back then it meant a lot to me cuz you

know like I was like very nervous you

know because I didn’t want the on this

on the production

just do it for me as he says you do

that’s so silly all right squeeze

squeeze

[Music]

brian Wilson is dead the news was

confirmed on the morning of June 11th

2025

ending the life of a musical genius who

once defined an era news Beach Boys

legend Brian Wilson has passed away we

just got this news moments ago the news

was confirmed the media called it a

great loss for American culture artists

around the world paid tribute fans were

outraged but Mike Love who has been with

Brian since the beginning of the Beach

Boys has been completely silent when I

say he I mean Brian and he would go to

Studio 3 at Western Recorders on Sunset

Boulevard and for nearly three decades

he has not said a word through

controversy litigation and discord it

wasn’t until 26 hours later at age 84

that Mike Love finally spoke and what he

said was unlike anything anyone had

heard from him before in 1961 Mike Love

and Brian Wilson laid the foundation for

the Beach Boys one of the most

influential groups in American history

[Music]

i’ll find a way to let you know

they were cousins who grew up together

in Hawthorne California steeped in

three-part harmony beach dreams and keen

commercial instincts but behind the

radio hits was a decadesl long rivalry

fueled by differences in musical vision

copyright disputes and personal wounds

that never fully healed at first the two

worked well together brian took on the

role of producer and composer while Mike

focused on writing and performing songs

like Surfing USA I get Around and Fun

Fun Fun all bore the hallmarks of the

duo

[Music]

female stand

but by 1966 when Brian decided to move

into a more complex and ambitious

musical direction with Pet Sounds

tensions began to build

the album was critically acclaimed but

Mike saw it as a departure from what the

public wanted his now attributed don’t

mess with the formula became a symbol of

the internal conflict although Love

later denied ever being so vehemently

opposed to Pet Sounds as Brian began

work on Smile a haunting unfinished work

that would last for decades Mike grew

increasingly concerned not only about

Brian’s musical direction but also about

his own mental state which was

deteriorating the tension reached its

peak in the 1990s

mike Love sued Brian Wilson to reclaim

the copyright to 35 songs that he

claimed he had written but had not been

credited for because Brian’s father

Murray Wilson had left him out of the

songwriting credits the court ruled in

favor of Mike ordering Wilson to pay $13

million in damages although love was

legally recognized he was widely

criticized by fans and the media many

saw this as an act of betrayal causing

an irreparable rift with Brian from that

point on the relationship between the

two men almost fell into a state of

frost in 1998 Brian’s brother and a rare

neutral in the band Carl Wilson died of

cancer this marked the turning point

when the Beach Boys went in two distinct

directions mike Love with the legal

rights to the band name continued to

tour and run his own version of the band

meanwhile Brian began working

independently collaborating with

Aljardeem David Marx and others the

ownership of the name The Beach Boys

became a long-standing controversy among

fans with many believing that the group

had split permanently in 2012 to

celebrate the band’s 50th anniversary

brian Wilson and Mike Love reunited for

a special tour complete with all

surviving members the album That’s Why

God Made the Radio was released as a

symbol of reconciliation

[Music]

take us

but the reconciliation did not last

shortly after the tour ended Love

announced that he would continue touring

with his group without Brian Al Jardine

and David Marx once again he was

criticized for firing Brian shortly

after they had achieved success together

again love denied the accusations

claiming that the decision had been

agreed upon in advance and that

continuing the shows was a contractual

obligation nevertheless the feeling of

being left out still lingers with Brian

and his supporters the tension between

the two continued into the 2020s in 2020

Mike Love performed at a fundraiser for

Donald Trump’s reelection campaign brian

Wilson and Al Jardine immediately

released a statement stating that they

had nothing to do with the event and did

not agree with the band’s name being

associated with any political agenda the

split was not only artistic but also

social further deepening the gap between

Love and Wilson in the eyes of much of

the public Brian became a symbol of

damaged creativity while Mike was seen

as a representative of the pragmatic

commercial and even offensive side by

2024 belated signs of reconciliation

began to emerge in a rare interview with

the BBC Mike Love admitted to seeing

Brian again saying it wasn’t as negative

as people think he expressed hope that

they could collaborate musically again

if circumstances allowed nonetheless

that wish never came true in June 2025

Brian Wilson died while still under

legal protection his health failing and

his memories fading and this time Mike

Love did not keep quiet for as long as

he had before he spoke using his real

identity his real name and his real

feelings at 8:00 a.m on June 12th 2025 a

post appeared on Mike Love’s official

account with a black and white photo of

him and Brian Wilson as children the

first line quoted a familiar line to

fans death leaves a heartache no one can

heal love leaves a memory no one can

steal after nearly three decades of

being considered Brian’s nemesis Mike

Love finally came out publicly with his

personal feelings just when there was no

one left for him to refute or reconcile

with in a 94 second video posted by his

communications team shortly afterward

Mike Love appears in a quiet space

wearing a dark suit holding a 1965 photo

of him and Brian in Capital Studios his

voice is low and clear we didn’t always

agree but what we created together is

undeniable i didn’t just lose a

colleague I lost a brother the quote was

quickly retweeted across platforms

television social media and major

newspapers love’s statement was a stark

contrast to the reserved defensive

demeanor he had displayed over the

decades in previous interviews he had

often resorted to evasive or

counterattacking tactics when asked

about Brian this time he paused

acknowledged the loss and gave himself

space to grieve it was one of the rare

times he spoke publicly without

defending his own image or his role in

the band’s legacy there was no mention

of Mike Love in the statement just Brian

Wilson and what they had been together

the media response was almost immediate

variety The Guardian and NPR all quoted

Mike Love’s statement in their tributes

to Brian Wilson several veteran music

journalists noted that it was an

important break of silence at the right

time and perhaps the most honest thing

Mike has said publicly about Brian in

years some critics of love also put

aside their prejudices saying that it

was a necessary act to end an era with

kindness on social media the reaction

was polarized some longtime Brian Wilson

fans were skeptical saying Love’s

announcement came too late and lacked

sincerity one widely circulated comment

read “Brian was isolated in his later

years and Mike only spoke out when no

one was questioning him anymore but many

others shared the opposite view saying

that at least Mike had not remained

silent forever his choice to appear on

camera not reading from a piece of paper

not beating around the bush was an act

of responsibility as the last living

member of the founding team mike Love’s

presence at Brian Wilson’s private

funeral held June 14th in Los Angeles

was also confirmed by a family

representative although he did not speak

at the ceremony his attendance was

highlighted by many news outlets as a

sign of a final end to the feud other

former members or collaborators of the

Beach Boys were also present al Jardine

David Marx Blondie Chaplain there was no

stage no live music only an old

recording of Don’t Talk Put Your Head on

My Shoulder played during the service it

wasn’t a reconciliation there’s no

evidence that their relationship had

been fully mended before Brian died but

the statement brought things back to the

heart of the matter not who was right

who was wrong but who had the courage to

look back admit it and finally break the

silence when it was time

from the beach to the court in the early

1960s Mike Love and Brian Wilson were

the inseparable pillars of the Beach

Boys they were not only cousins but also

the creative duo that shaped the group’s

signature sound brian was responsible

for the mixing arranging and production

while Mike wrote and sang on nearly

every major hit the duo defined the

California sound a fusion of bright pop

ocean dreams convertibles youth and

Americanized freedom but it was during

those early years that the differences

between the two began to develop into a

rift that would last for decades brian

quickly established himself as a

composer without limits while the rest

of the group was content with a

successful formula of short catchy songs

Brian wanted to push the envelope he

spent hours in the studio brought in

orchestras experimented with

multi-layered recording techniques and

aimed to turn the Beach Boys into a

serious artistic phenomenon the 1966

album Pet Sounds was a testament to that

vision it was critically acclaimed and

influenced even the Beatles but was met

with internal reservations most notably

expressed by Mike Love love worried that

Pet Sounds was too complex and unlikely

to appeal to the mass market while he

never publicly opposed its release he

made no secret of his view that the band

was drifting away from what had made

them successful the simmering conflict

came to a head when Brian launched the

Smile Project a hyper ambitious album he

described as a symphony to God mike felt

the idea was unrealistic too abstract

and would alienate the band ultimately

Smile was scrapped in 1967 leaving Brian

in a prolonged mental crisis after the

failure of Smile Brian gradually

withdrew from the center stage while

Mike Love and the remaining members

sought to keep the Beach Boys alive by

returning to the familiar easy listening

formula the polarization between art and

commerce became increasingly clear in

interviews Love often emphasized the

importance of keeping the band alive

while Brian became increasingly distant

barely performing and living a reclusive

life for many years by the early 1990s

the conflict had taken on a new form

legal and financial mike Love filed a

lawsuit against Brian Wilson seeking

co-authorship of 35 songs that Love

claimed he had written but had not been

credited due to a decision by Brian’s

father Murray Wilson the case was a

major one attracting the attention of

the entire entertainment industry love

won the case receiving more than $13

million in damages and his name was

officially added to the copyright

records of many of the songs

nevertheless the lawsuit also severely

damaged his image among fans the media

portrayed him as profiting from Brian’s

mental instability although the lawsuit

reflected a dispute over rights that had

been going on since the beginning of his

career the tensions didn’t stop there

after Carl Wilson’s death in 1998 the

group virtually disbanded mike Love

registered the rights to perform as the

Beach Boys and was granted exclusive

rights to the brand for touring

meanwhile Brian Wilson performed under

his own name occasionally collaborating

with Aljardine or independent musicians

the existence of two Beach Boys was

confusing to the public and created an

irreparable rift within the surviving

founders in recent years Mike Love has

begun to soften his stance in interviews

he has spoken often of his childhood

memories of Brian insisting that things

might have been different if it had been

just the two of them and no third party

involved but history cannot be rewritten

and with Brian Wilson’s death their

journey of collaboration and rivalry

finally came to a close not with a new

chapter but with the recognition that

both success and tragedy were born from

that relationship bass note afterward

mike Love is entering his 84th year of

life he is the last surviving founding

member of the Beach Boys dennis Wilson

died in 1983 Carl Wilson in 1998 and in

June 2025 Brian Wilson will be gone with

60 years of history behind him Love is

not only dealing with the death of a

loved one but also with the memory of a

complicated past where he was always at

odds with Brian both artistically and in

the public eye for decades Mike Love

felt he was being unfairly judged he

didn’t deny Brian Wilson’s genius but he

also felt that the media and fans had

deliberately obscured the contributions

of the others especially his own role in

writing lyrics shaping the band’s style

and keeping the band going i may not be

a genius Love once said but without me a

lot of the songs would never have been

recorded because no one would have sung

them or put them on stage it wasn’t a

competition but rather a long-standing

resentment at being seen as a drag on

Brian’s vision rather than a creative

partner looking back from where he is

now Love has reason to be proud the

Beach Boys still perform with him as

their frontman millions of people across

generations still listen to the

recordings he sang lead but his legacy

is not felt in the same way as Brian’s

one is called a transcendent artist the

other a copyright holder one is

remembered in nationally televised

tributes the other is routinely cast as

the villain in documentaries and

biographies mike Love understands that

and his response in recent years has

been less stridened in interviews in

2023 2024 he began to talk more about

what was lost than about what was

disputed he talked about family

gatherings as kids about the first time

the brothers recorded together in the

living room about gigs where Brian

didn’t want to leave the house but ended

up showing up anyway because Mike

convinced him to these are small details

that don’t change history but they show

that Mike Love’s perspective has shifted

toward recognition rather than

confrontation at 84 Mike Love is no

longer the one who controls the

narrative after Brian’s death social

media erupted with mixed emotions some

called him the last man standing only to

redefine history in his own way others

asked “Is he trying to write a wrong or

is he simply keeping quiet because he

doesn’t want to be controversial?” But

what is clear is that Mike Love even

though he is still alive is trapped in

an image that others have created for

him and he has no desire to break it he

doesn’t argue he doesn’t react he

doesn’t argue he writes a few lines

appears in a short video and then

retreats not everyone gets the chance to

close such a long chapter mike Love

controversial as he is broke his silence

at a time when silence no longer made

sense at 84 he is not trying to rewrite

history he is simply reminding others

that he is still here the last witness

to a lost legend the legacy is divided

brian Wilson’s death not only closes a

life it also closes the final chapter in

the complicated history of the Beach

Boys for more than six decades the band

has been a constant of change division

and controversy but now with Mike Love

as the sole surviving founder the

question of their musical legacy is no

longer a matter of the past it’s a

matter of the present and what happens

next brian Wilson’s legacy has long been

recognized he is considered one of the

most influential composers of the 20th

century albums like Pet Sounds and Smile

were not just musical products but

creative statements that broke the

boundaries of the pop industry he was

inducted into the Hall of Fame received

countless awards was the subject of a

biopic and was the centerpiece of dozens

of documentaries his death was called

the passing of a singular genius by the

media the public mourned him the way

they mourned Lennon or Bowie that

reverence was undeniable mike Love’s

legacy by contrast has always been

controversial but being the lead singer

on a string of iconic songs and the man

who kept the Beach Boys brand going for

decades he has never been given the

respect he deserves in documentaries he

is often portrayed as a creative blocker

for Brian his struggles with copyright

his right to use the band’s name and his

personal opinions especially on politics

have all been interpreted negatively by

the public although he continues to tour

regularly with the new lineup of the

Beach Boys love has never been treated

as the guardian of the legacy but rather

as the one who is consuming it if you

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thank you for watching until the end