Beach Boys' Brian Wilson Dusting Off Country Music Album

Founding member of the Beach Boys, Brian Wilson, had his sights set on a country album some 50 years ago. In fact, Wilson put the work in and recorded the beginnings of the album with the Beach Boys manager Fred Vail as the lead vocal. Then it got put on the shelf and has been gathering dust ever since.

According to Rolling Stone , "Cows in the Pasture" will see the light of day again and be released sometime in 2025. Reports say that the album will use some of the original vocals along with new star guest vocalists.

Sam Parker will serve as the project's producer. Apparently, Parker, a lifelong Beach Boys fan, found Vail on Facebook and wanted to connect.

Parker told Rolling Stone, "I reached out to Fred, not thinking he would actually respond.  But he did, and I said, 'Hey, I'd love to take you for a cup of coffee and hear some stories.' And from moment one that we sat down, something inside was like, 'You have a hit record on your phone.' And I'm thankful I did because every story he told was just jaw-dropping. Fred was the fly in the room for everything."

The two developed both a friendship and a business partnership over the years. Parker was so interested in the life and times of Vail that he began to put together a story to tell the world about Vail and his life.

Learning that Vail had tapes that had been long ago cleaned out of The Beach Boys' vault, Parker knew what needed to be done.

A four-part docuseries is being produced by Parker and Wilson to tell the story of Fred's life; all the while, "Cows in the Pasture" is being revitalized with guest vocalists.

Given that fans have waited for 50 years to hear the country album, one more year shouldn't be an issue. Given, though, that the information is out, the wait will be hard on some!