David Marks is an original Beach Boy whose guitar work helped shape the band's earliest recordings and the sound that would become synonymous with Southern California. Growing up in Hawthorne, California, David lived across the street from the Wilson family and learned to play guitar alongside his childhood friend Carl Wilson—years before either could have imagined where that music would lead.

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In 1962, at just 13 years old, David joined The Beach Boys during the group's first wave of success with Capitol Records. Playing guitar and singing with Brian Wilson, Carl Wilson, Dennis Wilson, Mike Love and Al Jardine, David became part of the young band's rapid rise from local Southern California performers to a national phenomenon. His playing can be heard throughout the first four Capitol-era Beach Boys albums: Surfin' Safari, Surfin' U.S.A., Surfer Girl and Little Deuce Coupe.

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Those early recordings captured something entirely new: electric guitars, vocal harmonies, cars, beaches and the optimism of California youth. David's guitar work alongside Carl Wilson was an important part of that early, guitar-driven Beach Boys sound. Songs from this era—including “Surfin' Safari,” “Surfin' U.S.A.,” “Surfer Girl,” “In My Room” and “Little Deuce Coupe”—would become enduring pieces of American popular music and help introduce the California sound to audiences around the world.

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After leaving The Beach Boys in late 1963, David continued to follow his own musical path. He formed David Marks & The Marksmen and spent the following years exploring rock, surf, blues and other styles while developing further as a guitarist, songwriter and recording artist. His career beyond The Beach Boys became another chapter in a musical life that has continually returned to the instrument he first picked up as a child in Hawthorne.

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Nearly five decades after those first recordings, David reunited with Brian Wilson, Mike Love, Al Jardine and Bruce Johnston for The Beach Boys' historic 50th Anniversary Celebration in 2012. The reunion brought the group together for a new studio album and an international concert tour, introducing the music—and David's unmistakable connection to its beginnings—to another generation of listeners.

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Today, David continues to perform and celebrate the music that has been part of his life for more than six decades. He appears in concert with The Surf City All Stars, bringing the songs and harmonies of the California sound to audiences across the country while continuing to make music of his own. Current performances still place David where his story began: onstage, guitar in hand, sharing music with an audience