Michael Edward "Mike" Love
(born March 15, 1941) is an American
singer/songwriter and
musician with The
Beach Boys. He formed the band along with his cousins
Brian,
Carl,
and
Dennis Wilson, and their friend
Al Jardine.
Role in The Beach Boys
Although he played the saxophone in the early days, Mike Love was
mainly the co-lead singer, along with Brian Wilson, of the Beach
Boys. Love sang the lead vocal on many of the Beach Boys' biggest
hits, including, "
Surfin' Safari",
"
Surfin' USA", "
Little Deuce Coupe", "
Be True to Your School", "
Fun, Fun, Fun", "
Little Saint Nick", "
I Get Around", "
When I Grow Up " and "
California Girls". His lead vocal roles
later diminished as other members' voices began to be heard more,
but he remained one of the most recognized voices in the group, due
in part to his nasal sound, on songs such as "
Do It Again". He is also known
for his bass vocals, such as the vocal break in "
I Can Hear Music" and the bass line in
"
Good Vibrations." Onstage, Love has
always served as the Beach Boys'
MC, introducing songs and band
members.
Love also wrote or co-wrote lyrics to many of the Beach Boys songs,
mostly with the themes of surfing, cars or love, but also memorable
ballads such as "
The Warmth of the
Sun". In the 1990's he initiated and won a legal proceeding to
gain co-authorship credit for many of the Beach Boys hits.
Throughout his career he continues to co-write numerous songs, and
wrote some songs on his own.
In the late sixties, as founder Brian Wilson was sidelined by
mental illness and drug problems, Love played an increasingly
contentious role in the Beach Boys' career. According to most
sources, Love was the most vehement among group members in his
opposition to the lyrical content and avant garde modalities of the
Pet Sounds and
SMiLE projects (see below),
fearing that the band had strayed too far from their tried-and-true
hitmaking formula.
Love was one of the first pop musicians to become involved in the
practice of
Transcendental
Meditation, through his meeting with the
Maharishi Mahesh Yogi.
As a result he
accompanied The Beatles, Donovan, Prudence
Farrow, and Mia Farrow on their
famous trip to the guru's ashram at Rishikesh
in India
in early
1968. Love remains an advocate of the benefits of TM to the
present day. Love became a teacher of Transcendental
Meditation.
In the late sixties, with Brian no longer touring, Carl Wilson
initially took over leadership of the band (with contracts reading
that venues hired "Carl Wilson plus four other musicians"), but by
the late 70s Love reasserted his dominance over the band; setlists
were often limited to the hit catalog and a few songs from the most
recent album. This approach alienated the Wilson
brothers—especially Dennis, who after a hand accident had assumed
co-frontman responsibilities—but it capitalized directly on the
first wave of late 50s/early 60s rock and roll nostalgia (spurred
by the success of
American
Graffiti and
Happy
Days) and managed to keep the group's business interests
viable. The success of this approach was confirmed in 1974 with the
release of the compilation
Endless Summer. (Love has
claimed to be responsible for the title album, though it was
supervised by Capitol Records staffer Michael Ross.) The album
reached the top of the charts and introduced new generations of
listeners to their music, cementing the creation of a cottage
industry of touring and repackages that continues to this
day.
In 1988 the Beach Boys had a US number-one hit with "
Kokomo", the only number-one song the band had
without Brian Wilson's involvement. Mike Love (along with "Kokomo"
co-writers
Scott McKenzie,
Terry Melcher, and
John Phillips) was nominated for a Golden
Globe Award (1988) in the Original Song category, and was nominated
for a Grammy Award as well.
As of 2009, Mike Love continues to tour with The Beach Boys, along
with
Bruce Johnston and a supporting
band of new musicians. He has stated he is open to a reunion and
something is in the works with Al Jardine.
Pet Sounds–Smile controversies
He reportedly led the group's opposition to the
Pet Sounds
material and particularly objected to the song "
Hang On to Your Ego"—directly inspired
by his cousin's
LSD experiences—which at his
insistence was partly re-written and re-titled as "
I Know There's an Answer." However,
at this stage Brian Wilson still held sufficient sway to overrule
his bandmates, and the album was completed more or less as Brian
had intended.
Another factor that is likely to have influenced Love's views is
that, while Brian had withdrawn from touring in late 1964, Love and
his bandmates had to perform Brian's increasingly complex music on
stage. There is no doubt that Brian's rapid musical development
placed the group in an increasingly difficult position, since they
were being asked to perform material that, in the case of "Good
Vibrations," Brian had recorded over a period of many months using
the best musicians available. While the Beach Boys were equal to
the task as vocalists, Brian's intricate arrangements were becoming
all but impossible for them to perform as a five-piece band.
Love's trenchant and vocal opposition to Wilson's new direction
came to a head over the songs they were recording for their
follow-up to
Pet Sounds, the legendary
Smile
album, which was begun in August 1966 but was eventually shelved
near its completion in May 1967 (though a less-ambitious version of
the album,
Smiley Smile, was
released later that year).
Love is reported to have vehemently objected to
Van Dyke Parks' oblique lyrics, reserving
particular scorn for the song "
Cabinessence." During a heated argument at a
recording session, Love demanded that Parks explain the song's
meaning; Parks demurred and walked out; some few weeks later he
officially terminated his partnership with Wilson. Although Love
allegedly had nothing personal against Parks (who plays on the
Summer in Paradise album
and whom Love has defended several times as being "a nice guy,"
despite Parks' admitted hostility against him), he apparently
feared the lyrics were too abstract for a Beach Boys record.
Parks has long maintained that Love's dogged opposition to
Smile was the major reason that Brian finally abandoned
it, and that his opposition was motivated in part by professional
jealousy, as well as the fear that Wilson's departure from the
Beach Boys' proven formula would cause them to lose ground. In a
2004 interview with
Mojo
magazine, Love argued that he was not opposed to
Smile, as
claimed, and that he liked and respected Parks' work, but this
claim was strongly denied by Parks, who wrote to the magazine to
protest at what he described as Love's "revisionism" and stated
unequivocally that Love’s hostility to
Smile was indeed
the chief reason why the project was shelved.
Love contributed lyrics to their famous 1966 single "Good
Vibrations," although the song also has an earlier set of lyrics
written by Wilson's main
Pet Sounds collaborator,
Tony Asher, which Wilson restored on the 2004
SMiLE version.
Partly in response to the band's concerns, articulated by Mike,
Brian began writing songs that were easier to perform live, which
turned up on the late 1967 album
Wild Honey.
Legal controversies
In the late 1990s Brian Wilson went to court to regain his rights
to the publishing company,
Sea of
Tunes, which owned the copyrights to most of the Beach Boys'
hit songs. The suit stemmed from Wilson's forced decision to sign
over his publishing rights to his father
Murry Wilson in 1969, but when the suit came to
court it was found that the contract Wilson had signed was not
valid because of the mental problems he was suffering from at the
time. (It was even suggested that Murry had signed his son's name
on the document.) Wilson failed to regain the copyrights, but won a
$25 million settlement.
Following Wilson's win, Love launched his own lawsuit, claiming
that he had made significant writing contributions to many Beach
Boys songs, including two titles on
Pet Sounds and
"California Girls", and never received due credit (or the
accompanying royalties). Love won the case, due in no small part to
Brian's statements that Mike's assertions were correct (although
Tony Asher has unequivocally stated that Love had no input into at
least one song involved, "
Wouldn't
It Be Nice"). As a result, he was granted $13 million of
Wilson's award, and his name was retroactively added to the writing
credits on all subsequent releases of those songs. (Love and Wilson
reportedly had no malice toward each other in the lawsuit; unable
to come to terms, they resorted to going to court to settle
matters.)
Love has also initiated successful lawsuits against
Al Jardine (mostly the Beach Boys' company,
Brother Records, suing Jardine at
Love's instigation, but also personal lawsuits) for Jardine's use
of the band name
Beach
Boys Family And Friends in his solo work.
Most recently, Love initiated a lawsuit on November 3, 2005 against
Brian Wilson and the
Mail On Sunday
newspaper, arguing that both misused the Beach Boys' name and
Love's image in a promotional CD that was given with the paper to
promote the 2004
Smile release, and also arguing that
Wilson has misused the Beach Boys' name in other promotions
relating to
Smile, resulting in loss of income for the
band. He sought several million dollars in damages plus a million
dollars to cover costs of advertising to correct the perceived
damage to the band's reputation.
Love has stated: "Once again the people around Brian, my cousin and
collaborator on many hits, who I love and care about, have used him
for their own financial gain without regard to his rights, or my
rights, or even the rights of the estates of his deceased brothers,
Carl and Dennis, and their children... Unfortunately, history
repeats itself. Because of Brian’s mental issues he has always been
vulnerable to manipulation. I simply want to stop the infringers
and stop the deception!"
The legal document filed is purported to contain many half-truths
and inaccuracies. Among these it credits Mike Love as the primary
force behind the Beach Boys, accuses Al Jardine of mental
instabilities and incorrectly refers to one of Brian Wilson's songs
as "Love and Money" instead of "Love and Mercy".
Brian Wilson’s website listed the following statement in response:
“The lawsuit against Brian is meritless. While he will vigorously
defend himself he is deeply saddened that his cousin Mike Love has
sunk to these depths for his own financial gain.”
Recently, however, Brian Wilson, Mike Love and Al Jardine have
appeared in front of the cameras together again in what seemed to
be one of their many attempts to reconcile. They even jokingly
stated that they wanted "to start a new tour if they weren't
stopped to do so by Brian's management, and Mike's incurable
addiction to lawsuits".
The lawsuit was thrown out of court on May 16, 2007 on the grounds
that it was meritless.
Solo career
Love has attempted several times to have a career outside the Beach
Boys. In the mid 1970s he recorded and released two albums with
side band
Celebration,
including the top 30 hit single "
Almost Summer" (co-written with Brian
Wilson and Jardine), along with further songwriting contributions
to the bands third (unreleased) album "Disco Celebration". In the
late 1970s he also recorded two unreleased solo albums,
First Love and
Country
Love. Some tracks from
First Love were used on
later Beach Boys releases.
In 1981 he released a solo album,
Looking Back With Love.
Consisting mostly of cover versions, the album was neither
critically nor commercially successful.
After that point he confined himself to guest spots on recordings
alongside artists such as
Dean
Torrence of
Jan And Dean and
The Association, contributing to the
albums "Rock'n'Roll City", "Rock 'n Roll Again," "Winter Party On
The Beach (aka "Scrooge's Rock'n'Roll Christmas")" and "New
Memories". He also developed a penchant for re-recording old Beach
Boys' hits, released on packages like "Catch a Wave" and "Salute
Nascar" with
Adrian Baker. He has also
lent his vocal abilities to a 2003 Bruce Springsteen tribute CD
(singing "Hungry Heart"), and a Bruce Johnston–produced album for
the Kings Singers, amongst others.
Also, in 2003 he announced plans for a new solo album. This album,
which has been announced under the working titles
Unleash The
Love and
Mike Love, Not War (not to be confused with
the Beach Boys bootleg of the same name), is still a work in
progress (although bootleg recordings have appeared) and, to date,
one new track from these sessions, "Cool Head, Warm Heart", has
appeared on an official Beach Boys–related collection.
Discography
- Looking Back with
Love (1981)
- Mike Love: Catch a Wave (Limited Edition CD 1996)
MELECO - MEL CD 101 - 1996
- Mike Love, Bruce Johnston & David Marks: Salute
NASCAR (Limited Edition)
- Mike Love & Bruce Johnston: Summertime Cruisin'
(Limited Edition CD 2001)
- "Santa's Goin' To Kokomo" (single) (iTunes download 2006)
- "Hungry Heart" (single) (iTunes download 2007)
References to Mike Love in popular culture
The Fall reference Mike Love in
their song "Mike's Love Xexagon", from the album
The Real
New Fall LP. The song mentions "
Good
Vibrations" and refers to Love as
"the worm in the bacon of
BB", likely pertaining to the legal difficulties between Love
and Wilson.
Scottish band
Belle &
Sebastian mention Mike Love in their song "I Love My Car" on
the "
I'm Waking Up To Us"
single, singing
"I love my Carl / I love my Brian, my Dennis,
and my Al / I could even find it in my heart / to love Mike
Love"
San Francisco band
Oranger released a song
called "Mike Love, Not War."
The hip-hop group
Lifeseeker references
Mike Love on the song "Gone Guru" when saying
" Mike Love on
line two / put that sucker on hold!"
During the "Chalky Trouble" episode of the animated series
Squidbillies, while trying to
prove to Rusty Cuyler the worth of white people, the Sheriff
informs him that "[without] us whites" the land would be
"completely overrun by red Indians" and Granny "would be plunking
her life savings into five dollar slots at a Cherokee Casino and
Spa watching
Jay Leno perform two weeks
this October followed by the Beach Boys featuring Mike Love."
Family
Love was
born in Los Angeles,
California
, the son of Emily Glee (née Wilson) and Edwin Milton
Love. In addition to being cousin to the Wilson brothers,
Love is the brother of former NBA basketball player
Stan Love and of
Pink Martini harpist Maureen Love, and the
uncle of
Minnesota
Timberwolves basketball player
Kevin Love, who was named
Naismith Male Prep Player
of the Year in 2007.
Mike has fathered 8 children during his five marriages, as well as
at least one child out of wedlock. His marriages are:
- Frances St. Martin (1961–1963). Children: Melinda (b: 1961) and
Teresa (b: 1962).
- Suzanne Celeste Belcher (1965–1968) Children: Hayleigh (b:
1966), Christian (b: 1968)
- Tamara Fitch (1972–1977). Children: Summer Deva (b: 1973)
- Cathy Linda Martinez (1981–1982). Children: Michael Edward Love
II (b: 1982)
- Jaqueline Piesen (1994–Present). Children: Brian Edward Alan
(b: 1988), Ambha Leila Lakshmi (b: 1996)
In 2006, Mike Love's son Christian by second wife Suzanne joined
the Beach Boys on rhythm guitar and vocals. Christian also has his
own band called 5 Alarm.
Love's alleged illegitimate daughter, Shawn Love (b: 12/64; d:
9/03) (also wife of
Dennis Wilson)
died due to liver failure in 2003.
Mike has three homes, including one in Maui, Hawaii and one at Lake
Tahoe.
See also
References
- The Beach Boys : Endless Harmony Documentary
- Beach Boys lawsuit dismissed - Los Angeles
Times
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