Why Mike Love Was Upset at the Beach Boys’ Rock Hall Induction

When the Beach Boys were inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 1988, Mike Love delivered a speech that was one for the ages. Even now, he realizes that it's a moment that will be part of their history forever.

During his infamous speech, he called out Paul McCartney for being absent that night - the Beatles were also being inducted. Mick Jagger and Billy Joel were also among Love's additional verbal targets. Later in the evening, Bob Dylan thanked Love for not mentioning his name during the speech.

Love left his bandmates visibly steamed that night. But you won't find that moment in The Beach Boys, a new documentary by director Frank Marshall that makes its debut on Disney+ on May 24.

The film runs less than two hours and covers the group's history - the good times and the rough spots - as well as the music, which moved from surf music to more intricate work at the end of the '60s.

By the '70s, Beach Boys albums pulled further away from the band's origins as turmoil created tension inside their ranks. But as the documentary shows, they eventually found their moment in the sun again.

During a short conversation with Ultimate Classic Rock Nights host Matt Wardlaw, Love discusses the film and his current relationship with Brian Wilson. 

Hey, Mike!
Hey, Matt, where are you located?

I’m in Cleveland. You’ve been here many times over the years.
Oh, for sure! I’m at the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. I’m forever up there saying something about Mick Jagger that I forget.

Oh, yeah!
[Laughs]

Your speech is a moment that people still talk about. What did you hear from any of the many people that you mentioned? Whether it was McCartney or Jagger? That was a crazy night.
George Harrison said to me, “Either you’re meditating too much or not enough.” [Laughs]

Watch Mike Love at the Beach Boys' 1988 Rock Hall Induction

I love that Bob Dylan got up there and thanked you for not mentioning him.
Bob Dylan said that?

Yeah.
You know, I was a little upset that Paul McCartney didn’t come to the induction of the Beatles because he wasn’t having a great time with Yoko Ono. Diana Ross didn’t come for the Supremes induction for whatever reason. Berry Gordy was being honored and they have a kid named Rhonda together. Rhon-da! Anyway, the thing is, I think that music has the power to unite people. Instead of chronology and divisiveness, it should be about what we can do for the world. That’s my principal philosophy. You know, I didn’t address that issue. I wasn’t able to finish my thinking, because the band sort of played me off. But you know, my heart is there. I want music to uplift people. I want us to do things good for the world. God only knows, the world needs it right now. I think our positivity and our message of our songs is very current. We just did the Stagecoach Festival and we just did the Lovin’ Life Festival in Charlotte, which is where I am today. There were thousands of people having a great time to our music on a beautiful sunny day. It’s a total joy and a total blessing for me to be able to step out on stage and have that mood created through our music. So there’s way too much positivity in terms of my life to have to worry about a little bit of a bump in the road here and there.

Watch 'The Beach Boys' Trailer

The new film seems like it might have been overwhelming for you to watch. It covers the first 20 years of a band that's been going for more than 60 years now.
It is overwhelming a little bit, emotionally, for one who’s been there all of this time. My cousin Brian, he left the touring group in late 1964. Glen Campbell filled in for him for a few months and then Bruce Johnston took his place. The first song Bruce sang with us was in 1965, “California Girls.” Then, he was there for the Pet Sounds album and “Good Vibrations,” “Do it Again,” the Smile album and all of the albums subsequent to that. You know, I think that our music, we’ve been fortunate enough for our music to show up in Full House reruns -- and all kinds of great films, some of which Frank Marshall has done. So yeah, it only covers the first 20 years or so, but it shows the fundamentals. It shows the family connection coming together, the harmonies and the positivity and the subject matter, which appealed to subsequent generations. So we’ve got way more to be grateful for and thankful for than to get upset about.

READ MORE: Top 10 Beach Boys Songs

One thing we hear in The Beach Boys is how you dictated the lyrics for "Good Vibrations" to your wife as you were driving to the studio to sing them. How did those lyrics fully coalesce once you got to the studio?
The lyrics coalesced before we got to the studio. I had about 20 minutes and I had not written the words -- partially, because Brian had done different versions of “Good Vibrations” in different studios. He spent a fortune, in ‘60s money, going to all of these different studios to get sections of the song [recorded]. Finally, the composite track for “Good Vibrations” was done and we were going to sing it. I dictated the words -- I wanted to make it about a girl who was all into peace and love and flower power and all of that good stuff. All of that positive stuff. So I said to my wife, Suzanne, I said, “Take this down.” [Love sings] “I / I love the colorful clothes she wears / And the way the sunlight plays upon her hair.” And then I came up with, “I’m pickin’ up good vibrations / She’s given’ me the excitations.” So that was a true story, there was a structure of the track, but there was a spontaneity of the lyrics that came from the panic associated with, “Hey, I’d better get this song done!” [Laughs] So I showed the lyrics to Brian and he liked them. He showed them to Carl [Wilson], who sang the lead. I did the harmonies along with the other guys and I did the “I’m pickin’ up good vibrations” part. It was a really interesting thing that led to “Good Vibrations.” It went to number one! Then it went to number one in Great Britain and we were the number one group in Britain with number two being the Beatles. So that was pretty cool right there. Because we had a competition with those guys, albeit it was more of a love fest than love/hate.

When it comes to new interviews, we see Brian at only the beginning and the end. You talk in the film about how you have no contact with him. So it was moving to see the footage of the five surviving members on the beach and you talking to Brian. What was that moment like?
It was amazing. Brian was remembering things from our childhood, like going to a football game together. I mean, he triggered memories. He remembered things from back then that I’d forgotten. But see, we were so close [back then]. When we had a senior trip, I took Brian to Catalina from L.A. It was a ship to Catalina that took an hour or two. I took him, not as my date, but just as my friend and cousin. We cruised to Catalina and back for my high school outing. So we were close. He would drive over to the house in his Nash Rambler and we would listen to the radio until one or two in the morning and then we’d have to get up and go to school --- and my dad had to go to work, so he’d throw us out of the house because we were making noise at 11 o’clock doing music. But little did he know that one day it would work out to be worthwhile.