Dodger Stadium and The Beach Boys to both celebrate 50th anniversaries beginning Opening Day

LOS ANGELES – The Dodgers announced today a season-long partnership with The Beach Boys to jointly celebrate Dodger Stadium’s and The Beach Boys’ 50^th anniversaries. The Beach Boys will launch Dodger Stadium’s 50^th Anniversary presented by State Farm on Opening Day, Tuesday, April 10 (vs. PIT at 1:10 p.m.), with a special performance by the band followed by the national anthem. Opening Day festivities begin at 12:30 p.m. As part of this first-ever partnership, the Beach Boys and the Dodgers will offer co-branded merchandise featuring the band’s 50^th Anniversary logo and the stadium’s 50^th Anniversary logo. Starting on Opening Day, these commemorative items will be available at Dodger Stadium and on The Beach Boys’ 2012 reunion tour.

This year marks the 50^th year of the opening of Dodger Stadium, an indelible Los Angeles landmark that greatly impacted the fabric of the city of Los Angeles, solidified the Dodger franchise in Southern California and offset decades of great moments and memories for countless Los Angeles families.

“It’s very special to us that we get to celebrate our 50 years alongside the Dodgers, a team we all love,” said The Beach Boys. “Generations of fans have supported our music just as much as their Boys in Blue and we’re very happy to celebrate both L.A. traditions at Dodger Stadium this Opening Day.”

This year also marks the 50^th year of The Beach Boys, one of the world’s most legendary bands in popular music history whose founding members have reunited for a global 50th Anniversary celebration. Beach Boys Brian Wilson, Mike Love, Al Jardine, Bruce Johnston and David Marks have come together this year for a new studio album (due out in June) and commemorative catalog releases from Capitol/EMI and a 50-date international tour to begin in April following Opening Day at Dodger Stadium.

“The Dodgers are so pleased to share our Golden anniversary with another California icon,” said Hall of Fame Manager and Special Advisor to the Chairman Tommy Lasorda. “Singing the national anthem any time is an honor, but especially on Opening Day. I am looking forward to their performance.”

This unique partnership features several collaborative elements including:

Opening Day at Dodger Stadium

As part of the Dodgers’ Opening Day festivities and to launch this season-long partnership, The Beach Boys will perform a song and sing the national anthem on the field at Dodger Stadium. Dodger fans will enjoy The Beach Boys’ greatest hits, which will be played exclusively throughout the ballpark, as well as a video feature on the band’s 50^th Anniversary reunion and tour.

Beach Boys Night at Dodger Stadium on May 18

The Dodgers will dedicate the Friday May 18 game (vs. STL, 7:10 p.m.) to The Beach Boys. Prior to the start of the game on “Beach Boys Night,” the Dodgers will once again treat fans to the legendary band’s most memorable tunes as The Beach Boys’ recorded music will be played in-stadium. At the conclusion of the game, fans are invited to go onto the playing field to watch a “Friday Night Fireworks” show set to The Beach Boys’ music.

Dodger Stadium 50^th Anniversary and The Beach Boys 50^th Anniversary co-branded merchandise

The Dodgers and The Beach Boys have licensed the production of co-branded official MLB merchandise that will be available at Dodger Stadium and on the band’s 50^th Anniversary reunion tour. Co-branded items will be on sale starting Opening Day.

Opening Day is sold out. A limited number of seats for Opening Day are available through the purchase of Full Season, 25-game Pick ‘Em and 15-game Mini Plan packages. Dodger season ticket options, one of the best values in Los Angeles and all of sports, start at $5 per ticket and Mini Plans start at $8 per ticket. Details can be found by visiting www.dodgers.com/tickets or by calling 866-DODGERS. 

For more information on Dodger Stadium’s 50^th Anniversary, please visit www.dodgers.com/50th. Media materials for the celebration of Dodger Stadium’s 50^th Anniversary presented by State Farm are available on DodgersPressBox.com: Dodger Stadium 50^th Anniversary Media Kit.

About The Beach Boys

Founded in Hawthorne, California in 1961, The Beach Boys were originally comprised of the three teenaged Wilson brothers: Brian, Carl and Dennis, their cousin Mike Love and school friend Al Jardine.  In 1962, neighbor David Marks joined the group for their first wave of hits on Capitol Records, leaving in late 1963, and in 1965, Bruce Johnston joined the band when Brian Wilson retired from touring to focus on writing and producing records for the group.  For five decades, America's first pop band to reach the 50 year milestone has recorded and performed the music that has become the world's favorite soundtrack to summer.

The Beach Boys signed with Capitol Records in July 1962 and released their first album, Surfin' Safari, that same year. The album spent 37 weeks on the Billboard chart, launching the young group known for its shimmering vocal harmonies and relaxed California style into international stardom.  The Wilson/Love collaboration resulted in many huge international chart hits, and under Brian Wilson's musical leadership, the band's initial surf-rock focus was soon broadened to include other themes, making The Beach Boys America's preeminent band of the 1960s.

In 1966, The Beach Boys were one of the first bands to found its own record label with the launch of Brother Records, Inc. (BRI), with the band's members as its shareholders and Capitol Records as its distribution partner.  BRI continues to manage The Beach Boys' intellectual property, including the band's catalog with Capitol/EMI and other label partners, as well as its name, logos, image and likeness.

The Beach Boys continue to hold Billboard / Nielsen SoundScan's record as the top-selling American band for albums and singles, and they are also the American group with the most Billboard Top 40 chart hits (36).  'Sounds Of Summer: The Very Best Of The Beach Boys' is fast approaching triple-Platinum sales status, and 'The SMiLE Sessions,' released to worldwide critical acclaim in November, was heralded as 2011's #1 Reissue of the Year by Rolling Stone magazine.

Inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1988 and recipients of The Recording Academy's Lifetime Achievement GRAMMY Award, The Beach Boys are an American institution that is iconic around the world.