The Smiley Smile Message Board

I don't know how much space will be taken up in Mike's memoir concerning his baldness, so I thought this may be a good place to discuss, or perhaps more specifically, reflect on the question, did Mike's baldness impact the Beach Boys in any way?

Mike stated balding at a fairly young age, and this can be a traumatic experience for anyone. I would imagine going bald before a national, or international audience would only add to the impact. Mike's personality from the outset was a combination of cocky and corny, and I wonder if there was a bit of a defence mechanism here to cover up some self consciousness about going bald.

On one hand, here he is, front man for one of the worlds biggest rock and roll bands. The lead singer, the guy out front, the emcee. But over his shoulder banging on the drums, is a legitimate sex symbol. To his right, the real leader of the band, a talented musician who is changing the very climate of modern music. This alone could give a guy a bit of a complex, even when one's own voice, and lyric writing were instrumental in the fortunes of the band, and his outward personality was a much needed balance to the other three out front who exhibited a very laid back demeanour for rockers. Did Mike's baldness put a chip on his shoulder? Was it a contributing factor in a lifelong feud with Dennis, who by all accounts was very popular with the ladies?

There is an outtake of a radio promo spot for what I assume, are some UK dates, where Mike is bantering back and forth with someone British..a radio announcer maybe? Anyhow, the discussion is about going to the Beach Boys show, and Mike is doing his usual cornball routine, until the announcer mentions that Mike is bald. There is an audible gasp by the other guys in the group, followed by laughter. Mikes mood immediately changes, you can tell in his voice. Would Mike being bald have contributed to some of the strain between members in the band?

Looking at this from another angle. As Rock continued to evolve in the 60's hair became an incredible part of the landscape. First with the Beatles, whose 'Mop Tops' got almost as much attention as their music. Kids everywhere were sporting 'Beatle Haircuts'. I can't imagine anyone was asking for a 'Mike Love' at the barbershop. Additionally, the myth of the California surfer dude often came complete with long flowing blonde locks, and as Rock and Roll moved to the 70's, the front man was supposed to look like Daltrey or Plant; shirtless, long hair cascading over their shoulders. Would Mike's receding hairline have in anyway, contributed to the negative image of the band during this era, even on a subconscious level?

Anyhow, not a dig at Mike in any way. The Beach Boys were shaped by an incredible confluence of fortune and misfortune. I am just curious if anyone feels, as I do, that a full, thick haired Mike would have made for a different band?

I clicked on this thread expecting the worst, but there's some good analysis here and some plausible armchair psychology too.

Mike knew he was the oldest member of the group -- almost six years older than Carl, and that kind of age difference means something when you're in your teens and twenties. The hair was one sign of this. And if you look at promo materials from the 20/20 era, Mike looks 20+ years older than everyone else, and his hairline is a big part of that.

 :afro

Good analysis.  I think the 60's hair explosion was one reason an increasingly balding Mike decided to grow a beard to compensate.  Not many groups at the time had members with beards (circa early 1966).  Once the Beatles sprouted facial hair in early 1967, everyone followed, but Mike was a little ahead of the game.

FYI the british announcer they were doing that skit with for the radio promo was Derek Taylor.

Wow. That is fascinating. I think it's totally uncool for anybody's physical issues to be brought up as fodder for joking, yet of course this was 50 years ago. Not that it hurt any less for Mike then, I'm sure. Body shaming was alive and well then for men (and even today it's really only widely thought of as uncool to body shame women; even in 2016, body shaming men often rarely registers a blip on the politically incorrect radar).

I can imagine that if this was around the time that Derek Taylor was pushing the Brian is Genius angle, additionally coupled with Taylor publicly putting down Mike in a joking/mocking way about a physical hindrance that must have been very hurtful, that Mike must have HATED Taylor with a passion.

Yet I've never heard Mike even publicly mention Taylor's name. I am sure Mike has said some choice words about him privately.

I think that there is no underestimating the way Mike's balding (not to mention the complete opposite of all of his bandmates, especially the Wilsons, who in absolute contrast all rocked amazing heads of hair) could have impacted Mike's confidence, personality, and actions.  Regardless of any fans having beefs with some of Mike's actions, some of which are less excusable than others, he deserves (and has always deserved) empathy about this.  

It clearly has bothered him for a long time.

Much ado about nothing. However, as one who has had a similar horseshoe hairdo since my mid-twenties forty-some years ago, and doesn't particularly like it except for the convenience, but that's the way it is, I will only say two things: 1) I don't mind bald jokes, just tell me a new one, and 2) God gives us only so many hormones; if you want to use yours for growing hair, that's up to you.

Too true. It's inexcusable. But it must have been a sensitive issue for him. He and Dennis had been competing for the ladies in the early days and this felt like a threat.  

The only hairless pop artist I know from the late 60's , early '70s was Ed Cassidy of Spirit but agewise he was from the previous generation and anyway it was his choice...

I'd love to read the same kind of analysis regarding Bruce's skinny legs, his shorts and their influence on the trajectory of the group's career.

surprised during the 70's, he didn't start sporting wigs actually. 

I think it's kinda bizarre that having the same hairline as a lot of the audience - particularly as they age too - is used to stigmatize Mike (there are, after all, plenty of other reasons...). I think it's pretty good that he didn't wear a wig like Simon and Garfunkel, or feel the need to get work done like Springsteen and Petty (who has a better hairline now than he ever did) or sport hair that looks suspiciously plastic, like Elton. Fairly sure Al may have had some work too. Ironically, if he were a young man now, he could sport the shaved look and come across as more 'male' than the rest of the band. He could get some tattoos and piercings and join a nu-metal band. Let's rawk, indeed.

When he went on stage during the Rock n Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony, he looked ridiculous wearing the UCLA hat.  Okay, wear a hat during concerts, but no hats during a sort of serious, indoor ceremony. 

Or at least a formal hat instead of a baseball cap. 

I understand being in the rock and roll business, as a young guy, in the late 60's and early 70's when long hair was really in, that he wanted to compensate for it.  At some point, as an older man who has achieved success, it shouldn't matter.

I think the baseball cap has become a bit of a Mike Love trademark over the last 35-40 years.  So much so, that it would be a bit of a shock to see him fronting a show without one. 

I saw a few photos of him at home on FaceBook. He actually looks pretty good bald at this time in his life.

I've heard the tape that features Mike and Derek Taylor. They were bantering back and forth and it was good natured as I recall. Mike , being the eternal wise-ass and the guy who usually gets the last word  didn't this time ,and it was pretty funny.

  Mike looked good when he went hatless more often circa 1970-71.

  Mike's baldness has been a fact of life for a long time - just imagine his secret delight as other 60 plus rockers (Jagger, McCartney, Daltrey, Petty, damn near everyone in Aerosmith) sport suspiciously full heads of hair...someone's hair anyway. Unlike those guys who need to maintain a look, Mike has no shame in having been bald nearly forever.

  Rock On, Michael!

Mike could get one of those leafy shower caps likeBilly Gibbons wear on all occasions.  I've got to say wearing a hat of some kind becomes a part of a bald guys presentation, whether it is a rug or a hat or a topper of the Billy gibbons sort.  People don't know who u r without it.     I have personally had this experience.   Once u have taken up this deceptive practice it becomes very hard to go back to public display of the old shiner.

He must be mad that Manson still has a head of hair...

I think the hard hat was grossly underappreciated:

https://youtu.be/zMDQh8Cxq58?t=1m28s

  I don't think so. The caps have been his trademark since about 1966, but Mike has been seen without a hat - bald - on many an occasion. IMO he came to terms with this issue long ago. By contrast, many rockers who had full heads of hair much of their public lives are trying to cover their hair loss with weaves, hairpieces, and transplants. Mike seems more dignified by comparison.

  a top hat?

Actually very few times since the mid 70s has he been seen bald in public. Including major awards ceremonies.
I don't know that wearing hats almost constantly since 1966 is much different than wearing a wig. Achieves the same thing?

He has made jokes about being bald in some of his recent FB posts. He's also posted several photos sporting his bald head (and looking pretty handsome). He seems to take it gracefully- at least in old age.

243.msg586045#msg586045 date=1471049741]

Actually very few times since the mid 70s has he been seen bald in public. Including major awards ceremonies.
I don't know that wearing hats almost constantly since 1966 is much different than wearing a wig. Achieves the same thing?
[/quote]


 I've seen several pics of Mike hatless.  Everyone knows Mike is bald under the hat. That's different from appearing in public with the illusion of hair. Much more honest hairwise than the likes of McCartney, Daltrey, Petty, most of Aerosmith, etc.  I'm not going to budge a flipping inch on this point.

I'm sure it was awful to be balding in the 60's and 70's. Hair was everything back then. If you look at very early photos of Paul Revere and the Raiders, you can clearly see that Mark Lindsay already has thinning hair. Sometime around 1966 he started wearing wigs, and has never been seen publicly without one - or a baseball cap. The hat is sort of a trademark for Mike but I don't think he has any big hangup about his hair. What I can figure out is how Al Jardine appears to have more hair now than he did in the 70's.

pretty sure i've heard the Derek Taylor bit, but where can we hear it again??  :lol

never mind... found it. it's on the Vocal Element boot. god Mike comes across as such a humorless ass. no spontaneity, no wit, no clue. it's kind of painful to listen to. Taylor clearly can't stand him (and vice versa) but it's fun to hear Mike become the butt of the joke for once.

That construction hard hat he wore at the American Music Awards is one of the more ridiculous looking moments from Mike's career.  It's hard to believe one of the band members didn't tell him to take that stupid looking hat off, but they probably figured they would get no where with him.

He looked so poised to hog the mike and make another absurd diatribe, but I think he may have been pulled away by someone before he could spout off. That steel hard hat is most likely the closest thing to the absolute brightness of his bald, hatless, non turbaned head. It was also used to stroke his ego figuring he'd get the most attention he's so starved for.

Kokomo will do that to a man... :hat

He was losing his hair at the same time he was losing his role as main lead singer.

What function does Mike serve when he's only doing 2-3 leads per lp and doesn't play an instrument? Looking prematurely middle-aged while trying to maintain his front-man status, in what was still a young person's game?

Must of been an insecure period for Mike. Wonder if it will get a mention in his autobiography.

This is a very good point.  Had to have been a tough time for him. I wonder, had the band not gone down the nostalgia route at that time, would he have perhaps at some point try to forge a new path in the band as an instrumentalist in some fashion?

Tambourine school can be extremely expensive and we all know how myKe luHv is about keeping as much of that dollar as he possibly can. ::)

Mike should at least have tried playing a more formal style of tambourine(https://drummersworld.com/rl32-d/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/grover-pro-tanmbourine-mount-side.jpg)with sticks.
(https://zildjian.com/sites/default/files/Timbale-Wood-Natural.png)




Also, he should have worn a more formal hat .
(http://www.villagehatshop.com/photos/product/giant/3509260S41/-/size-7-1-4.jpg)

Right on! 8)

Mark Volman played sax back when the Turtles were a surf instrumental band. When they turned to folk rock, he became this fat guy banging a tambourine in back while Howard Kaylan sang lead and the rest played instruments. Volman didn't even write. You'd watch the Turtles perform and think, what the hell is that guy doing with the band? Is he a fan who won a contest, or something?

Some different turns of fate in the 70s, and Mike might have become a Mark Volman figure, a bald guy banging a tambourine, singing background and trying to look like he belonged there while Brian, Carl, Al, Dennis, and Bruce took their turns singing the bulk of the leads.

Jeez, you guys all act like Mike just stood around and occasionally hit a tambourine out of rhythm while the other guys sang and played instruments. I don't think that is fair to him because in reality, it was not like that at all. Mike also made some hand gestures from time to time.

Of all the live acts that are out there past and present, no one masters the pointing to the audience like Mike Love does.

Hey guys, take a bath in reality:


https://youtu.be/J4_W2kCBhKY

Oh, I get it, the battle of the bad performances videos ::)! YouTube offers P L E N T Y of sour myKe luHv "performances" singing all those songs he didn't write.

They all are "bad" performances! >:D

Did you expect anything better than that from 'Autotune'?

 :lol :lol :lol :lol

Not sure why Brian has adopted the "talking" leads more on this tour. But that tag with Brian and Al is one of my favorite later day BB moments. They did it in 2006, then the 50th, and now as well. Can't get enough of that.

Have a look at later Chuck Berry and Little Richard live clips. I'm no singer but I think it effects some older artists. Sad Brian is going that way as well.

That was only 5 days after the RR Hall of Fame presentation and THAT speech. A hard hat was the minimum protection Mike needed that week. :lol

I have to laugh every time I read the topic title. Which Michaels? This man, perhaps?  :lol

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sean_Michaels_(actor)

Simon AND Garfunkel  shared a wig!!?

  What function did Mike serve? He sang his parts under Brian's direction, just like Carl, Dennis, Al, and Bruce. In his spare time he also wrote the lyrics to "Good Vibrations."

 Funny thought. "No, I get to wear it tonight!"  "Wrong Paul, it's my turn."

I think he meant during that specific period when he seemed to take a less active role and Carl was running the show

 :lol :lol :lol :lol :lol

Yeah, I meant that from 'Sunflower' thru 'Holland', especially, Mike's role in the band seemed as diminished as his hairline. 2-3 leads and a couple of co-writes per lp would be fine if Mike played an instrument, but if the band had continued playing mostly the new material in its live act, Mike would have been in an awkward position. How can you still be front man if the other guys are singing lead on 3/4 of the songs?

Doubt it as it would tend to go against his testament that the show could not go on without him ::). By then, their need for a frontman had withered away much like his hair had done the same.

Yikes, even Al's voice is starting to go. :(

  I see, yes. Clips from that era do show Mike was less the M.C. than he had once been, or would be again.

 Kind of like his role in this clip: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y9TIOr1ZY7s

It wasn't when I saw him a couple of months back.

I don't hear Al's voice going at all in that clip. He sounds pretty damn good to my ears.

In Milkauwee 1970 Mike Love lost his hat, and he angered. he perfomed the imposible task of sing good vibrations with a bald.
(Thanks, Jon Stebbins)

But here is the reality:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CelV7EbuV-A