{"id":1950808,"date":"2025-08-09T05:13:14","date_gmt":"2025-08-09T05:13:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/?p=1950808"},"modified":"2025-08-09T05:13:14","modified_gmt":"2025-08-09T05:13:14","slug":"beach-boys-mike-love-on-the-lasting-genius-of-brian-wilson","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/beach-boys-mike-love-on-the-lasting-genius-of-brian-wilson\/","title":{"rendered":"Beach Boys’ Mike Love on the lasting genius of Brian Wilson"},"content":{"rendered":"

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At a time when most of their peers have retired, threatened to call it quits or died, the Beach Boys continue to perform 120 shows per year. Led by original singer Mike Love and longtime multi-instrumentalist Bruce Johnston, this version of the Beach Boys performs the sounds of Southern California to three generations of fans, something which isn\u2019t lost on Love.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe positivity that our music generates, and the good vibes and good feelings, is a wonderful thing to see,\u201d Love says. \u201cIt\u2019s an inspiration to me to see kids with their parents or their grandparents at our shows.\u201d<\/p>\n

On Sunday, the Beach Boys return to Long Beach to perform at the Terrace Theater for the first time in nearly 15 years to the day, when they performed at Harry Bridges Memorial Park. As Love recalls, the band played one of its first shows in the city at the Long Beach Municipal Auditorium on New Year\u2019s Eve 1961.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat first concert we were paid for as the Beach Boys at the Long Beach Municipal Auditorium for the Ritchie Valens Memorial Dance,\u201d he recalls. \u201cWe played three songs and got $300, but also on that show was Ike Turner and Kings of Rhythm. We got to hear Tina Turner sing this song called \u2018I\u2019m Blue.\u2019 It was primordial and blew my mind.\u201d<\/p>\n

Thousands of shows later, the Beach Boys continue to have a receptive audience who will gladly see them perform the hits of yesteryear. Love has no issue leaning into the band\u2019s 1960s heyday. In fact, he sees it as his duty to spread \u201cpeace and love\u201d through the Beach Boys\u2019 concerts.<\/p>\n

Chatting hours before he departed his Lake Tahoe, Calif., home to fly to Southern California for the band\u2019s latest string of shows (including Friday night at Temecula\u2019s Pachanga Resort Casino and Saturday at the Rady Shell in San Diego), Love reflected on nearly 65 years of the Beach Boys, feeling like he finally got his due by being inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame, why he\u2019s looking forward to the decidedly un-Beach Boys crowd at Riot Fest, and honoring his late cousin Brian Wilson.<\/a> <\/p>\n

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Mike Love<\/p>\n

(Udo Spreitzenbarth)<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/figure><\/div>\n

How did it feel to be inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame?<\/b><\/p>\n

Better late than never, but it was a great honor. It meant a lot because I wasn\u2019t recognized for my contribution to so many of the Beach Boys\u2019 hits over the years. So, the recognition is a good thing. There are various reasons I wasn\u2019t recognized for it. My uncle [Beach Boys original manager] Murry [Wilson], didn\u2019t put my contribution of the lyrics. \u201cI Get Around,\u201d \u201cHelp Me, Rhonda,\u201d \u201cBe True to Your School,\u201d a lot of great songs that I wasn\u2019t credited for. We fired my uncle as manager to get even for me, and he excluded me when he handled the publishing. We didn\u2019t know what publishing was when we started in 1961. We were unsophisticated regarding the business end of it, and we just loved creating music. We loved harmonizing. That was a family tradition that morphed into a long-lasting profession because my cousin Brian and I got together and wrote some songs that people still love to this day.<\/p>\n

What is it about the songs that continue to bring people together at a time when people can hardly agree on anything?<\/b><\/p>\n

The harmonies and the positivity go a long way towards eliminating the negativity. In \u201cGood Vibrations,\u201d I wrote every word of it. I even came up with (sings<\/i>) \u201cI\u2019m thinking of good vibrations \/ She gave me excitations\u201d with the chorus melody as well as all the lyrics. But that was written in 1966. The Vietnam War was percolating, and there were student demonstrations. There were problems with integration, and stuff like that made the news. But I wanted to write \u201cGood Vibrations.\u201d I wanted to write this song. I wrote a poem about a girl who loved nature. She was only into the peace, love and flower power, which was also going on at that time. The juxtaposition of the negative and the positive is pretty amazing. It turns out there\u2019s a psychologist in Sheffield, England, who wanted to find out which songs made people feel the best. And our song \u201cGood Vibrations\u201d came in at No. 1, which is unbelievable. In 1966, when it went to No. 1 in England, we were voted the No. 1 group in Great Britain, with No. 2 being the Beatles. Incredible. That was a pretty amazing achievement.<\/p>\n

You\u2019ve been joined on stage by the likes of Mark McGrath and Dexter Holland from the Offspring. What does that say to you about the longevity of what the songs have meant?<\/b><\/p>\n

Dexter sounded amazing<\/i> on it! He is a really good singer, obviously, but he wanted to do \u201cWouldn\u2019t It Be Nice,\u201d and so we rehearsed backstage [at Oceans Calling Festival in Maryland last September], ran through it about once or twice, and came out on stage in front of 40,000 people, and it was pretty amazing! Mark McGrath is just the most positive and fun guy ever. We have the same birthday, so he\u2019s a few years younger than I am (l<\/i>aughs)<\/i>.<\/p>\n

And of course, John Stamos, who inducted you into the Songwriters Hall of Fame.<\/b><\/p>\n

He\u2019s been with us since he was Blackie on \u201cGeneral Hospital.\u201d At this point, he is pretty much an honorary Beach Boy and family.<\/p>\n

In the days after Brian\u2019s death, the clip of the band appearing on \u201cFull House\u201d made the rounds on Instagram. What\u2019s it like to remember that when both Brian and Carl were there and you appeared on that show?<\/b><\/p>\n

John Stamos likes to say that we need this music more than ever now because of so much negativity in the world, and I agree. When I was writing, I accentuated the positive with the harmonies, giving that warm feeling, and the subject matter being fun at times. We\u2019d maybe been a little introspective on \u201cGod Only Knows,\u201d maybe \u201cIn My Room,\u201d and \u201cThe Warmth of the Sun.\u201d The upbeat songs are all fun, positive, and make people feel good. We were just in Spain, and we had standing ovations every night. It was amazing.<\/p>\n

What\u2019s wild is seeing the Beach Boys appear on the historically punk festival Riot Fest. Are you familiar with it?<\/b><\/p>\n

Yeah! We were invited to do it a year ago, but we are doing it this year. Our songs go over well with every demographic and all kinds of people. It doesn\u2019t matter what the format of this is. We\u2019ve done very well with some country festivals, enormously well. It doesn\u2019t matter what the genre of the festival appeals to. We played Stagecoach last year, and there were 70 or 80,000 people at our set. Singing along and dancing around, so we had a great time at that one.<\/p>\n

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