Al Jardine
Alan Charles Jardine is an American musician who co-founded the Beach Boys. He is best known as the band's rhythm guitarist, background vocalist, and for occasionally singing lead vocals on singles such as number-one hit "Help Me, Rhonda", "Then I Kissed Her", "Cottonfields", and a cover of the Del-Vikings' "Come Go with Me". His song "Lady Lynda" was also a UK top 10 hit for the group in 1979. Other Beach Boys songs that feature Jardine on lead include "I Know There's an Answer", "Vegetables", a cover of Buddy Holly's "Peggy Sue", and "From There to Back Again".
Following the death of fellow band member Carl Wilson in 1998, Jardine quit the Beach Boys and has since performed as a solo artist, rejoining the band only for their 50th anniversary tour in 2012. Jardine has also toured solo in various configurations and toured alongside longtime friend and fellow Beach Boys founder Brian Wilson, first as a guest at select dates in 2006 and 2007 and again after the collapse of the reunion tour in late 2012. He has released one solo studio album, A Postcard from California, and one solo EP, Islands in the Sun. Jardine was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of the Beach Boys in 1988.
Early life
Alan Charles Jardine was born at Lima Memorial Hospital in Lima, Ohio, the younger of two children to Virginia and Donald Jardine. After spending his first years of childhood in Lima, he moved with his family to Rochester, New York, where his father worked for Eastman Kodak and taught at the Rochester Institute of Technology. His family later moved to San Francisco and then to Hawthorne, California, where he and his older brother Neal spent the remainder of their youth.At Hawthorne High School, he was a fullback on the football team, soon befriending backup quarterback Brian Wilson. Jardine also watched Brian and brother Carl Wilson singing at a school assembly. After attending Ferris State University during the 1960–61 academic year, Jardine registered as a student at El Camino College in 1961. There, he was reunited with Brian and first presented the idea of forming a band as the two worked through harmony ideas together in the college's music room. Jardine's primary musical interest was folk and he learned banjo and guitar specifically to play folk music. When the Beach Boys formed at Wilson's home, he first tried to push the band toward folk but was overruled in favor of rock 'n' roll.
A versatile string instrumentalist, Jardine played stand-up bass on the Beach Boys' first recording, the song "Surfin'". He fully rejoined the Beach Boys in the summer of 1963 at Brian Wilson's request and worked alongside guitarist David Marks with the band until October 1963, when Marks quit the Beach Boys after a disagreement with the band's manager, Murry Wilson.
Career
1960s–80s
Jardine played double bass on the Beach Boys' first record for Candix Records, "Surfin', but quit the band a few months later, in February 1962. A common misconception from this time states that Jardine left to focus on dental school, but he did not apply to dental school until 1964; he left due to creative differences and his belief that the newly-formed group would not be a commercial success. Jardine was replaced by David Marks on rhythm guitar. Jardine returned in spring 1963 as bassist so Brian could make fewer touring appearances. Issues between Marks, his parents, and manager/the Wilsons' father Murry led Marks to quit in October 1963. Jardine became the Beach Boys' rhythm guitarist following Marks' departure.Jardine first sang lead on "Christmas Day", on 1964's The Beach Boys' Christmas Album and followed with the Number 1 hit "Help Me, Rhonda". It was at Jardine's suggestion that the Beach Boys recorded a version of the folk standard "Sloop John B", which Brian Wilson arranged and produced for their Pet Sounds album in 1966.
After Brian Wilson discontinued touring in late 1964, Jardine took on a more prominent role as a lead vocalist during live performances with the group. Beginning with his contributions to the Friends album, Jardine also became a songwriter and wrote or co-wrote a number of songs for the Beach Boys. "California Saga: California" from the Holland album, charted in early 1973. Jardine's song for his first wife, "Lady Lynda", scored a Top Ten chart entry in the UK. Increasingly from the time of the Surf's Up album, Al became involved alongside Carl Wilson in production duties for the Beach Boys. He shared production credits with Ron Altbach on M.I.U. Album and was a significant architect of the album's concept and content. As with "Lady Lynda" and his 1969 rewrite of Lead Belly's "Cotton Fields," "Come Go with Me" and "Peggy Sue" on M.I.U. Album were Jardine productions, the first being a measurable hit in the UK.
Jardine instigated the Beach Boys' recording of a remake of the Mamas and the Papas' song "California Dreamin'", reaching No. 8 on the Billboard adult contemporary chart in 1986. The associated music video featured in heavy rotation on MTV and secured extensive international airplay. The video featured all the surviving Beach Boys and two of the three surviving members of the Mamas and the Papas, John Phillips and Michelle Phillips, along with former Byrds guitarist Roger McGuinn.
Jardine was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of the Beach Boys in 1988.
1990s–2000s
In 1991, Jardine had allegedly been "suspended" by Love from the band prior to the recording of the album Summer in Paradise, supposedly because of a dispute about content; however, he returned during the sessions to sing lead vocals on two of the album's songs and contributed to the partial re-recording of tracks for the UK release of the album.Early in 1997, Carl Wilson was diagnosed with lung and brain cancer after years of heavy smoking. Despite his terminal condition, Carl continued to perform with the band on its 1997 summer tour while undergoing chemotherapy. During performances, he sat on a stool and needed oxygen after every song. David Marks rejoined the group in Carl's absence, touring with Love, Jardine, and Johnston. Carl died on February 6, 1998, at the age of 51, two months after the death of the Wilsons' mother, Audree.
After Carl's death in 1998, Jardine left the Beach Boys, leaving Love as the only original member in the group playing live concerts; Love retained David Marks and Bruce Johnston in his group. Jardine continued to tour and recorded with his band, "Beach Boys Family and Friends", with a rotating lineup that utilized many former longtime Beach Boys touring members, including Billy Hinsche, Ed Carter, Bobby Figueroa, and Daryl Dragon, alongside Jardine's sons Matt and Adam, Brian Wilson's daughters Carnie and Wendy, and Owen Elliot.
Jardine began to perform regularly with his band, "Beach Boys Family and Friends", until he ran into legal issues for using the name without a license from the band's corporate holdings company, BRI. BRI and Love initiated legal action against Jardine after a 1999 show where promoters had incorrectly billed Jardine's band as "The Beach Boys". Meanwhile, Jardine sued Love, claiming that he had been excluded from their concerts, and BRI, through its longtime attorney, Ed McPherson, sued Jardine in Federal Court. Jardine, in turn, counter-claimed against BRI for wrongful termination.
The courts later ruled in favor of BRI and Love, in the dispute over the Beach Boys' name and that of Jardine's band, "Beach Boys' Family and Friends", denying Jardine the use of the Beach Boys name in any fashion. Jardine proceeded to appeal this decision in addition to seeking $4 million in damages. The California Court of Appeal ruled that Love acted wrongfully in freezing Jardine out of touring under the Beach Boys name, allowing Jardine to continue with his lawsuit. The case ended up being settled outside of court with the terms not disclosed.
In 2002, Jardine and his band released their first solo live album, Live in Las Vegas. The number of the band's live appearances dwindled after the lawsuit, partially since Jardine had little name recognition compared to the Beach Boys touring band led by Mike Love or to Brian Wilson's solo performances. In late 2006, Jardine joined Wilson and his band for a short tour celebrating the 40th anniversary of Pet Sounds.
In 2009, Jardine's lead vocal on "Big Sur Christmas" was released on MP3 download, produced by longtime Red Barn Studios engineer Stevie Heger under Heger's band's name, Hey Stevie. The track also was released on the Hey Stevie album, Eloquence.
2010s
2010–2015
Jardine released A Postcard from California, his solo debut, in June 2010. The album features contributions from Beach Boys Brian Wilson, Carl Wilson, Bruce Johnston, David Marks, and Mike Love. There are also guest appearances from Glen Campbell, David Crosby, Neil Young, Stephen Stills, Steve Miller, Scott Mathews, Gerry Beckley and Dewey Bunnell and Flea. A spoken intermission written by Stephen Kalinich, called "Tidepool Interlude", features actor Alec Baldwin. Also in 2010, Brian Wilson and Jardine sang on "We Are the World 25: for Haiti", a new recording of "We Are the World", which was released as a charity single to benefit the population of Haiti. Jardine made his first appearance with the Beach Boys touring band in more than 10 years in 2011 at a tribute concert for Ronald Reagan's 100th birthday; at this concert, he sang lead on "Help Me, Rhonda" and "Sloop John B". He made a handful of other appearances with Love and Johnston's touring band in preparation for a reunion.In December 2011, it was announced that Brian Wilson, Mike Love, Al Jardine, David Marks, and Bruce Johnston would reunite for a new Beach Boys album and The Beach Boys 50th Anniversary Reunion Tour in 2012. On February 12, 2012, the Beach Boys performed at the 2012 Grammy Awards, in what was billed as a "special performance" by organizers. It marked the group's first live performance to include Wilson since 1996, Jardine since 1998, and Marks since 1999. Released on June 5, That's Why God Made the Radio debuted at number 3 on the US charts, expanding the group's span of Billboard 200 top-ten albums across 49 years and one week, passing the Beatles with 47 years of top-ten albums. Critics generally regarded the album as an "uneven" collection, with most of the praise centered on its closing musical suite. The album features the song "From There to Back Again,” on which Jardine shared lead vocals with Wilson. Critics have acclaimed Jardine's performance in the song, with Ryan Reed of Paste magazine praising his "stand-out lead vocal", while John Bush of Allmusic deemed the song the "most beautiful" in the album, having been "impeccably" framed by Wilson around Jardine's "aging but still sweet" voice.
Ultimately, the reunion tour ended in September 2012 as planned, after a final show on September 28, but amid erroneous rumors that Love had dismissed Wilson from the Beach Boys. At this time, Love and Johnston had announced via a press release that following the end of the reunion tour the Beach Boys would revert to the pre-reunion tour Love/Johnston lineup, without Brian, Jardine, or Marks, all of whom expressed surprise. Wilson, Jardine, and Marks had been opposed to this decision, which was made by Love, but were unable to act on it because Love still had his pre-reunion license to use the band's name, and all booked reunion dates had been fulfilled, allowing Love to boycott an extension of a reunion. Wilson had hoped to record another studio album as part of a continued reunion, and Jardine reportedly asked Love to reconsider his decision. However, Love was committed to touring only with Johnston and their touring band, though he was open to the idea of recording another studio album.
Although such dates were noted in a late June issue of Rolling Stone, it was widely reported that the three had been "fired". Love later wrote that the end of the reunion came partly as a result of "interference" from Brian's wife and manager Melinda Ledbetter-Wilson and that he "had wanted to send out a joint press release, between Brian and me, formally announcing the end of the reunion tour on September 28. But I couldn't get Brian's management team on board..." On October 5, Love responded in a self-written press release to the Los Angeles Times stating he "did not fire Brian Wilson from the Beach Boys. I cannot fire Brian Wilson from the Beach Boys... I do not have such authority. And even if I did, I would never fire Brian Wilson from the Beach Boys." He claimed that nobody in the band "wanted to do a 50th anniversary tour that lasted 10 years" and that its limited run "was long agreed upon". On October 9, Wilson and Jardine submitted a written response to the rumors stating: "I was completely blindsided by his press release... We hadn't even discussed as a band what we were going to do with all the offers that were coming in for more 50th shows."
From late September, Love and Johnston continued to perform under the Beach Boys name, while Wilson, Jardine, and Marks toured as a trio in 2013, and a subsequent tour with guitarist Jeff Beck also included Blondie Chaplin at select dates. Wilson and Jardine continued to tour together in 2014 and following years, often joined by Chaplin; Marks declined to join them after 2013. Jardine has appeared at almost every single Brian Wilson concert or other performance since the end of the Beach Boys’ 50th Anniversary reunion tour in 2012, with very few exceptions. During this time, Jardine also continued to make sporadic solo appearances with his band. In June 2013, Wilson's website announced that he was recording and self-producing new material with Jardine, Marks, Chaplin, Don Was, and Jeff Beck. It stated that the material might be split into three albums: one of new pop songs, another of mostly instrumental tracks with Beck, and another of interwoven tracks dubbed "the suite" which initially began form as the closing four tracks of That's Why God Made the Radio. In January 2014, Wilson declared in an interview that the Beck collaborations would not be released.