James S. Hirsch > Quotes

“Murry Wilson, to be sure, was a driving force in the Beach Boys' early success, but his greed and vindictiveness deny him any tribute. The most forgiving thing I can say about him is that he was simply an inheritor of his own father's cruelty. My mom, for her part, was always loyal to her brother, as she was grateful for how Murry had protected his siblings against the violence of their father. I wasn't going to sully my mom's devotion to that brother with an explanation of his betrayals against his own family.”
― James S. Hirsch, Good Vibrations: My Life as a Beach Boy

“But if the "genius" campaign gave the other Beach Boys short shrift, the real damage was to Brian himself. It put even greater pressure on him. It made him even more driven and caused him to fear failure all the more. It was hard enough to match the Beatles, but now he had to keep up with Mozart?”
― James S. Hirsch, Good Vibrations: My Life as a Beach Boy

“the Democrats vehemently opposed all civil rights, arguing that “Republican success means African domination.”
― James S. Hirsch, Riot and Remembrance: The Tulsa Race War and Its Legacy