I even thought it odd that some books I was reading were getting the captions mixed up.

My next gaff was assuming that the front man, the lead singer, the supposed leader of the band, was the famous Brian Wilson I had heard so much about. I remember seeing them on the atrocious television show Solid Gold and, not knowing much about them, I called our local oldies station to ask which of the Beach Boys had recently died. I had been a Beach Boys fan since about 1984 when I was 12, as my regular readers will probably know. I handed it back and asked him to sign in the white strip. Remainder books are sometimes marked by the publisher or slightly damaged.Carl signed in the green. Note: Remaindered books or remainders are printed books that are over stocks and are sold at reduced prices. A husband, a father, and an avid environmentalist, Love has written a book that is as rich and layered as the Beach Boy harmonies themselves.

The band's unprecedented durability also provides a glimpse into America's changing cultural mores over the past half century, while Love himself has experienced both the diabolical and the divine - from Charles Manson's 'family' threatening his life to Maharishi instilling it with peace. His partnership with Brian has few equals in American pop music, though Mike has carved out a legacy of his own - he co-wrote the lyrics to eleven of the twelve original Beach Boy songs that were top 10 hits while providing the lead vocals on ten of them. Love describes the stories behind his lyrics for pop classics such as 'Good Vibrations,' 'California Girls,' 'Surfin' USA,' and 'Kokomo,' while providing vivid portraits of the turbulent lives of his three gifted cousins, Brian, Dennis, and Carl Wilson. His own story has never been fully told, of how a sheet-metal apprentice became the quintessential front man for America's most successful rock band, singing in more than 5,600 concerts in 26 countries. The Beach Boys, from their California roots to their international fame, are a unique American story - one of overnight success and age-defying longevity of musical genius and reckless self-destruction of spirituality, betrayal, and forgiveness - and Love is the only band member to be part of it each and every step. Mike Love tells the story of his legendary, raucous, and ultimately triumphant five-decade career as the front man of The Beach Boys, the most popular American band in history - timed to coincide with the 50th anniversary of 'Good Vibrations.'Īs a founding member of The Beach Boys, Mike Love has spent an extraordinary fifty-five years, and counting, as the group's lead singer and one of its principal lyricists.

Good Vibrations by Mike Love