Other work, "Kokomo", and credits lawsuit with the Beach Boys, 1971 Throughout the 1970s and 1980s, Love wrote the words and music of several Beach Boys songs, including "Big Sur" (1973), "Everyone's in Love with You" (1976) and "Sumahama" (1978). In 1978, he co-founded the band
Celebration, which achieved the U.S. Top 30 hit single "Almost Summer" (co-written with Brian Wilson and Jardine). Besides his work with Celebration, he also recorded two solo albums in October and November 1978.
First Love was produced by Love's Celebration collaborator Paul Fauerso and featured original songs by Love and vocals from cousin and Beach Boys bandmate Carl Wilson.
Country Love was a
country album produced by
Al Perkins (a
pedal steel guitarist formerly of
The Flying Burrito Brothers and
Manassas) and mostly featured original songs written by Love. Both albums were not released but were later bootlegged; Love revisited and re-recorded several songs from
First Love later in his solo career and with The Beach Boys. The
First Love version of "Brian's Back", written about the fairly recent return of Love's cousin and Beach Boys bandmate to recording and touring with the group, was later released on the Beach Boys' 1998 compilation album
Endless Harmony Soundtrack. In 1981, he released his first solo album (third to be recorded, but first to be released),
Looking Back with Love (1981), with production by
Curt Boettcher. In 1988, the Beach Boys had a U.S. number 1 hit with "
Kokomo", the only number 1 the band achieved without Brian's involvement. Love (along with "Kokomo" co-writers
Scott McKenzie,
Terry Melcher, and
John Phillips) was nominated for a
Golden Globe Award (1988) in the Original Song category, and was nominated for a
Grammy Award, for "Kokomo". Also in 1988, Love was inducted into the
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame along with the other founding members of the Beach Boys. At the induction ceremony Love delivered a hostile speech, criticizing
McCartney,
Bruce Springsteen,
Billy Joel, and
Mick Jagger. When asked in 2016 if he regretted anything about the night, Love said, "Yeah, I regret that I didn't meditate [earlier that day]."
Post-1990s After the death of Carl Wilson in 1998, Love continued to tour with the Beach Boys, along with
Bruce Johnston and a supporting band of new musicians, occasionally including actor
John Stamos. He leased exclusive rights to tour under the Beach Boys name in a boardroom settlement with
Brother Records, the Beach Boys' company. However, former bandmate Jardine had been touring under the banners "Beach Boys Family & Friends", "Al Jardine, Beach Boy" and "Al Jardine of the Beach Boys" during this time and Love decided to sue him in order to prevent the use of the name. In the lawsuit the courts ruled in Love's favor, denying Jardine the use of the Beach Boys name in any fashion. Jardine proceeded to appeal this decision in addition to seeking $4 million in damages. The
California Court of Appeal proceeded to rule that, "Love acted wrongfully in freezing Jardine out of touring under the Beach Boys name", allowing Jardine to continue with his lawsuit. The case ended up being settled outside of court with the terms not disclosed. conference in 2001|upright In 2000,
ABC premiered a two-part television miniseries,
The Beach Boys: An American Family, that dramatized the Beach Boys' story. It was produced by Stamos and was criticized for historical inaccuracies. Love was an advisor to the film. Some critics accused him of having the film overstate his role in the group and portray negative depictions of Brian and
Smile collaborator
Van Dyke Parks. On November 3, 2005, Love sued Brian and the British newspaper
The Mail On Sunday because the Beach Boys' name and Love's image were used in a promotional CD that was given free with the paper to promote the 2004
Brian Wilson presents Smile release. Love argued that the unauthorized (by Brother Records Inc.) free CD resulted in loss of income for the band. Wilson's wife
Melinda alleged that, during the deposition, Love turned to Wilson and remarked, "you better start writing a real big hit because you're going to have to write me a real big check." The lawsuit was dismissed on May 16, 2007, on the grounds that it was without merit. In 2011, Love reunited with Brian, Jardine, Johnston and
David Marks for a
new Beach Boys album and
50th anniversary tour beginning in 2012. In September 2012, Love and Johnston announced via a press release that following the end of the reunion tour the Beach Boys would revert to the Love/Johnston lineup, without Brian, Jardine or Marks, all of whom expressed surprise. Although such dates were noted in a late June issue of
Rolling Stone, it was widely reported that the three had been "fired". Love's autobiography,
Good Vibrations: My Life as a Beach Boy, was published on September 13, 2016. He wrote the book as a response to "many inaccuracies" that had he claimed were said about him over the decades. It was published one month before the release of Brian's autobiography,
I Am Brian Wilson: A Memoir. When asked about the book's negative comments toward him, Love responded: "He's not in charge of his life, like I am mine. His every move is orchestrated and a lot of things he's purported to say, there's not tape of it." As of November 2016, Love claims that he has not read Brian's book. On October 26, 2018, Love released his third solo album,
Reason for the Season, featuring traditional and original Christmas music. Love's fourth album
12 Sides Of Summer was released on July 19, 2019. The album
Mike Love Not War followed in 2023. ==Personal life==