Claim: The Beach Boys is a group.

The Beach Boys are an American rock band , formed in Hawthorne , California in 1961 . The group is considered to be one of the most critically acclaimed , commercially successful , and widely influential bands of all time . Their co-founder and principal composer , Brian Wilson , is widely considered one of the most innovative and significant songwriters of the late 20th century . With record sales estimated at over 100 million , they were one of the few American bands formed prior to the 1964 British Invasion to continue their success , and among artists of the 1960s , they are one of few central figures in the histories of rock .   From the beginning of their career , the Beach Boys struggled with their reputation and audiences , often being dismissed as a superficial pop group due to their initial target demographic , early songs which celebrated a politically unconscious youth culture , and failure to blend in with the hippie movement . However , while the Beach Boys were at the vanguard of the `` California Sound '' , they helped spur many trends and various musical genres and movements . This includes being one of the first rock groups to exert studio control ; inspiring a higher craft in popular music ; advancing the field of music production ; serving as a primary influence for many punk , alternative , and independent musicians ; and being progenitors for a variety of pop/rock subgenres including vocal surf , psychedelic rock , experimental pop , art rock , progressive rock , power pop , and indie rock .