The Beach Boys’ Mike Love Specifically Commends the Beatles on Their Marketing and Merchandising
The Beach Boys sometimes interacted with the Beatles, with Mike Love specifically commending the “I Want To Hold Your Hand” group on their marketing and merchandising skills. Here’s what we learned from his memoir Good Vibrations.
Mike Love is currently a member of the Beach Boys
Love is credited as a songwriter for the Beach Boys’ “Wouldn’t It Be Nice,” “Good Vibrations,” “I Get Around,” and other hits. He was a founding member of the surf rock group and continues to perform under the “Beach Boys” title.
As a solo artist, Love later collaborated with Hanson for “Finally It’s Christmas” and AJR for “Darlin.’” The songwriter also commented on the importance of the Beatles — and why they were more successful than the Beach Boys in the late 1960s.
Mike Love commented on the Beatles’ impact — and their marketing and merchandising strategies
The Beach Boys’ Love wrote Good Vibrations, elaborating on his experience with the band. He also commented on the influence of The Beatles, one of the first UK bands to make it big in the United States.
“What is often overlooked about the Beatles is how smart they were in their marketing, merchandising, and publicity — and in that regard, they ran circles around us for the next several years,” Love wrote in his memoir.
The Beatles, especially in the beginning, were known for their mop-top, dress-suit persona. As they matured, the band expanded their brand to include activism, releasing “Get Back” and “Revolution.”
“I’m not suggesting their music wasn’t superb — it was — but they also knew how to exploit their commercial value,” he added. “They understood film in ways that we did not: A Hard Day’s Night, starring the Beatles was released in 1964, at the height of Beatlemania, because one of the most influential music films of all time.”
The Beatles later released the 1968 “animated jukebox musical comedy adventure” film featuring original music. Even if they officially broke up in 1970, the members continued to earn recognition as solo artists.
Were the Beach Boys and the Beatles friends?
The Beatles and the Beach Boys dominated the music scene in the early 1960s. However, the two shared their appreciation for one another, with McCartney specifically mentioning his admiration for the bass part on Pet Sounds.
“It was really just mutual inspiration, I think,” Wilson said during a 2015 interview with The Daily Beast. “I would get to hear their records before they came out, and I was totally blown away by Rubber Soul. And Sgt. Pepper’s? I was totally blown away by that. But it was inspirational, too.”
Al Jardine, one of the founding members, began practicing transcendental meditation after a run-in with John Lennon and George Harrison. Even if they never worked together, Jardine expressed interest in collaborating with the Beatles. Music by the Beatles and the Beach Boys is available on most major streaming platforms.
