time I turned 21," he replies, "and I was just burned out on the LA music scene. During the time I was recording with the Moon and Colours, I was studying classical guitar with Vincente Gomez and Morey Mizrahi, and they both influenced me tremendously.
"I wanted to seriously study music and a friend of mine turned me on to the Berklee School of Music so I headed to Boston for almost two years."
David Marks: Life-Changing Decision
Being in The Beach Boys allowed David to get his start in the music business and helped him hone his skills as a guitarist and singer. Leaving The Beach Boys gave him the chance to spread his creative wings both as a musician and a songwriter - a chance he had been denied by his former band.
Though worse off financially, the artistic freedom he was able to enjoy playing music on his own terms was to ultimately prove far more rewarding.
The Marksmen retrospective, The Ultimate Collector's Edition 1963-1965 is out now.
Adrian Peel - Adrian is an English freelance writer and journalist currently living in Mexico. Over the past eight years, he has had articles, features ...
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