John Stamos is still processing the death of Beach Boys cofounder Brian Wilson.
“Tonight is fully loaded, I’ll tell you that much,” Stamos, 61, exclusively told Us Weekly before honoring Beach Boys member Mike Love at the 54th Annual Songwriters Hall of Fame Induction on Thursday, June 12. “Without Brian Wilson, life would be a mistake. It was tough.”
On Wednesday, June 11, news broke that Wilson had died at the age of 82. His cause of death was not immediately revealed.
Stamos said he first heard the news when he was with Love, 84.
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“I was with Mike at the airport. He and I were getting off the plane when I got the text,” Stamos recalled to Us. “I sat next to him for an hour and a half, and I don’t think he said one word. … I think he’s putting on a brave face today. But here’s an award that is long overdue.”
Before inducting Love into the 2025 Songwriters Hall of Fame, Stamos praised his friend’s career as a singer and songwriter. He also gave credit to Love for helping make the Beach Boys an iconic band in music.
“He painted the cinematic tableau of California that made the whole world want to be us — optimism, positivity, good vibration,” Stamos explained. “The term ‘Good Vibrations’ wasn’t even a word. They put ‘good’ [and] ‘vibrations’ together.”
When asked to pick his favorite lyrics that Love wrote, Stamos — who has been performing with his beloved Beach Boys for four decades — couldn’t help but laugh at some of the creativity his friend had.
“I had a bone to pick with him, because ‘excitations’ is not a word,” he joked. “I looked it up. ‘I’m picking up good vibrations. She’s giving me excitations.’ Mike, there’s no excitations. You made that up just to fit. He said, ‘Yeah, sounds good.’ The songs just make you feel something. I call it heart music. You don’t have to think about it. It bypasses the brain and goes straight to the heart.”
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While the group was first formed in 1961, the songs continue to live on thanks to new band members who continue to perform the tracks around the world.
To this day, Stamos continues to meet new fans who are just discovering the group who helped create massive hits like “Wouldn’t It Be Nice,” “Kokomo” and “Surfin’ USA.”
“When someone comes up to me and says, ‘You know, I got turned on to the Beach Boys because of Full House,’ that’s the greatest thing,” Stamos said from the Marriott Marquis Hotel in New York City. “That’s my greatest gift to the band that I can bring in new fans.”
With reporting by Leigh Scheps
