Mike Love Memoir, ‘Good Vibration: My Life as a Beach Boy,’ Due in 2016
Beach Boys singer Mike Love is going to tell the story of his five-decade tenure in the famously fractious band in the summer of 2016 with the release of his first book, which is tentatively titled Good Vibrations: My Life as a Beach Boy. It’s timed to coincide with the 50th anniversary of “Good Vibrations.” James S. Hirsch, who has written books about Willie Mays and Rubin “Hurricane” Carter, will be Love’s co-writer.
“I’ve had an incredible life with a lot of triumphs, my share of heartbreak and some pretty amazing experiences,” the singer said in a statement. “There are a lot of things I haven’t shared before, and I’m looking forward to opening up about my life and my work in this book. It’s a story about family, music, a country in transition, and audiences all over the world coming together in harmony.”
According to a press release, the book will span Love’s entire life: “[It] will describe Love’s early childhood and family story, and that of his cousins Brian, Dennis and Carl Wilson, all founding members of the band, along with Al Jardine…. Love will share the story behind the group’s unparalleled hit-making in the 1960s, including the music that celebrated the California lifestyle as well as the recording of Pet Sounds and other seminal albums…. [He] will talk about his own spiritual journey through transcendental meditation, his complex relationship with Brian Wilson, and the enduring appeal of the Beach Boy sound.”
Brian Wilson published Wouldn’t It Be Nice: My Own Story in 1991, but his controversial therapist Dr. Eugene Landy played a significant role in the writing process, and Wilson has said he didn’t even read it before it went to press. It is now out of print.
Mike Love and Brian Wilson put aside their differences for a 2012 Beach Boys reunion tour, where they were joined by original members Al Jardine and David Marks, but old tensions resurfaced and it fell apart by the end of the year. They now tour separately.