(Credits: Far Out / Capitol Records)
Sat 15 November 2025 0:00, UK
How do you even begin to describe The Beach Boys at this point? When Brian Wilson passed away, the words to describe him and his impact simply weren’t there, but that didn’t stop people from trying to find them.
“Brian had that mysterious sense of musical genius that made his songs so achingly special. The notes he heard in his head and passed to us were simple and brilliant at the same time. I loved him, and was privileged to be around his bright shining light for a little while,” said Paul McCartney, before signing off with, “How we will continue without Brian Wilson, ‘God Only Knows’.”
Brian Wilson was a huge part of the success of The Beach Boys. He wrote a large part of their greatest music, and he dedicated a lot of his time to the studio, which meant that the way the band was recorded was truly innovative. He was one of the driving factors behind the band gaining the success that they did; however, this wasn’t a one-man band.
While Wilson might have helped write some of the band’s best music, that music wouldn’t have found form were it not for the excellent band he had behind him, bringing those songs to life. One of the key aspects of this band was the vocal talents of people like Mike Love, who had an ability to sing as a solo artist and harmonise that is unlike anything people have heard previously. The way that The Beach Boys could layer their vocals together was truly unmatched, and it’s that otherworldly nature that means people are still listening to them to this day.
While you can’t see the original Beach Boys live, Mike Love is still touring, performing these hits to all those who still want to listen. The audience for the band never dwindles, as those songs and that voice are so timelessly classic. Mike Love contributes a great deal to it, with singing ability as versatile as it is beautiful.
From left: Al Jardine, Mike Love, Bruce Johnson, Brian Wilson, Carl Wilson. (Credit: Alamy)
When he was discussing his vocal ability, Mike Love said that he felt as though he had “three voices” but that some of his favourite parts to sing in songs were the bass. While this might not often be considered the most glamorous side of singing, it’s an intrinsic part of any harmony that offers sweetness and holds the whole thing together. This is why Love loved singing these sections so much, and he cited a number of his favourite songs where he excels in that field.
“Well, I think anything to do with the bass parts of any of our songs is pretty awesome because I love singing the bass,” said Love. “I don’t have a lot of volume, but I have a lot of resonance so that blend with the resonant of the lowest part gives the basis of the whole foundation of all the harmonies and stuff, and it’s one of the important elements of that.”
There are plenty of great songs where you can hear Love’s ability as a bass singer, and he has never been shy about coming forward with his favourites of these songs. “Very seldom does one talk about singing the bass part of a song being important, but in the structure of a four-part harmony, it’s incredibly important,” he said. “As for lead vocals, I’m particularly proud, it could be ‘All I Wanna Do’ or ‘All This Is That’ or ‘Everyone’s In Love With You or Big Sur’. It’s a little softer and more mellow approach.”
Love was also forthcoming about other songs where he got to engage with the other voices he had. While the bass part was his favourite, there were other means of singing that were equally important when it came to cementing The Beach Boys as one of the best bands of all time.
“I have three voices that I have used commercially,” he concluded. “One is the ‘Fun, Fun, Fun’, ‘Surfin’ Safari’, ‘Surfin’ USA’, ‘I Get Around’ voice, and the other voice is ‘Kokomo’, and the other voice could be ‘Everyone’s In Love With You’ or ‘All This Is That’.”
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