Jardine and Love clash after Brian Wilson funeral

Brian Wilson’s funeral, held in early August near Los Angeles, drew a wide circle of friends and collaborators who gathered to pay tribute to the Beach Boys’ cofounder. Yet, in the days that followed, one of the band’s longtime tensions surfaced in a public airing that highlighted an ongoing feud between two of its founding members, Al Jardine and Mike Love. Jardine, speaking in a recent interview, took aim at Love’s remarks during the service, arguing that Love used the moment to foreground himself rather than celebrate Wilson’s legacy.

The funeral program featured formal tributes from Beach Boys biographer David Leaf and editor Jason Fine, followed by performances from acts connected to Wilson’s musical universe. Jardine and Love each delivered speeches of their own, with attendees recalling a mix of performances and reflections. In Jardine’s posthumous critique, he challenged Love’s claims about authorship of the group’s most famous song, arguing that Love “wanted everybody to know that he wrote every single word of Good Vibrations.” Jardine added that Love’s remarks reflected a broader pattern he described as self-focused. “I was focusing on Brian, and Mike was more focused...