Tonya Wise/Sipa USAThe Beach Boys' Mike Love wants to set the record straight.
Writing a first-person account in Friday's Los Angeles Times, Love responded to reports that he refused to continue touring with fellow original members Brian Wilson, Al Jardine and David Marks, in a move that was seen by some as firing them after a successful 50th anniversay reunion tour.
In short, he says he didn't fire anybody.
"Let me get right to it: I did not fire Brian Wilson from the Beach Boys. I cannot fire Brian Wilson from the Beach Boys. I am not his employer. I do not have such authority. And even if I did, I would never fire Brian Wilson from the Beach Boys. I love Brian Wilson. We are partners. He's my cousin by birth, and my brother in music," wrote Love.
The singer was responding to statements from Wilson, the Beach Boys' principle songwriter, who told CNN recently that he didn't understand why Mike "doesn't want to tour with Al, David and me." As for Jardine, he tweeted his support of a petition to keep the classic lineup together after the reunion.
Love wrote that he and the other cofounders had agreed on a specific end date for the tour—after which Love would hit the road (and often smaller venues) with his own itineration of the band as he has been doing for years.
However, after getting rave reviews for the 50th anniversary tour, the original Boys renegotiated to add another 25 gigs to the tour, which caused the end of the anniversary trek and a tour for Love's version of The Beach Boys to bump up against one another.
"To avoid public confusion, and at the request of Brian's representative, we had a press release sent out detailing the differences between the two Beach Boys tours and its varying lineups," wrote Love.
But confusion was not avoided, and some media outlets concluded that he had dumped his old pals, which was not the case.
"The plan was always to go back to our respective lives post the 50th anniversary run," Love pointed out.
Love concluded by praising his bandmates and the Beach Boys legacy as well as all of their collaborations over the years.
"The Beach Boys are bigger than those who created it," he wrote. "When all of us remaining founders have turned to dust, the band will live on in the hearts of those who relish the sounds of summer. So you see, summer's never really gone. And neither are the Beach Boys."