Mike Love

Michael Edward "Mike" Love (born March 15, 1941) is an American musician, singer, songwriter, and activist who is a member and co-founder of the Beach Boys. For most of the Beach Boys' career, Love has been one of the band's lyricists, contributing to each of their studio albums. In the 1960s, Love collaborated with Brian Wilson and was a lyricist on singles including "Fun, Fun, Fun" and "California Girls". During this period, his lyrics primarily reflected the youth culture of surfing, cars, and romance, which has been described by writers as having helped fashion pop culture's perception of the "California Dream". Love's work during this period also assumed elements of melancholy with examples being "The Warmth of the Sun"—written the day of John F. Kennedy's assassination—and "I'm Waiting for the Day" from Pet Sounds. Starting in 1968, Love became a teacher of Transcendental Meditation under Maharishi Mahesh Yogi. The experience influenced his lyrics to take on themes of astrology, meditation, politics and ecology. Following this, Love's lyrical direction shifted to attempt to recapture the band's earlier, lighthearted sound. In the late 1970s, Love began working on solo albums, releasing his first in 1981. In 1988, he, along with the other founding members of the Beach Boys, was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. The same year, the Love co-written "Kokomo" reached number one in the United States and was nominated for a Grammy Award. In 1998, following the death of cousin Carl Wilson, Love and longtime Beach Boy Bruce Johnston licensed the Beach Boys name and continued touring. The other surviving Beach Boys, Brian Wilson and Al Jardine, embarked on solo endeavors. In 2011, the group reunited to produce a new album and embark on a tour for their 50th anniversary. Following the 50th anniversary reunion shows, Love resumed touring only with Johnston.