| David Lee Marks was a member of the Beach Boys in the early 60s. A friend and neighbour of Carl Wilson, he joined the band on rhythm guitar after Al Jardine quit to go back to dental school. He played on many tracks on the first album, Surfin' Safari, but not all, as several tracks had been recorded before Jardine quit.
According to many , Marks was not allowed to sing on the records, (although some claim he takes part of the lead on Summertime Blues) and Brian Wilson's use of session musicians means his contribution to the band's music is therefore minimal. He was a member for two more albums, Surfin' USA and Surfer Girl, but Jardine rejoined on Surfer Girl and Marks was fired part way through the recording of Little Deuce Coupe.
Marks formed his own band, Dave and the Marksmen, with a spectacular lack of success, and played with the Delaney And Bonnie band for a couple of gigs.
He remained in touch with the band members, playing on some of Mike Love's solo shows in 1981 and turning up in the studio during the recording of Brian Wilson's aborted Sweet Insanity project.
When Carl Wilson became ill in 1997, Marks was invited back to sub for him, and stayed with Mike Love's touring 'Beach Boys' after Wilson's death, also contributing to the Mike Love, Bruce Johnston and David Marks of THE BEACH BOYS salute NASCAR CD, before leaving in 1999.
Marks now performs with a new Marksmen, and with a band made up of Beach Boys sidemen called Beach Party (essentially Al Jardine's current band without Jardine himself), mostly for charity shows in aid of Hepatitis research. See www.davidleemarks.com for more details. | 
