(CelebrityAccess MediaWire) — Mike Love, lead singer and co-founder of the Beach Boys, filed a law-suit in Federal Court against several English companies and London newspaper, The Mail on Sunday, in connection with an alleged fraudulent scheme to misappropriate his name and image, and to infringe on the rights to many of his famous hit songs, including "California Girls," "Good Vibrations," according to Mike Flynn of Flynn & Stillman, Mike Love's attorney.
The suit also names Beach Boys co-founder Brian Wilson, who stopped touring with The Beach Boys in 1964 because of psychological and emotional problems. Until 2003, Wilson and his property had been subject to a legal conservatorship. Wilson's second wife was appointed conservator after their mid-nineties marriage.
The suit alleges that the English companies, The Mail on Sunday, and Wilson's representatives combined to deceive buyers of The Mail on Sunday that the giveaway of nearly 3 million copies of the CD, Good Vibrations, was authorized by Mike Love and The Beach Boys. The "give away" of a free CD including five Love/Wilson co-authored hits was designed to promote sales of Brian Wilson's Smile. Smile has generally been recognized as the most famous unreleased album in Rock and Roll. It was originally created by The Beach Boys in 1968 and is owned by them. The suit alleges that the Smile CD and the "give-away" CD, Good Vibrations, were fraudulently marketed using The Beach Boys' names and images without permission.
"Once again the people around Brian, my cousin and collaborator on many hits, who I love and care about, have used him for their own financial gain without regard to his rights, or my rights, or even the rights of the estates of his deceased brothers, Carl and Dennis, and their children," said Love.
Love and Carl Wilson were always identified as the leaders of The Beach Boy's touring band until Carl's 1998 death. In every Beach Boy's concert, Love and Bruce Johnston, who eventually replaced Brian Wilson in the touring group in 1965, lovingly acknowledge Carl.
"Unfortunately, history repeats itself," said Love. "Because of Brian's mental issues he has always been vulnerable to manipulation. I simply want to stop the infringers and stop the deception!"
In 1988 Love co-authored, without Brian, The Beach Boys' biggest hit, "Kokomo," and in 1994 won a multi-million dollar judgment against Brian and his representatives for failing to credit him for 35 songs, including several hits that were misappropriated by defendants in this case. Mike Love currently tours as the lead singer with The Beach Boys performing over 150 concerts per year. –Bob Grossweiner and Jane Cohen
