(Credits: Toglenn / Mike Love)
Wed 20 August 2025 18:02, UK
The Beach Boys’ Al Jardine has claimed Mike Love’s speech at the late Brian Wilson‘s funeral “was more focused on Mike” in a scathing attack.
Wilson passed away, aged 82, on June 11th following a respiratory arrest, a condition which stops the lungs from functioning. At the time of his death, the singer-songwriter was also struggling with sleep apnea, sepsis, and a neurodegenerative disorder.
The iconic singer-songwriter was laid to rest at a private service earlier this month, which saw both Jardine and Love deliver speeches in memory of their late bandmate.
During a new interview with Rolling Stone, which took place eight days after Wilson’s funeral, Jardine said: “Mike wanted everybody to know that he wrote every single word of ‘Good Vibrations’. I didn’t feel the compassion, let’s put it that way. Mike’s got some serious megalomania problems.”
When Jardine delivered his speech, he said to the room that he claims caused them to erupt with laughter, “Mike, I’ve written some songs with Brian myself. We wrote one called ‘Surfin’ Down the Swanee River.’ It just wasn’t as big as ‘Good Vibrations’.”
Reflecting on the funeral, the singer-songwriter said, “I was focusing on Brian, and Mike was more focused on Mike. I think that is what it boiled down to.”
In response to his claims, a representative for Love told Rolling Stone that Jardine’s version of events from the funeral is “not true”.
They elaborated: “Mike’s focus has always been on uplifting audiences around the world through the music he helped create with his bandmates and cousin Brian. His commitment has been to preserve and share this great American songbook while providing resources to fellow Beach Boys shareholders, including Al Jardine.”
Jardine and Love previously had a legal entanglement over the use of The Beach Boys’ name following the death of Carl Wilson in 1998, with Love winning the right to tour under the moniker. They later reunited for a reunion in 2012 alongside Wilson as The Beach Boys to celebrate the group’s 50th anniversary before again going their separate ways.
Following Wilson’s funeral, the late musician’s daughter, Carnie Wilson, wrote on Instagram: “Today we laid my Daddy to rest. It was incredibly difficult to see that happen, but at the same time it gave more closure and more of a feeling of restful peace.”
Carnie also said, “The last eight weeks have been extremely challenging and like nothing I’ve ever experienced.”
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