Mike Love, founding member of the Beach Boys, is 82 years old today.
Love founded the band along with his cousins Brian, Carl and Dennis Wilson, and their friend, Al Jardine. He continues to write, record and perform with the group to the present day.
For most of the Beach Boys' career, Love has been the primary lyricist, holding writing contributions to each of the band's studio albums and four #1 singles. Though Love played rudimentary saxophone in the first years of the fledgling garage band that evolved from the Pendletones to the Beach Boys.
He quickly established himself as co-lead singer with Brian Wilson, trademarking the band's vocal sound with a strong baritone counterpoint to Wilson's falsetto. He also established himself, along with neighbor, Gary Usher, local DJ Roger Christian and others, as a collaborator with Brian Wilson in the band's original compositions.
Love went on to sing lead vocal on many of the Beach Boys' template hits, specializing in fast-paced rock 'n' rollers, while Brian's voice dominated moodier tracks and the major ballads, like "Surfer Girl."
Love's notable leads in the formative years include "Shut Down," "Little Deuce Coupe," "Be True to Your School," "Little Saint Nick," "Fun, Fun, Fun," "When I Grow Up (To Be a Man)," "Little Honda," "Dance, Dance, Dance" and "California Girls."
On stage and on tour over five decades with the Beach Boys, Love has served as the Beach Boys' MC, introducing songs and band members and bantering with the audience.