In response to the recent passing of Brian Wilson, often credited as the driving creative force behind The Beach Boys’ best work, former bandmate and cousin Mike Love posted an emotional and touching tribute to the life and work of Mike Love on social media today:
“Today, the world has lost a brilliant musician’s cousin.
Brian Wilson, who used to be in The Beach Boys, my great American rock band that I am still in, has passed. I will always remember Brian as a guy whose musical choices, while often strange and commercially untenable, helped me, Mike Love of The Beach Boys, create some of the greatest, most profitable, and most enduring music of all time. Brian, if you’re up there reading this, thanks for the assist, buddy. I’ll take it from here.
I’ll never forget hearing Brian’s opening music to “California Girls” and being inspired to write all the in-between parts about all the types of girls and how I did them. Man, I was really on fire that day. Could I have gotten there without Brian? You’re damn right I could, but it would have been marginally harder. The point is, I’m great.
Brian’s biggest contribution to the outfit was spearheading “Pet Sounds,” an album I believe crawled so that “Kokomo” could walk. Everyone, stop what you’re doing right now and listen to “Kokomo.” I’ll join you. God, you hear that? Heaven.
Brian struggled a lot with drug use and mental health issues, but I’ll never forget how I overcame those roadblocks to achieve a net worth of over 80 million dollars today. It just goes to show what an indomitable spirit I had and continue to have.
It’s no secret that Brian and I had our differences. Approving the form letter that officially released Brian from the band was one of the hardest things I’ve ever had to do. The font was very small, and I couldn’t find my reading glasses that day. Still, it was that tenacity and decisiveness that led to me, not Brian, getting to play for President Donald Trump and Mar-a-Lago in 2024.
I can’t say that I love Mike Love, because I am Mike Love, and a lot of people over the years have told me that when I do say that, it comes off as weird or annoying. That’s why I’m calling on you, America, in this trying time, to love me enough for both of us. I do love me though, to be clear.
Anyway, dibs on Brian’s stuff, especially the royalties. God Bless.”