(Credits: Far Out / Brian Wilson / Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures)
Thu 2 April 2026 4:00, UK
While The Beach Boys were best known in their heyday for having five or six voices chiming in simultaneously with the most exquisite harmonies to ever exist, the fact that there are only two of them left makes you wonder why there’s any reason for them to continue with only a fraction of their man (or boy) power.
Many would argue that it was the core trio of the Wilson brothers who directed the band towards stardom, with primary songwriter Brian flanked by the younger Dennis and Carl being the driving force behind all creative decisions. With all three of them no longer alive, the essence of the band is arguably gone as well, no matter what the remaining members try to do to keep it alive.
That’s not the sort of statement their cousin, Mike Love, would approve of, and his constant battle to be taken seriously as a songwriter and creative force often caused friction. He remains in the band alongside Al Jardine, who is perhaps less bothered by this kind of sentiment and is simply happy to be along for the ride. While they’re the only ones keeping the name moving, if Jardine were to leave, you can bet that Love would continue as ‘The Beach Boy’ just to prove his importance.
But that’s forgetting about the sixth member, Bruce Johnston, who departed in early 2026 after 55 non-consecutive years – he first joined in 1965 and was part of the group on records like Pet Sounds and Smiley Smile, and yet, despite contributing to some of their most beloved work, he’s often reduced to being a side-member, which is largely how he was seen at the time of his appointment.
Johnston was initially recruited to replace Brian Wilson as a multi-instrumentalist when he declared his intention to step away from being a part of the touring lineup, but after seven years, he was supposedly kicked out of the group by the Wilsons after a bust-up with their manager, Jack Rieley. Johnston himself maintains that he left of his own volition, but regardless of how he departed, very few people thought that it would have much of a knock-on effect on the group.
However, his continued ventures outside of the band caught the attention of Brian Wilson, and by 1978, he’d been convinced of the idea that Johnston ought to be given a second chance on the strength of what he showed he was capable of in the interim years.
It was Barry Manilow’s ‘I Write the Songs’, which Johnston ironically wrote for the singer, which convinced the band to reopen the door to him, especially after the Wilsons crossed paths with him at the 1977 Grammy Awards, where Johnston was the recipient of the ‘Song of the Year’ award.
“Every album, I would always get a call to come to the studio and sing on a track,” Johnston later laughed, referring to how he was often treated as an auxiliary member. “I was out of the band, but that really didn’t spoil my relationships with everybody.”
Adding, “Brian tracked me down, and I eventually got pulled back into the band. It’s better for me – and the band – that I left for whatever reasons I did because I have a different kind of confidence.”
He may not have worked on as many songs as he would have liked during his original run with the band, but it’s evident that they were a much tighter unit with him present, and his reintroduction into the group served them well for another 48 years. With him now stepping down from his duties again, Love and Jardine ought to be fearful about the future of the band, and it’s not like calling it quits now would tarnish their legacy.
