section_path: 1962–1966: Peak years/International success and Houston flight incident
section_name: International success and Houston flight incident
paragraph_text: International success and Houston flight incident
  
  Throughout 1964, Wilson toured internationally with the Beach Boys while writing and producing their albums Shut Down Volume 2 (March), All Summer Long (June), and The Beach Boys' Christmas Album (November). Following a particularly stressful Australasian tour in early 1964, the group dismissed Murry as their manager. Murry maintained occasional contact with Wilson, offering unsolicited advice on the group's business decisions. Wilson also continued to solicit his father's opinions on musical matters.
  
  In February, Beatlemania swept the U.S., a development that deeply concerned Wilson, who felt the Beach Boys' supremacy had been threatened by the British Invasion. Reflecting in 1966, he said, " The Beatles invasion shook me up a lot. So we stepped on the gas a little bit." The Beach Boys' May 1964 single " I Get Around ", their first U.S. number-one hit, is identified by scholar James Perone as representing both a successful response to the British Invasion and the beginning of an unofficial rivalry between Wilson and the Beatles, principally Paul McCartney. The B-side, " Don't Worry Baby ", was cited by Wilson in a 1970 interview as "Probably the best record we've done". By late 1964, Wilson faced mounting psychological strain from career pressures. He began distancing himself from the Beach Boys' surf-themed material, which had ceased following the All Summer Long track " Don't Back Down ". During the group's first major European tour, a reporter asked how he had felt about originating the surfing sound, to which he responded by saying he had aimed to "produce a sound that teens dig, and that can be applied to any theme." Exhausted by his self-described "Mr Everything" role, he later expressed feeling mentally drained and unable to rest. Adding to his concerns were the group's "business operations" and the quality of their records, which he believed suffered from this arrangement.
  
  On December 23, 1964, Wilson was to accompany his bandmates for a two-week U.S. tour, but during a flight from Los Angeles to Houston, he experienced a breakdown, sobbing uncontrollably due to stress over his recent marriage to Marilyn Rovell. Jardine recalled, "None of us had ever witnessed something like that." Wilson played the show in Houston later that day, but was replaced by session musician Glen Campbell for the rest of the tour. Wilson, speaking in 1966, described it as "the first of a series of three breakdowns". When the group resumed recording their next album in January 1965, Wilson declared that he would be withdrawing from future tours. Wilson attributed his decision partly to a "fucked up" jealousy of Spector and the Beatles.
  
  Campbell continued substituting for Wilson on tour until February 1965, after which Wilson produced Campbell's solo single, " Guess I'm Dumb ", as a gesture of appreciation. Columbia Records staff producer Bruce Johnston was subsequently hired as Wilson's permanent touring replacement.
  
  Throughout 1964, Wilson toured internationally with the Beach Boys while writing and producing their albums Shut Down Volume 2 (March), All Summer Long (June), and The Beach Boys' Christmas Album (November). Following a particularly stressful Australasian tour in early 1964, the group dismissed Murry as their manager. Murry maintained occasional contact with Wilson, offering unsolicited advice on the group's business decisions. Wilson also continued to solicit his father's opinions on musical matters.
  
  In February, Beatlemania swept the U.S., a development that deeply concerned Wilson, who felt the Beach Boys' supremacy had been threatened by the British Invasion. Reflecting in 1966, he said, " The Beatles invasion shook me up a lot. So we stepped on the gas a little bit." The Beach Boys' May 1964 single " I Get Around ", their first U.S. number-one hit, is identified by scholar James Perone as representing both a successful response to the British Invasion and the beginning of an unofficial rivalry between Wilson and the Beatles, principally Paul McCartney. The B-side, " Don't Worry Baby ", was cited by Wilson in a 1970 interview as "Probably the best record we've done". By late 1964, Wilson faced mounting psychological strain from career pressures. He began distancing himself from the Beach Boys' surf-themed material, which had ceased following the All Summer Long track " Don't Back Down ". During the group's first major European tour, a reporter asked how he had felt about originating the surfing sound, to which he responded by saying he had aimed to "produce a sound that teens dig, and that can be applied to any theme." Exhausted by his self-described "Mr Everything" role, he later expressed feeling mentally drained and unable to rest. Adding to his concerns were the group's "business operations" and the quality of their records, which he believed suffered from this arrangement.
  
  On December 23, 1964, Wilson was to accompany his bandmates for a two-week U.S. tour, but during a flight from Los Angeles to Houston, he experienced a breakdown, sobbing uncontrollably due to stress over his recent marriage to Marilyn Rovell. Jardine recalled, "None of us had ever witnessed something like that." Wilson played the show in Houston later that day, but was replaced by session musician Glen Campbell for the rest of the tour. Wilson, speaking in 1966, described it as "the first of a series of three breakdowns". When the group resumed recording their next album in January 1965, Wilson declared that he would be withdrawing from future tours. Wilson attributed his decision partly to a "fucked up" jealousy of Spector and the Beatles.
  
  Campbell continued substituting for Wilson on tour until February 1965, after which Wilson produced Campbell's solo single, " Guess I'm Dumb ", as a gesture of appreciation. Columbia Records staff producer Bruce Johnston was subsequently hired as Wilson's permanent touring replacement.