Bruce Johnston

Bruce Johnston (born June 27, 1942 in Peoria, Illinois) is a member of The Beach Boys and a Grammy Award-winning song writer for writing "I Write The Songs". Contrary to what many might believ

Bruce Johnston (born June 27, 1942 in Peoria, Illinois) is a member of The Beach Boys and a Grammy Award-winning song writer for writing "I Write The Songs". Contrary to what many might believe, Johnston was actually not one of the original members of the band. He joined in April 1965 after Glen Campbell who was replacing Brian Wilson decided to embark on a solo career.

Bruce Johnston grew up on the West side of Los Angeles in Brentwood and Bel-Air. His father ran the Owl Rexall Drug Company in Los Angeles after moving from Walgreens in Chicago. Bruce attended private school in Los Angleles and also studied classical piano in his early years. In high school, Johnston switched to contemporary music. He performed in a few 'beginning' bands during this time and then moved on to working with young musicians such as Sandy Nelson and Phil Spector. Soon Johnston began backing people such as Ritchie Valens, the Everly Brothers, and even Eddie Cochran. In 1959 while still in high school, Johnston arranged and played on his first hit record called "Teenbeat" by Sandy Nelson. The single record reached the Billboard Top Ten chart.