Radiant Radish

Radiant Radish

File:The Radiant Radish.jpg
Industry	Grocery store, health food store
Founded	1969 (1969) in West Hollywood, U.S.
Founders	Brian Wilson, Steve Korthoff, Arny Geller
Defunct	July 29, 1970 (1970-07-29)
Fate	Bankruptcy
Products	Natural organic vegetarian food, supplements, and herbs

The Radiant Radish operated as a health food store situated at the intersection of Melrose Avenue and San Vicente Boulevard in West Hollywood, California, from 1969 until 1971. The business was overseen by Brian Wilson of the Beach Boys, alongside his cousin Steve Korthoff and friend Arny Geller.

Background

In mid-1969, Beach Boys member Brian Wilson launched a modest health food store in partnership with his cousin Steve Korthoff and friend Arnie Geller. The venture was capitalized with $15,000 (equivalent to $Template:Inflation adjusted for inflation). Prior to this entrepreneurial effort, Wilson had demonstrated a strong enthusiasm for physical fitness, notably reflected in the band's 1967 track "Vegetables." When planning to release the song as a single, he staged a playful photoshoot at the Los Angeles Farmers Market, posing before a fruit and vegetable stall located at Fairfax Avenue and 3rd Street.

Operations

The Radiant Radish maintained inconsistent operating hours. Wilson chose to open the shop at his discretion, often during nighttime hours, personally attending the counter while dressed in pajamas, a bathrobe, and slippers. At times, he would even invest up to $1,000 of his own merchandise (approximately $Template:Inflation in today's dollars). Journalist Tom Nolan recalled meeting Wilson alone inside the store, dressed in a bathrobe. On one occasion, Wilson declined to sell Nolan a bottle of Vitamin B-12, insisting that Nolan first provide a doctor's prescription.

Nolan documented this encounter in his 1971 Rolling Stone feature article titled "The Beach Boys: A California Saga". Biographer Peter Ames Carlin later observed: "Nolan found it less surprising that Wilson was wearing a robe than that this millionaire rock star—whose reclusiveness had become almost as renowned as his numerous hit compositions—was selling vitamins from a health food shop in West Hollywood just three years after creating 'Good Vibrations'."

Closure

By 1970, the Radiant Radish ceased operations primarily because of losses incurred from produce costs and Wilson's limited expertise in managing a business. In a 2015 reflection, Wilson revealed that his favorite aspect of running the store was operating the cash register. Additionally, it was at this location where Wilson encountered journalist and radio host Jack Rieley, who later became the Beach Boys' manager and briefly served as Wilson's main lyricist.

In popular culture

• The Beach Boys recorded Wilson’s composition "H.E.L.P. Is On the Way" in 1970, which includes references to the Radiant Radish within its lyrics. This track remained unreleased until it appeared on the 1993 compilation Good Vibrations: Thirty Years of the Beach Boys.
• The store was visually represented on the cover art of the 1990 tribute album Smiles, Vibes & Harmony: A Tribute to Brian Wilson.

Sources

• Gaines, Steven (1986). Heroes and Villains: The True Story of The Beach Boys (1st ed.). New York: Da Capo Press. ISBN 0306806479.

Further reading

• Nolan, Tom (October 28, 1971). "The Beach Boys: A California Saga". Rolling Stone. No. 94. Archived from the original on February 24, 2012.