Marilyn Wilson-Rutherford

She has two sisters: Diane (born 1945) and Barbara (born 1949).

Marilyn Wilson-Rutherford (née Rovell; born February 6, 1948) is an American singer who is best known as the first wife of Beach Boys co-founder Brian Wilson.

Marilyn Rovell was born on February 6, 1948, in Chicago, the second daughter of Mae Gausmann and Irving Rovell (originally Rovelski).

Her father was the owner and operator of a hand laundry.

Raised in Los Angeles, Marilyn started her singing career in the late 1950s, initially as part of a family singing trio, the Rovell Sisters, with her siblings Diane and Barbara.

In 1955, the Rovell family moved to a two-bedroom house at 616 North Sierra Bonita Avenue in Los Angeles.

Her father took a job as a metal worker for the Lockheed Aircraft Corporation and, on the weekends, a part-time job as a clothing salesman.

Beach Boys biographer Steven Gaines wrote that the family "were what the decidedly anti-Semitic Hawthorne crowd considered 'Fairfax Jews.

The family soon purchased an upright piano for their living room.

In Gaines' description, "Mae was the musical one in the family", and all of her daughters "had strong, harmonious voices and loved to sing".

According to biographer James Murphy, "Their home was filled with music and the girls spent hours gathered around Mae’s piano singing their favorite songs by the Andrews Sisters and The McGuire Sisters."

Both Marilyn and Diane attended Fairfax High School.

By 1958, Marilyn and her sisters had formed a music trio, known as "the Rovell Sisters".

whose act featured renditions of songs such as The McGuire Sisters' "Ding Dong" and "Sugartime".

The Rovell Sisters appeared on local television programs and competed in talent contests.

She was also a member of two girl groups, the Honeys in the 1960s and American Spring in the 1970s.

Through a mutual connection with musician Gary Usher, Marilyn met Brian at a Beach Boys concert in August 1962.

Brian subsequently renamed the Rovell Sisters to "the Honeys" and wrote and produced several of their records.

Marilyn met Brian Wilson when she attended a Beach Boys concert at Pandora's Box, a Sunset Strip nightclub, in August 1962 with Diane and their cousin Ginger Blake, who was dating Wilson's collaborator Gary Usher.

According to Marilyn, "I was drinking Hot Chocolate. After they finished their song, Brian looked at me and said, ‘Can I have a sip?’ I said, ‘Sure’ and, as he gave it back to me, it spilled all over me and we started laughing. That’s how we met."

Later, Wilson's song "All Summer Long" nodded to their first meeting with the lyric "Remember when you spilled Coke all over your blouse?"

Brian prevailed upon Capitol Records to sign the Rovell sisters, whom he rechristened "the Honeys", envisioning them as a female counterpart to the Beach Boys.

The company released several Honeys recordings as singles, although they sold poorly.

Marilyn began dating Brian Wilson when she was 15 and he was 21.

They initially concealed their relationship, though her parents had no objections to it.

Brian had been closely acquainted with the Rovell family and, from 1963 to 1964, was allowed to make their home his primary residence.

The couple shared a bedroom, but slept in different beds.

Marilyn married Brian in December 1964 and together had two children, Carnie and Wendy Wilson, who later formed two-thirds of Wilson Phillips.

Brian moved out of the Rovells' home in late 1964, after which Marilyn's relationship turned more serious.

She recalled, "I had started falling in love with him. I knew he really liked me and I knew that he cared for me, but I didn't think he was in love with me."

On November 1, 1964, Wilson and his bandmates embarked on their second overseas tour.

He recalled that immediately before boarding his flight, he had suspected that Marilyn had been in love with Mike Love and "had a nervous breakdown over it."

In Marilyn's version of the events that day, she had overheard Brian and his cousin discussing how they were "going to have a blast" together on various escapades throughout the tour.

Marilyn then remarked, "I hope you guys enjoy yourselves, because I'm going to have a good time too."

Inspired by a remark from Diane, Brian wrote "Don't Hurt My Little Sister" about the Rovell sisters and his treatment of Marilyn, released as an album track on The Beach Boys Today! (1965).

In between her time spent recording and performing, Marilyn worked at a doughnut shop, and enrolled in Hollywood Professional School with Diane.

The couple's early marital struggles were reflected in the pessimistic and dejected lyrical content from the Beach Boys' 1966 album Pet Sounds (particularly the songs "Caroline, No" and "You Still Believe in Me").

In 1971, she and Diane formed American Spring, with Brian again acting as producer and songwriter.

Marilyn and Wilson divorced in 1979.

She continues to occasionally perform concerts with the Honeys.