Beach Boys' Mike Love on giving the Beatles songwriting tips, Brian Wilson and 'Kokomo'
Mike Love was obviously pleased to see the Beach Boys’ “Pet Sounds” holding strong at No. 2 in the latest update of 500 Greatest Albums of All Time in Rolling Stone, with only Marvin Gaye’s “What’s Going On” above it on the 2023 edition of the list.
“When I first saw that, I said, ‘Well, I demand a recount,” he says with a laugh. “Being the bratty sort of guy that I am, you know? But anyway, no, that’s pretty good company, don’t you think?”
Love is speaking by phone from the Caribbean, about to catch a flight to Phoenix to visit his son, Brian, who lives in Scottsdale, before a string of tour dates with his latest version of the Beach Boys that includes performances at the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival, the Stagecoach Festival in Indio, California, and Talking Stick Resort in metro Phoenix (on Friday, April 26).
Here’s what he had to say.
Mike Love on the Beach Boys at Stagecoach Festival: 'We do what we do'
It's interesting to see the Beach Boys at a country music festival. Have you done Stagecoach before?
No, although we did appear with our friends LoCash on that stage a couple years ago. They did a song called 'Beach Boys.' It's, like, some country guys going to the beach. And they asked us to sing with them, so we did.
So you're just doing your normal Beach Boys set at Stagecoach?
Well, yeah, we do what we do, you know? We'll do all our hit songs that we're known for, everything from “Surfin' Safari” and Surfin’ U.S.A.” to “I Get Around” and “Fun, Fun, Fun” to “California Girls” and “Help Me, Rhonda,” “Good Vibrations” and “Kokomo.” And John Stamos is gonna be with us. He loves to come out and play drums with us.
Beach Boys flashback: How the Beach Boys took 'small town' Phoenix by storm in 1964: 'It was a big thing'
Paul McCartney's Beach Boys moment on 'Back in the U.S.S.R'
It’s great to see “Pet Sounds” hanging strong at No. 2 on Rolling Stone’s 500 Greatest Albums of All Time.
It's amazing. Bruce Johnston, who joined our group in 1965 to take Brian Wilson's place after Glen Campbell filled in for six months or so, actually took the album as an acetate, before it was printed up. Keith Moon of the Who introduced Bruce to John Lennon and Paul McCartney. So he played the album for them a couple of times in his suite.
We have a connection that goes back many years with the Beatles. And, of course, I spent a couple of months in Rishikesh at the Maharishi's place. I didn't know before I got there but when I did get there the Beatles were all there. That was a fascinating time. Meditation and music. In fact, I was the first person to hear “Back in the U.S.S.R.” from Paul McCartney's acoustic guitar at the breakfast table one morning.
What did you think of them doing their Beach Boys thing on “Back in the U.S.S.R.”?
I thought it was amazing. I was staying in the same sort of area. It was like a motel kind of thing. Paul was down at the other end. And Prudence Farrow was in a similar area. You know, John Lennon came up with that song “Dear Prudence.” But yeah, when Paul came down, he said, “Listen to this, Mike. Flew in from Miami Beach, BOAC” and all that.
I said, “Well, Paul, what you've got to do is talk about all the girls around Russia in the middle part,” which he did. So it turns out Sir Paul is pretty capable of crafting a tune.
There was a lot of music that came out of that course. They actually did a song called “The Spiritual Rejuvenation Foundation” and played it for me on my birthday. It was styled after “Fun, Fun, Fun.” I had my birthday on the 15th of March and George Harrison had his on the 25th of February. So we're both Pisces, as it turns out, and we're both very much into our meditation.
Do you find that meditation help with creativity?
Yeah, just life in general. And I'm in a creative field. So it's absolutely helped me a lot. On a practical level, Transcendental Meditation, which is taught by Maharishi, your metabolism slows down to a level of rest twice as deep as sleep. So you get this profoundly restful relaxation, which is great for everything, your emotions and your physical well-being. I've been doing it since December of '67 when I first learned meditation from Maharishi.
Mike Love on the Beach Boys throwing a curve with 'Pet Sounds'
Getting back to "Pet Sounds," does it feel as through that album has been getting more and more appreciated as it ages?
You know, Capitol Records really didn't know when we first made it what to do with it. So it never got the push that it probably deserved, because we really put a lot into that album. But it was regarded very highly by all the people in the music business. Paul McCartney once said that “God Only Knows” was his favorite song. I mean, that's a pretty fantastic statement coming from a guy who's written some of the most famous and best songs ever.
But Capitol Records really didn't know what to do with it because it was such a departure. When we played the record for the A&R guy, the nicest guy you'd ever want to meet, he wanted something more like “California Girls,” “I Get Around” and “Fun, Fun, Fun” because they'd had so much success with that type of thing.
But here's an album with symphonic orchestrations and stuff, dealing more with emotional themes than, you know, the beach or girls or cars, which there's nothing wrong with that stuff. I love it. But they just didn't know how to handle it. Then “Good Vibrations” came along a few months after that and went to No 1. and we were voted the No. 1 group in Great Britain, No. 2 being the Beatles, on the strength of “Good Vibrations.”
“Barbara Ann” came out in the first part of the year, then “Pet Sounds” and “Good Vibrations.” That was quite a year for us, 1966.
That was quite a year for you. Could you address the stories we've all heard that you were not a fan of what Brian had come up with for “Pet Sounds” when you first heard it?
That's really not true. I don't know. There's always been detractors. But no, I worked on every song on that album and even wrote some of the words. So that's absolutely inaccurate. In fact, I named the album “Pet Sounds.” Brian didn't know what to call it. I said, “Well, how about 'Pet Sounds?'” And that led to our going to the San Diego Zoo, the petting zoo, and taking the album cover photo, which is pretty trippy.
Anyway, so yeah, I came up with the title of the album. And I'm the one that presented it to Capitol Records along with Brian. He and I were the ones that took that album and played it for them.
And Capitol was like, “Well, we don’t hear a single?”
Well, they were used to getting these two-, three-minute singles that were so successful. And it was kind of a departure. But hey, that was how many years ago now? It’s all worked out. We do “God Only Knows,” “Sloop John B” and “Wouldn't It Be Nice” at virtually every concert we do. So it's well represented in our shows along with the other singles we've managed to have been blessed enough to have.
I mean, we're one of the top groups ever in terms of number of Top 40 singles.
Mike Love on thought of another reunion with Brian Wilson
You guys reunited with Brian and Al Jardine for a 50th anniversary tour and album. Do you think we'll ever see all the guys come together like that again?
I think maybe it would be interesting if we could get in the studio, but Brian's not doing very well lately. I hope the best for him. And I think it'd be great if we could, but we'll have to see if it actually can happen. Brian hasn't been touring for the last year or so. And I'm not anticipating him going out anymore. In fact, they're putting him in a conservatorship or something. (Multiple news outlets have reported that Wilson's family has asked a court in Los Angeles to set up a conservatorship for Wilson.)
But there is a documentary coming out on the Beach Boys and we ended up getting together at Paradise Cove, the beach where we took our first album cover shots. So it was really nice. Brian and I were reminiscing together, along with the other guys, about stuff that happened when we used to go to high school games together. He remembers things that I'd forgotten. So that was pretty neat, to get together and reminisce with my cousin.
It sounds like you guys are in a better place these days?
Oh yeah, for sure. Yeah, absolutely. Especially with Brian. We go back to childhood together. The first time I remember hearing him sing, I was on my grandmother Wilson's lap singing “Danny Boy.” And we grew up singing all the Everly Brothers songs, Chuck Berry songs and all the doo-wop songs of the day. So we have a lifetime of experiences and love and respect for each other's abilities.
That's sweet. You said you could see getting together in the studio. What did you think of the way “That's Why God Made the Radio” turned out?
Well, I don't know what to say about that in a positive way, because I was told that I was gonna be able to get together with Brian and write. But that was disallowed at the time by I'm not sure who. But anyway, that didn't happen. That was kind of an inducement to me for all of us to get together, actually, but it didn't turn out the way I would've liked it, so.... That's too bad, though. Missed opportunity, I think.
Missing 'Kokomo' at the Beach Boys Grammy tribute
What did you think of that Grammy tribute to the Beach Boys last year?
I thought it was really interesting and really far out. I mean, 'Don't Worry Baby.' 'Sail on Sailor' was really, really interesting. Leann Rimes looked beautiful and sounded great doing 'Caroline, No,' I believe. And then our friends Hanson did 'Barbara Ann.' The only thing I missed was they didn't do 'Kokomo.' Now 'Kokomo' was No. 1 in 1988 and was featured on 'Full House' because John Stamos is a big fan. And we've been recognized by kids for generations now who've seen us on 'Full House' because of the reruns. It's such a popular show. And John Stamos still likes to come out and play drums with us.
Mike Love on the Beach Boys book and forthcoming movie
I know there's a new book 'The Beach Boys by the Beach Boys.' What can you tell me about that?
I'm glad you brought that up. That's by Genesis. They make these fantastic books. They put a ton of work into it with historical stuff, things you've never seen before, things I've never seen before or at least don't remember seeing. But yeah, they're fascinating books.
I think an initial 500 of them completely sold out and they're gonna release some more. They have different levels financially. Some of them are really expensive, and some of them are not quite as, but they're all top quality stuff by Genesis. Those are really great.
And the documentary that's coming out, Frank Marshall, the filmmaker, he was involved in the creation of the documentary that'll be out on, I believe, May 24th. I think we're going to a premiere on the 20th or so in Hollywood. So that's another big thing. And I think it'll stimulate a lot of awareness of The Beach Boys. So a lot of good things are going on these days. We're doing some big festivals like the jazz festival and Stagecoach. So it's a good time for us. We're having a great time.
Mike Love on the latest round of Beach Boys reissues
There's been some interesting reissue projects lately. Box sets combining “Sunflower” and “Surf's Up” and then “Carl and the Passions” and “Holland.” What did you think of those projects?
Great. I mean, “Holland” was a fantastic experience. I lived in Holland for six months. We wanted to get away from L.A. to record it and live in a completely different country. It was pretty fascinating. I thought it was great. In the meantime, we're in Holland doing “California Saga,” a trilogy about Big Sur and stuff. “Holland” was great.
Every album has something special about it. A couple of those albums are where individuals came out with their creativity, whether it be Carl or Brian, Alan or Dennis, Bruce Johnston. Everybody got a chance to be a little bit creative, whereas up through “Pet Sounds” and “Good Vibrations,” primarily Brian was the writer and producer.
I mean, I co-wrote with him tons of words and hooks on all the hit singles, although it wasn't originally credited, because my uncle (Murry Wilson, who managed the Beach Boys until they fired him and controlled their publishing until 1969), frankly, cheated me on that part of things, which, you know.... But that was rectified. Anyway, all the albums had their own personality.
I've been listening to “Friends” a lot lately. Such an underrated album.
That's precisely what I mean. There are many great tunes on some of those lesser-known albums. Every group has its heyday. But we've been blessed enough to hang on to millions of fans who still love to hear our song. So we're very fortunate to be able to do a lifetime of music and still have some of our albums regarded very highly.
Do you have a personal favorite Beach Boys album?
You know what? I don't know. It's like, “Do you have a personal favorite kid?”
The Beach Boys
When: 8 p.m. Friday, April 26.
Where: Talking Stick Resort, Loop 101 and Pima Road, Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community.
Admission: $35 and up.
Details: 480-850-7734, talkingstickresort.com.
Reach the reporter at [email protected]. Follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter, @EdMasley.
Support local journalism. Subscribe to azcentral.com today.
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Beach Boys' Mike Love talks Brian Wilson, the Beatles and 'Kokomo'