Al Jardine

Alan Charles Jardine (born September 3, 1942) 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 "Help Me, Rhonda" (1965), "Then I Kissed Her" (1965), "Cottonfields" (1970), and a cover of the Del-Vikings’ "Come Go with Me" (1981). His song "Lady Lynda" was also a UK top 10 hit for the group in 1978. Other Beach Boys songs that feature Jardine on lead include "I Know There's an Answer" (1966), “Vegetables" (1967), a cover of Buddy Holly’s “Peggy Sue” (1978), and "From There to Back Again" (2012).

Following the death of fellow band member Carl Wilson in 1998, Jardine left the touring Beach Boys and has since performed as a solo artist, rejoining the band only for their 2012 50th anniversary tour. Since 2013, Jardine has toured alongside fellow Beach Boys founder Brian Wilson and his band; Jardine has also made solo appearances, increasing the amount of these especially since 2018. He has released one solo studio album, A Postcard from California (2010). 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. Having spent 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'" (1961). 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.

1960s–80s
Jardine played double bass on the Beach Boys' first (and only) 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 then left due to creative differences and his belief that the newly-formed group would not be a commercial success. He returned to the Beach Boys full-time in 1963 following David 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" (1978), 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 (1978) and was a significant architect (with Mike Love) 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'" (featuring Roger McGuinn), 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 (Denny Doherty was on the East coast and declined), along with former Byrds guitarist Roger McGuinn.

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 (a double-bill with the band Chicago) 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 was forced out of the touring version of the Beach Boys, leaving Love as the only original member in the group playing live concerts; Love retained David Marks (until Marks himself left in 1999) and Bruce Johnston in his group. Jardine continued to tour and recorded with his band, “Beach Boys’ Family and Friends, with a rotating line-up that utilized many former longtime Beach Boys touring members, including Billy Hinsche (originally from Dino, Desi and Billy before working with The Beach Boys), Ed Carter, Bobby Figueroa, and Daryl Dragon (better known as “The Captain” from Captain and Tennille after leaving The Beach Boys), alongside Jardine's sons Matt (who himself had worked as an assistant stage manager for The Beach Boys from 1986 until 1988 and then as a member of the backing band, contributing percussion and vocals, from 1988 until 1998) and Adam, Brian Wilson’s daughters Carnie and Wendy (who had worked as a trio in Wilson Phillips and as a duo as The Wilsons), and Owen Elliot (the daughter of Cass Elliot of The Mamas and the Papas). (Jardine and his band were also promoted or billed under the banners "Al Jardine, Beach Boy" and "Al Jardine of the Beach Boys" during this time.)

Jardine began to perform regularly with his band "Beach Boys: Family & Friends" until he ran into legal issues for using the name without a license from the band’s corporate holdings company (and occasional record label), BRI (Brother Records). (Love had already received a license from BRI after Carl’s death.) 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, BRI, through its longtime attorney, Ed McPherson, sued Jardine in Federal Court. Jardine, in turn, counter-claimed against BRI for wrongful termination. BRI ultimately prevailed.

In 2002, Jardine and his band released his first solo live album, Live in Las Vegas (see discography section below for track listing). The amount of Jardine’s live appearances dwindled after the lawsuit, partially since Jardine had little name recognition when compared to “The Beach Boys” (touring band led by Love and Johnston) or Brian Wilson (touring solo).

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 late 2006, Jardine joined Brian Wilson and his band for a short tour celebrating the 40th anniversary of Pet Sounds.

In March 2008, Jardine settled a lawsuit brought against him by BRI (led by Love and the estate of Carl Wilson) and Love regarding use of the "Beach Boys" name. Love had licensed the Beach Boys name, and it was deemed that Jardine's newly formed band, called the Beach Boys Family & Friends (featuring sons Matt and Adam Jardine, Carnie and Wendy Wilson, Daryl Dragon, Billy Hinsche, and others), was a breach of title use. During and after the lawsuit, Jardine was allowed to tour as “Al Jardine, Family, and Friends” and “Al Jardine and the Endless Summer Beach Band”.

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.

2010–present


Jardine released A Postcard from California, his solo debut, in June 2010 (re-released with two extra tracks on April 3, 2012). The album features contributions from Beach Boys Brian Wilson, Carl Wilson (posthumously), Bruce Johnston, David Marks, and Mike Love. There are also guest appearances from Glen Campbell (who had frequently worked with The Beach Boys as a touring musician and session guitarist in the mid-1960s), David Crosby, Neil Young, Stephen Stills, Steve Miller, Scott Mathews, Gerry Beckley and Dewey Bunnell (members of America) 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" (with partially revised lyrics), 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. The album, titled That's Why God Made the Radio, was released in June 2012 and 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.

Also in 2012, David Marks released the album The Circle Continues, which featured a guest appearance from Jardine on vocals on the song "I Sail Away".

In September 2012, it was announced that Jardine, Wilson, and Marks would no longer tour with the band. Love returned the lineup to its pre-Anniversary Tour configuration, with Love as the only original member (Bruce Johnston joined in 1965). 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 (at least briefly) open to the idea of recording another studio album.

As a result, it was announced that Jardine and Marks would appear with Wilson and his band for a short summer tour in 2013, featuring the three. 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.

Continuing in collaboration with Wilson, Jardine and Marks (along with former Beach Boy Blondie Chaplin) contributed to Wilson's solo album, No Pier Pressure, which was released in April 2015. Jardine also contributed to Wilson's Pet Sounds 50th Anniversary World Tour and has been featured in all subsequent tours. In July 2016, Jardine appeared in an episode of the Adult Swim series Decker, playing the role of the President's "science advisor".

Jardine and his son Matt contributed backing vocals to John Mayer's "Emoji of a Wave", which was released in 2017. In 2018, Jardine began performing solo storyteller concerts called "Al Jardine – A Postcard From California - From the Very First Song With a Founding Member of the Beach Boys" which featured his son Matt and long time Peter Asher associate Jeff Alan Ross. Jardine continued to tour these shows into 2020, while still performing with the Brian Wilson band.

In April 2019, Jardine was inducted into the Rochester Music Hall of Fame. Also in 2019, Jardine and Marks performed at a benefit concert for charity (called "California Saga 2") to raise money for the homeless.

On February 12, 2021, Jardine released a CD single featuring a new rendition of his bonus track from "A Postcard from California" titled "Waves of Love 2.0" (as the A-side) and a new song "Jenny Clover" (as the B-side). It was co-written and produced by his long time collaborating partner Larry Dvoskin. A portion of the proceeds were earmarked to raise money for "The World Central Kitchen" charity org. Also in 2021, a live version of Wilson and Jardine performing "In My Room" at the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville, Tennessee (recorded at an unknown time between 2013 and 2021) was released on the soundtrack album to the Wilson documentary Long Promised Road.

In 2022, Jardine announced the "Family & Friends Tour" featuring Carnie and Wendy Wilson of Wilson Phillips. “Family & Friends” will also feature Al’s son, Matt Jardine; the eight-member band for the tour will be led by Carnie's husband Rob Bonfiglio, who is Wilson Phillips’ musical director and performs regularly in Brian Wilson’s band. The band will also include long-time Beach Boys associates Ed Carter, Bobby Figueroa, and Probyn Gregory. Also in 2022, Jardine made a guest appearance on the song "Best Summer Ever" by the group Drifting Sand, and he and Blondie Chaplin also participated in what turned out to be Wilson's final tour, a co-headlining tour with the band Chicago.

Since 2022, Jardine has been touring in two configurations: the "Family and Friends" configuration mentioned above and the "Endless Summer Beach Band" lineup (featuring all of the musicians in the "Family and Friends" configuration, minus Carnie and Wendy Wilson).

Book
Jardine has authored one book, Sloop John B: A Pirate's Tale (2005), illustrated by Jimmy Pickering. The book is a children's story about a boy's Caribbean adventure with his grandfather, reworded from the original folk lyric of the song "Sloop John B". It also includes a free CD with singalong acoustic recording by Jardine.

Discography
Albums

Singles