Al Jardine and Mike Love are the last two surviving founder members of The Beach Boys. But in a new interview, Jardine says he is deeply concerned for Love’s health after footage of Love’s recent onstage appearances went viral.
On 11 October, both Jardine and Love performed shows with their respective bands.
Al Jardine & The Pet Sounds Band played in Cerrito, California, with Jardine, 84, joined on stage by two other former members of The Beach Boys, Bruce Johnston and David Marks.
Meanwhile, on the same night, Mike Love, 85, appeared on stage with The Beach Boys in Nashville.
In footage from The Beach Boys’ show in Cincinnati show on 10 October, Love was seated throughout the performance and singing backing vocals which were limited and barely audible.
In a brief address to the audience in Cincinnati, Love explained that he had been “going through some health issues for quite a while”.
In an interview with Rolling Stone, Jardine said that he has seen footage of Love on stage with The Beach Boys in Nashville.
“It’s shocking and I was really depressed,” Jardine revealed. “I had to really shake myself out of it just to get on stage. Just the optics of it were just awful and I’m speechless.”
Jardine said of Love’s decision to continue performing in his condition: “That’s just not right, that I can see. Obviously, he’s a total pro. He wants to be on stage, but he just doesn’t know how not to do it. He doesn’t know what else to do, so I think he’s trapped.”
In June 2026, Love had commented on his health struggles via Instagram, revealing that he had contracted bronchitis and COVID while mourning the loss of his sister.
“I feel stronger every day physically,” he stated, “but I am heartbroken emotionally.”
He added: “I couldn’t imagine being anywhere else than with our audience. For me, our audience is the medicine, and the music is the cure. Thank you all for your outpouring of love, well wishes, and healing prayers. I am deeply humbled and grateful.”
Past tensions between Al Jardine and Mike Love are well documented, and came to a head in 2025 following the funeral of The Beach Boys’ chief songwriter and visionary Brian Wilson.
During the ceremony, both Jardine and Love gave speeches honouring Wilson, but Jardine felt that Love’s comments about the classic hit song Good Vibrations were in poor taste.
Jardine told Rolling Stone: “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.”
