He is a singer and guitarist born in 1948 in California who was a neighbourhood friend of the Wilsons and when Al Jardine left for college he was asked to take his place in the Beach Boys although he was just aged 14.
He sang with them until 1963 when he had an argument with Murry Wilson. After he left the band he formed David and the Marksmen and then in 1966 he joined Casey Kasem’s Band With No Name followed by working with the psycho-pop group The Moon with Matt Moore. He was then a private student studying jazz and classic guitar at Berklee School of Music and The New England Conservatory.
He was offered the chance to rejoin the band in 1971 when Bruce Johnston left, but he declined. He did rejoin them, however, in 1997 but left again in 1999 due to complications with Hepatitis C. He has since become an advocate and spokesman for Hepatitis awareness although he has been cured.
He continues to work as a singer/songwriter and musician and tours with a variety of bands and returned to the Beach Boys for an album and tour to celebrate the Beach Boys 50th Anniversary in 2011. He joined Jeff Beck for a tour in 2014 and sang with Mike Love and Bruce Johnston’s Beach Boys on their several occasions in 2015.
He is related to Sadye Marks who was Jack Benny’s wife.
Here he is performing “Summertime Blues”..
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