Childhood & Early Life
Mike Love was born in Los Angeles, California to Emily Wilson and Edward Milton Love. His father was the son of the founder of Love Sheet Metal Company and his mother was a sister of the famous record producer Murray Wilson.
Love passed out of the Dorsey High School but what not very confident what to pursue next in life, therefore, he joined his father’s company for a while. Love used to spend a lot of his free time with his uncle Murry Wilson, who was a musician and a record producer, and his sons.
With the declining conditions of his family’s financial status, Love’s ambitions to prove himself and do something great in music started to grow more and more. His inspiration at the time was a local band called ‘Jan and Dean’.
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Career
In the early 1960s, Love formed a band with Wilson brothers called ‘The Beach Boys’. He wrote the lyrics of their very first song ‘Surfin’. He gave his vocals to songs like ‘Little Deuce Coupe’, ‘Little Saint Nick’, ‘Fun, Fun, Fun’, etc.
In 1963, Love, with his dedication towards writing more and more for the band, wrote the lyrics of the song ‘The Warmth of the Sun’, which was dedicated to the death of President John F Kennedy.
Throughout the 1960s, The Beach Boys produced albums like: ‘Surfin’ Safari’, ‘Surfin’ U.S.A.’, ‘Surfer Girl’, ‘Little Deuce Coupe’, ‘All Summer Long’, ‘Pet Sounds’, ‘Smiley Smiley’, etc. in which Love played the role of central voice and lyricist.
In 1967, Love started the Transcendental Meditation under the teachings of Maharishi Mahesh Yogi. He went on a spiritual trip to Rishikesh in India with fellow American musicians like: the Beatles, Mia Farrow, Donovan, etc.
In 1970s, The Beach Boys came out with albums like: ‘Big Sur’, ‘Everyone’s in Love With You’, ‘Sumahama’,etc. During this time Love also recorded his solo unreleased albums like: ‘Almost Summer’, ‘First Love’ and ‘Country Love’.
In 1981, Love came out with his first and only solo album called ‘Looking Back With Love’, in which he included some covers like Neil Sedaka’s ‘Calendar Girl’ and also wrote songs for it like, ‘Paradise Found’.
In 1988, the Beach boys released the album ‘Still’ Crusin’ from which the number ‘Komoko’ became a huge hit. The song was co-written by Love. The song was nominated for Golden Globe and Grammy Award.
From 1992–1996, The Beach Boys released only two albums, ‘Summer in Paradise’, ‘Stars and Stripes Vol. 1’. During this time, Murry Wilson tried to strip Love off his royalty share but he won the legal case against Wilson.
In 1998, Love toured with The Beach Boys even after the death of one of the band members, Carl Wilson. He toured along with Bruce Johnston and a bunch of new musicians that included actor John Stamos as well.
During the same time, Love and Bruce Johnston came out with an album called ‘Symphonic Sounds: Music of the Beach Boys’, which included new versions of Johnston’s old songs like ‘Disney’s Girls’, etc.
In 2003, Love made a public declaration that he would come up with a solo album with the name of ‘Unleash The Love and Mike Love, Not War’. It was said that the album would include tracks like: ‘Pieces Brothers’, etc.
In 2005, Love sued Brian Wilson for giving out his promotional CD for free with the Mail On Sunday newspaper; the CD had The Beach Boys’ name and his image on it. He lost the lawsuit as there was not any merit to it.
In 2012, ‘That’s Why God Made the Radio’ was released which was an all-original Beach Boys music album that came out in a long time. The album was produced under the union of Brian Wilson, Love and Al-Jardine.
