I (still) Get Around ... at 77!
After five decades, the Beach Boys veteran is going strong
Regardless of whether you’re a fan of Snow Patrol, Smog or The Rainmakers, no one soundtracks the sunny days better than the Beach Boys and they’ve been doing it for well over 50 years.
The Wilson brothers, Brian, Carl, Dennis and their cousin Mike Love began playing together in 1961. They invented the summery ‘surf’ sound’ with songs such as Surfin’ USA, California Girls and I Get Around selling more than 100m records worldwide. Pet Sounds and Smile are considered among the greatest albums ever recorded.
Dennis and Carl have sadly passed away, and Brian Wilson, the genius behind their greatest works, still performs but years of excess have largely dimmed the brain of the 75-year-old. At 77, Mike Love is the primary vocalist. Controversially, he secured the rights to the band’s name some years ago and it is he who will front the band in the Bord Gáis Energy Theatre next Sunday. He says it is ‘a blessing’ that something that began as a family hobby has sustained them for 57 years.
‘Our songs appeal to all ages. Three generations of families turn out to see the Beach Boys,’ he says. ‘It is such a blessing that songs that Brian and I wrote that became such big hits in the 1960s are still incredibly popular today.’
They certainly stand the test of time: the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra recently released an album combining the original harmonies of the Beach Boys’ best loved songs with new symphonic arrangements. Love is charmed by the project. ‘I’ve listened to the album and it is remarkable to hear a song like California Girls so wonderfully complemented by the orchestra,’ he says. ‘It’s like a whole new musical reincarna- tion.’ In contrast to the perceived antipathy between the Beatles and the Rolling Stones in the 1960s, the Beach Boys and the Beatles were friends and contributed to the evolution of the other.
‘It was a competition but there was also strong mutual admiration,’ he says. ‘We listened to The Beatles’ Revolver and thought that it was such a great album. We did Pet Sounds and Good Vibrations the following year. Then they released Sgt. Pepper. It was not the arms race but the songs race. There was never any negativity. I spent a lot of time with the guys when we went over to the Maharishi (Mahesh Yogi) in India in ’68. Myself and George Harrison celebrated our birthdays there. We’re both Pisces and I wrote a song in tribute to George called Pisces Brothers. I still play it most nights on stage.’
Love and the Beatles began practising the transcendental meditation espoused by the Maharishi. Love stuck with it. ‘I put my continuing success down to transcendental meditation,’ he says. ‘We did 185 shows last year. I couldn’t have done that without TM being part of my daily routine.’
As a member of one of the most loved bands of all time, it is perhaps natural that Love encounters resentment, on issues that range from his retention of The Beach Boys’ name, to allegedly opposing the experimental direction in which Brian Wilson took the Beach Boys five decades ago. In tones that suggest a weariness at explaining his stance repeatedly, he does so again. ‘There have been inaccuracies for many years, that I didn’t like Pet Sounds and it’s completely untrue,’ he says. ‘I worked on that album with all the rest of the guys. I remember doing 25 takes of the vocal for Wouldn’t It Be Nice. It was me who named the album Pet Sounds. I went with Brian to Capitol Records to play them the finished work. We believed totally in the album, but it was the record company that didn’t really know what to do with it. There is no doubt it was a departure from what we had been doing.’
Ultimately, Love says he has ‘nothing but love’ for his cousins with whom he made such great music. ‘They may have made different lifestyle choices to me, but I don’t harbour any negativity to any of them. We did so much good music together and that’s what our legacy is to each other and everyone out there.’
The Beach Boys play the Bord Gáis Energy Theatre, Dublin on Sunday June 17
‘There was healthy competition with the Beatles. It wasn’t the arms race – it was the songs race’