This past Sunday turned out to be an unexpectedly consequential day for The Beach Boys and their complicated network of former members. As part of his current run with the Pet Sounds Band, Brian Wilson’s longtime ensemble, Beach Boys co-founder Al Jardine performed at Cerritos, CA’s Cerritos Center for the Performing Arts. A semi-hometown appearance, Jardine used the occasion to reunite with several former members of his long-running band as well as some extended family members.
A few song into the show, Jardine brought out guitarist David Marks, who replaced him in The Beach Boys for a brief period from 1962–1963 and rejoined the group for stints from 1997–1999 and 2011–2012, for some of the band’s earliest recordings—“Surfin’ Safari,” “Don’t Worry Baby,” “Little Deuce Coupe” and “I Get Around,” offering a rare lead vocal on the first three of those songs. Soon after, fellow classic-era member Bruce Johnston took the stage for Jardine’s first take on Bobby Freeman’s “Do You Wanna Dance?” since 2012 and “You’re So Good to Me.” And then, during Jardine’s second set, Brian Wilson’s first wife assisted the group on “Let’s Put Our Hearts Together,” a number she recorded with The Beach Boys for 1977’s Love You.
The surprises really picked up during Jardine’s encore, which kicked off with the live debut of “It’s a Beautiful Day,” a song about Los Angeles that the singer/guitarist co-wrote with Beach Boys frontman Mike Love and released as the B-side to 1979’s “Sumahama” but never played in concert. Then Jan and Dean’s Dean Torrence, who recorded with The Beach Boys in the 1960s, emerged with Marks and Johnston for “Help Me, Rhonda,” “Surfin’ U.S.A.” and a show-closing “Fun, Fun, Fun.” Brian and Marilyn’s daughter Carnie Wilson, who racked up her own hits with Wilson Phillips, also joined in on the latter two numbers.
Johnston’s appearance was particularly significant. Since 1998, he has toured with Love under The Beach Boys banner while Jardine has focused on his solo career and worked closely with Brian, with the notable exception of The Beach Boys’ 2012 reunion campaign. This past weekend’s gigs marked the first time he had shared the stage with Jardine since 2014 and his most high-profile appearance since he left Love’s The Beach Boys earlier this year. Though he originally announced that he would continue to join The Beach Boys for some marquee shows, including their annual July 4th gig, he has not performed with Love since his departure.
In a strange turn of events, while the other surviving members of the Beach Boys were reuniting, Love was performing under the group’s name at Nashville’s Ryman Auditorium. It was his second public performance since July, following a series of health-related cancelations. (Love, who is 85, recently struggled with both COVID and bronchitis and is said to be reeling from the back-to-back deaths of his cousin Brian and his own sister.)
At both his comeback show at Cincinnati, OH’s PNC Pavilion at Riverbend on Saturday and The Ryman on Sunday, Love sat in a wheelchair throughout the night and appeared visible frail, only providing background and harmony vocals. He was aided on stage by his son Brian and actor/musician John Stamos, who has been an auxiliary member of The Beach Boys for several decades and brought their music to new, younger generations through Full House. Stamos served as a frontman throughout the two shows and also posted a lengthy statement before the Nashville date.
He explained:
I’m boarding a plane to Nashville to play with the Beach Boys at the Ryman Auditorium, struggling to put my feelings into words. My beloved friend, father figure, musical hero and mentor, Mike Love, is facing serious health challenges. We hope he’ll be doing what he loves for years to come, but we don’t know what the future holds. We have tonight.
Mike is a fighter. Despite doctors, family and friends urging him to focus on his health, he insists on being on stage. He says he needs his band, the audience, his friends and drummer surrounding him to lift him up.I’ve played with Mike for 41 years. I never imagined how deeply it would affect me to see someone larger than life face something so human and fragile.
The Mike Love we see tonight may not be exactly the Mike we’ve always known. But he’s still every bit the Mike we love. His lyrics, optimism, unforgettable hooks and more than 7,000 concerts have brought joy to generations. What he’s given me personally is immeasurable.
Forty-one years of stages, airplanes, hotel rooms, laughter and moments nobody else saw. He married Caitlin and me. He’s shared experiences with my family, and now my son. Mike didn’t just give me a place in his band. He gave me a place in his life.
He taught me how to entertain, hold a stage, connect with an audience and make people feel something. I carry those lessons everywhere. He’s made me a better musician, entertainer and man. This life with Mike and the Beach Boys has become part of my identity. I’ve felt entrusted with being a steward of this extraordinary music, carrying it to new generations.
Tonight, at the Ryman, sharing the stage with Mike, I want to be completely present. Hear every harmony, familiar joke and cheer. Feel that first chord hit and watch age, illness and time disappear. Just a bunch of guys making music together. Maybe the hardest part of loving someone is becoming so accustomed to the miracle of having them there that you forget it’s a miracle at all. Tonight, I won’t forget. I want to cherish every second without feeling those seconds slipping away. That’s what I’m giving him. We don’t know what tomorrow brings. But we have tonight.
At the Ryman, Willie Nelson’s longtime harmonica player Mickey Raphael also sat in on “The Warmth of the Sun” and The Beach Boys-adopted Regents original “Barbara Ann” while country-pop act LOCASH, who recruited Love and Johnston for a version of their song “Beach Boys” in 2022, appeared on Beach Boys’ variation on Chuck Berry’s “Rock and Roll Music.”
The Beach Boys’ next scheduled show is a November 11 appearance at Walk Disney World, where they are supposed to play the America Gardens in EPCOT. It is currently unclear if the show will take place as planned.
