Happy 80th birthday to The Beach Boys' Mike Love!

Posted By: Staff
March 15, 2021 @ 4:37 pm
Music News

Credit: Udo Spreitzenbarth

Credit: Udo SpreitzenbarthMike Love may be a Beach Boy, but he’s no kid, and today the famous band’s lead singer celebrated his 80th birthday.

Love co-founded The Beach Boys back in 1961 with his cousins Brian, Dennis and Carl Wilson, and their friend Al Jardine, and the Los Angeles-area band soon became one of the most popular and influential groups in the U.S.

Love sang lead on many of The Beach Boys’ biggest hits, and also co-wrote a good portion of the band’s best-known songs, including “Fun, Fun, Fun,” “I Get Around,” “Help Me, Rhonda,” “California Girls,” “Good Vibrations” and “Kokomo.”

Mike is the only Beach Boys member to record and tour with the group throughout its entire history, and he continues to lead the current touring incarnation of the band. He was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame as a member of the group back in 1988.

In recent years, Love also has mounted a prolific solo career, releasing the albums Unleash the Love, Reason for the Season and 12 Sides of Summer in 2017, 2018 and 2019, respectively. He also released a COVID-19-themed solo single last year, titled “This Too Shall Past.”

In celebration of Love’s milestone birthday, a video featuring a montage of archival film footage and photos from throughout Mike’s life has been posted at The Beach Boys’ social media sites, set to the band’s 1964 gem “All Summer Long.”