1

He’s always been nice to me.

There’s an assumption that our musical heroes are just like you and me.

They’re not.

And they’re not like movie stars, not like politicians, not like any other performers, because they are their music, and their music speaks to us in a way no other medium does.

Especially when the act writes its own material. This is something the Beatles ushered in which has been lost in the dash for cash, pop star twenty first century. If it’s a hit, it can’t be criticized, but as popular as today’s music might be, it doesn’t quite resonate the same way those tracks of yore did, that went directly from the musician’s heart into yours.

The Beach Boys… Only they and the Four Seasons survived the British Invasion. The rest of the acts, old crooners like Perry Como, pop constructs like Bobby Rydell, they were wiped from the hit parade.

Think about that, the Beatle revolution was so strong, such a great leap forward, that it left everything in its wake. Other than in tech, we haven’t experienced a similar phenomenon since. That’s the essence of tech, something is the new thing and then something else comes along and wipes it from the map. The iPod supplants overcomplicated lame MP3 players and then it is supplanted by the iPhone. Streaming not only supersedes the iTunes Store, when is the last time you heard anybody quote “Rip. Mix. Burn.,” the Apple phrase that got the record industry’s knickers in a twist. Hell, computers don’t even come with a disc drive anymore, never mind one that burns.

As for the Beach Boys…

Today, unless you live here, California is a pariah, a veritable joke, a hellhole with a government that doesn’t work, stratospheric taxes and unaffordable real estate. You’d think people would be leaving in droves. Well, some did, but so many of them came back. And there are new immigrants too. It’s the California lifestyle, and although Hollywood had existed for decades, the best advertisement the state ever got was the music of the Beach Boys.

You were living in a landlocked state. Or one where the weather was hit or miss. And there was a place where the sun always shined, where it never got cold and you could parade with little clothing as you lived an outdoor lifestyle. Turns out life didn’t have to be oppressive, but fun, who didn’t want that?

Seemingly everybody wanted to buy in. California burgeoned after the war, when many soldiers remained here. When aerospace grew. It was the antithesis, the counterweight to the east coast, and it was extremely appealing to the youth.

This was in an era when old people were old. They weren’t best friends with their children. The mind-set was different, one of calcification as opposed to movement. But the Boomer generation, large in numbers and wealth, cottoned to acts that spoke to them, and when it came to America, none so much as the Beach Boys.

Was Brian Wilson a musical genius? That word is thrown around too easily today, furthermore, I’m not exactly sure what it means. But did Brian go on his own hejira, inspired by the harmony groups of his youth, and push the envelope of popular music?

Absolutely.

But he rarely wrote the lyrics. Most were written by Mike Love. He wanted credit for that. And suing for his rights was one of the many perceived missteps that have contributed to the negative perception of him in popular culture.

But the music remains.

And other than Al Jardine, he’s the last man standing.

The Wilsons are all gone. Mike is still here.

But the band hasn’t had a hit in eons.

2

Most acts have an era, and then it’s over. The Beach Boys peaked a number of times. And just when it looked like their old act had run out of time and juice, Brian delivered “Pet Sounds” and then “Good Vibrations.” There were a few hits thereafter, “Darlin'” and “Do It Again,” but the world had changed, now it was about FM rock, extended numbers as opposed to ditties. No coordinated stage outfits.

But unlike the Four Seasons, the Beach Boys were not out of time. They came from a world which constantly progressed, and they did too. The only problem with their first album for Warner Bros. was it didn’t have an AM hit. But it was their spin on the modern world, both musically and thematically, it was a triumph.

And there were a few more early seventies albums before…

The renaissance of “Endless Summer.”

Hard to think of sixties nostalgia in 1974, but the public ate it right up. The Beach Boys had built their live business back to arenas, but now… Everyone agreed that their music was special and deserved to live forever.

And it has.

We can talk about the ensuing half a century. Brian being back and then not being so. And then ultimately coming back with a frazzled voice and not quite all of his identity, but still he was revered for what he had done.

Mike?

He was just the singer.

But he had written a lot of those words, encompassing the California Dream, but Mike was not warm and fuzzy, and had a way of sticking his foot in his mouth, so the music maintained and…

Mike was its number one purveyor. After all, it was he who was the vocalist on most of the major hits.

But somewhere along the line, respect evaporated. Mike was competing with Brian, he was singing the hits, but there was no gravitas, it wasn’t quite akin to a jukebox, but it was good-timey as opposed to soul-fulfilling. Seemed like the Beach Boys would show up anywhere, it was no longer special, but they were never relegated to clubs, they always drew a reasonable number of patrons, and one thing is for sure, everyone who was there loved it, none so much as Mike.

3

You’re probably looking forward to retirement. When you can lay back and do just what you want to. You’ve worked your whole life for this. Endured bad bosses, been knocked around, all to build a nest egg such that you can sail into the sunset satisfied.

But this is not the life of a successful musician.

First and foremost, you can’t be this successful if you’re well-adjusted, absolutely impossible. Sure, you could have a personality disorder, but it could be as simple as a bad upbringing, physical or emotional abuse. Music was your refuge. Another space where you felt soothed and understood. Once again, this paradigm is different from today’s hit parade. Today the audience is as important as the act. People go to shoot selfies, to have a party, to create FOMO, whereas in the sixties and seventies the venues still had seats, and you sat in rapt attention, these were gods on stage.

And they knew it.

But the funny thing is, as much success as you have, it does not fill the hole inside that motivated you to do it.

Therefore we have ultra-successful and even wealthy acts who O.D., way past the peak of their fame. The money, the sex…it wasn’t enough.

What they were looking for was love. And no amount of love satiates them. But where they get their love most is on stage.

4

The hits are in the rearview mirror. You might get royalty checks, but you can truly only feel your fame when you’re on stage. It’s a hit mere mortals are never exposed to. All that love coming back from the fans. It’s validation of you and your life’s work. People love you.

Of course at the end of the night they go home and you’re left alone in your hotel room or bus, crashing, but they were there and…

Your only option is to do it again.

Of course there are aged acts who go on the road for the money. Actually, the dirty little secret is everybody can always use more money. But some are up against the wall and some are not. Some have alimony and child support and rehab fees, others are comfortable financially, but what are they going to do, sit around the house and stare at the walls? Or go out into public and be treated like a has-been?

No, the only solution is to be active, to go on the road.

And this is what Mike Love has done.

Can he do it anymore?

5

This is a question I ask all aged rockers, are they going to die on stage? Rarely does this actually happen, then again comedian Dick Shawn died on stage and the audience thought it was part of the act!

No one seems to be able to retire. The Scorpions have been on their final tour for nearly a decade. Sinatra couldn’t stay away. McCartney’s voice has taken a hit, but he is not preserving his legacy, he’s out there doing it. In order to really retire, you must not be able to do it anymore. Literally.

And we just saw that with the member of Judas Priest. You don’t think about arthritis when you’re twenty one.

And it’s hardest for vocalists. That’s the instrument that usually goes first.

But even Frankie Valli says he’s not retired. Even though he’s been lip-synching for years and there are videos of him bewildered at shows.

So…

You saw the video of Mike Love on stage. Was it sad? Absolutely! Should you criticize him?

This is one thing that angers critics, who wish their words had more power. People still pay to see these acts, they still want to. We can analyze why, whether it’s the actual performance or the opportunity to relive your life or…

We were not prepared for this. Rock and roll was never going to die, nor were the artists. I mean it’s one thing to be a member of the 27 club, but if you make it through your twenties…

But they’ve been dropping like flies for over a decade. First David Bowie, then Glenn Frey, and now not a week goes by that the news doesn’t tell us someone from the past has gone. Might have only been a member of a regional band, but…

They’re gone.

But before they go, so many are locked into the past. Still sporting their long hair, the old threads, getting plastic surgery to look young. Sure, they’re worried about public perception, but they also do it for themselves, they can’t accept that they’re old, they don’t want to be over the hill, they believe they’re still vital.

That they’re contenders.

And that’s what brought Mike Love to the stage in Cincinnati Saturday night.

Oh, he’d taken time off. But he couldn’t let go. He’ll say there were commitments, and there were, and money involved too, but every deal is breakable, think of all the acts who die mid-tour, never mind those who become ill.

But if Mike doesn’t go out, who is he? An 85 year old guy…

Think about that, if someone is not a performer, in what other walk of life are people still working at that age, oftentimes at a level similar to what they did in their heyday. Many 85 year old civilians are too old to travel, but these musicians are on the road constantly.

Old people worry about their balance, their faculties…

Then again, Glen Campbell went on the road with Alzheimer’s. And Tony Bennett was lauded for performing with Alzheimer’s too.

Mike Love seems to have all his faculties, it’s just his body that has betrayed him. It gives out, we’re all just mortal. And even if you do your best to stay healthy, it’s hard to beat genetics, and ultimately the Grim Reaper comes to get you, no one here gets out alive.

6

So, was this the last Mike Love show?

Possibly, but not if he has anything to say about it.

Then again, will the Beach Boys die, or will they be like Foreigner or Lynyrd Skynyrd, touring without one original member, the songs keeping the band name alive.

But if you’re beating up on Mike, you’re missing the point. You’re evidencing your smallness. You’re sitting at home, in judgment. You don’t know what it’s like on the other side of the footlights, how hard it is to give it up.

To these performers it’s everything, they need the love of the audience, it makes them whole, if just for ninety minutes, would you pass on this opportunity?

I don’t think so.