Not even the Beach Boys were safe from the demands of Uncle Sam in the late 1960s, something the “cuddliest” Beach Boy, Carl Wilson, learned the hard way in 1967 when he was arrested for dodging the draft. By this point, the West Coast pop group was riding high on hits like “California Girls” and “Good Vibrations.” Thanks to Brian Wilson’s inventiveness in the studio, the band had begun redefining the parameters of what pop music could sound like.
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Despite this immense cultural influence, the band struggled to find their footing overseas, leading to damning headlines like, “They came…they saw…but didn’t conquer Dublin.” Not the best press a band could ask for in the middle of an international tour, but at least Carl Wilson managed to conquer his way out of a jail cell.
Authorities Arrested Beach Boys Member Carl Wilson For Draft Dodging
As artists like Elvis Presley had already proven, not even being a global superstar was enough to protect a young man from the U.S. military draft in the late 1960s. Carl Wilson, “cuddliest” and youngest member of the Beach Boys’ Wilson brothers, received his call from Uncle Sam on January 3, 1967, but he refused to comply on religious grounds. Wilson claimed conscientious objection, stating, “My duty to God is far greater than any mortal demand,” per Fifth Estate. A federal grand jury indicted the Wilson brother three months later on April 5, and the musician pleaded “not guilty.”
Fifth Estate reported that Wilson’s attorney, J.B. Tietz, criticized the draft process for “short-circuiting” Wilson’s case. “That is, instead of handling it so that he could have the opportunity to talk to the Board (Gardena), and the opportunity to have an administrative appeal (both rights guaranteed by Congress), the Board handled it so that he was unable to have either.” Tietz would use this fast-tracking argument as the grounds for his client’s defense in trial, which initially threatened the Beach Boys’ ongoing European tour that summer.
Fortunately for Wilson (and the rest of his band), the U.S. government eventually released Wilson on a $25,000 bond and the promise to go to trial upon his return to the States. A hearing scheduled in June of that year contributed to the Beach Boys canceling their performance at the Monterey Pop Festival, but Wilson managed to evade any traditional military service. Instead, the court ordered Wilson to perform “alternative service” by playing at prisons and hospitals for free.
Europe Was No Vietnam, But It Was Still A Tough Trip
No one could argue that touring Europe in a band was far and above having to serve in the Vietnam War, combat position or not. Still, that doesn’t mean the Beach Boys’ 1967 tour was a walk in the park. On the contrary, the poorly received string of European dates marked the gradual decline of the group as Brian Wilson’s mental health worsened and Carl Wilson wrestled with Uncle Sam in court. The rest of the Beach Boys were already in Europe when Wilson received permission to leave the country on May 1, 1967, after which the band’s agents chartered a ten-seat jet to take Carl and his wife to Ireland.
“There was a couple of hours delay before we flew on again, but the boys in Ireland didn’t know about this stop and were worried that the plane had crashed,” Carl recalled to New Spotlight. “When we finally arrived in Dublin on Tuesday night, we had been traveling almost non-stop for about 20 hours, so I was a bit dazed going on stage. The group certainly wasn’t at its best in Dublin.” The Beach Boys played two shows in Dublin that night, the first of which Carl wasn’t there for. Upon seeing the Beach Boys performing as a quartet, the crowd began shouting, “We want Carl,” and hundreds demanded their money back.
Although the group enjoyed greater success elsewhere in Ireland and around Europe, the debacle signaled a steady decline in the group’s popularity. But at the very least, Carl managed to avoid the draft, and that was certainly something to be thankful for in the late 1960s.
Photo by Alan Davidson/Shutterstock
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