The Beach Boys’ inspiration: The showman Mike Love called “my favourite”
As 1960s rock ‘n’ roll began to take on its own fierce format, The Beach Boys threw out the rulebook. Instead of following in the footsteps of their contemporaries, which included outfits like The Beatles, the group decided to revolutionise the appeal of Californian surf sounds, taking traditional tropes like those reminiscent of Little Richard and putting their own unique spin on it.
As a tight-knit family setup, The Beach Boys were able to utilise interpersonal harmony and diversify the sounds of the 1960s, bridging the gap between surf music and later psychedelic rock. Although much of the band’s genius stemmed from Brian Wilson, Mike Love was often able to offer a fresh viewpoint, contributing small tweaks to make their established sound even better.
For instance, when Wilson once presented him with a song that referenced drugs, Love felt that this was too off-brand and insisted that they change it so they wouldn’t turn off their entire audience. As a result, the song, ‘I Know There’s An Answer’, became a foundational part of Pet Sounds and reflected Love’s wider passion for maintaining a quintessentially surf-rock edge.
Many of the band’s influences stem from various aspects of music and culture, including early pioneers of blues, pop, and rock ‘n’ roll. For Love, great music had to come from within, without the pretence of commercialism getting in the way of true excellence. Many contemporary acts seemed to be too try-hard for him, but some, like Little Richard, gifted the space with many valuable lessons about showmanship.
Discussing the musician, Love once referred to him as “my favourite” before adding: “I love him. He’s got everything a showman is supposed to have, and he’s the hardest worker ever.” Musically, Little Richard taught many acts about the power of energy and spirit and how flamboyance can turn a good performance into a great performance, one that encourages others to get up and dance.
Aside from the obvious ways he inspired funk and soul, Little Richard’s impact on rock cannot be understated. Not only did his demeanour inspire an endless list of frontmen and frontwomen to find their stage charisma, but he also contributed to some of rock’s most enduring qualities, including its distinctive rhythms, vocal style, and standard rock beat, which was revolutionised by songs like ‘Tutti Frutti’ and ‘Lucille’.
The latter, in particular, was once referred to by Tom Petty as “the greatest rock ‘n’ roll record ever made”. But he’s not the only one who saw unrivalled excellence in the rocker. The Beach Boys may have surfed the waves of his insatiable eruption of rock qualities, but members of The Beatles also became drawn into his daring desire to explore untouched territories.
As Ringo Starr once put it: “Rock then became a force, and Little Richard was always leading it.” John Lennon also feared he might have even surpassed Elvis Presley, leading him to ask the important question: “How could they both be happening in my life?”
What The Beach Boys saw in the musician wasn’t just a glimpse into the future of music, it was a lesson in the power of intersectional sensibilities, where rock ‘n’ roll, doo-wop, and surf music could become a seamless blend of dreamy soundscapes. To immortalise their feelings towards rock as a cultural phenomenon, they penned ‘Do You Remember?’ as an ode to the genre’s key figures, which, of course, included Little Richard.
In short, whether consciously or not, Little Richard inspired the sounds of The Beach Boys in more ways than one. Not only did they largely conform to the standardised rock paradigms, but they also honed in on the power of the voice, oscillating between notes and registers to create a more resonant, energetic feel.