Michael Edward “Mike” Love (born March 15, 1941) is a founding member, singer/songwriter and lead singer of The Beach Boys. He is a founding member of the band along with his cousins Brian Wilson, Carl Wilson, and Dennis Wilson, and their friend Al Jardine, and continues to perform with the band to the present day. He has appeared on every Beach Boys album, writing mainly with Brian, but sometimes Dennis, Al, or producer Terry Melcher.
In the mid 1970s, he recorded and released two albums with side band Celebration (members included jazz musician Charles Lloyd, Ron Altback of King Harvest and Wells Kelly of Orleans) including the top 30 hit single “Almost Summer” co-written with Brian Wilson and Al Jardine. In the late 1970s, he also recorded two unreleased solo albums, First Love and Country Love. Some tracks from these sessions were used on later Beach Boys releases (such as Sumahama from L.A. (Light Album) and Daybreak Over the Ocean from That’s Why God Made the Radio). In 1981, he released a solo album, Looking Back With Love featuring a cover of Be My Baby produced by Brian Wilson.
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. Kokomo was nominated for a Golden Globe Award (1988) in the Original Song category, and was nominated for a Grammy Award.
After the death of Carl Wilson, the band fragmented, and Love continued to tour as The Beach Boys, along with Bruce Johnston and a supporting band of new musicians. Love was the only original member in the band lineup until the 50th Anniversary Reunion in 2012. |
