Which Beach Boys member released the 1977 solo album Pacific Ocean Blue?

Which Beach Boys member released the 1977 solo album Pacific Ocean Blue? The answer is Dennis Wilson.

Pacific Ocean Blue was released on August 22, 1977, as the first and only completed solo studio album by Dennis Wilson, the Beach Boys’ drummer and one of its founding members. He recorded much of the project at Brother Studios in Santa Monica, working with producer Gregg Jakobson and developing a more introspective sound than the group’s best-known surf-pop material.

The album grew from Wilson’s songwriting and recording work during the 1970s. Several songs had connections to the Beach Boys, but the finished record was distinctly his own project. “River Song,” “You and I,” “Dreamer,” and the title track helped show his increasing confidence as a composer, singer, and producer.

Although its initial commercial performance was modest—it peaked at No. 96 on the Billboard album chart—Pacific Ocean Blue was warmly received by critics and later became regarded as a cult classic. Wilson began work on a follow-up called Bambu, but it remained unfinished when he died in December 1983. The album is therefore not a Brian, Carl, or Mike Love solo release.