After concerns for his health spread online over the weekend, Mike Love joined the Beach Boys for an emotional show Sunday night (Oct. 11) in Nashville.
Their first public show in three months had been Saturday in Cincinnati, following the cancellation of much of a summer tour to give the ailing 85-year-old singer a chance to “recharge.” Videos from that concert, showing Love seated, frail and reduced to contributing only backing vocals quickly spread across social media the following morning.
By Sunday night, John Stamos had shared a lengthy online tribute to Love. The actor, who has made regular guest appearances with the Beach Boys for more than 40 years, openly wondered if their scheduled Ryman Auditorium show would be the last time he got to perform with Love.
John Stamos’s Emotional Tribute to Mike Love
“I’m not saying tonight is the end. God, I hope it isn’t,” Stamos wrote. “But there’s a part of me that wonders if this could be the last time I get to stand behind Mike, play those songs, watch him work an audience, and feel that indescribable magic that happens when those harmonies fill a room.”
Then, onstage before Sunday night’s concert, Love’s son and bandmate Christian gave a short speech explaining why his father was insisting on performing. “One thing about him is he’s stubborn and he’s steadfast, and he did not want to miss the Ryman,” Christian Love said, as reported by Variety. “I mean, for good reason. Look at this place. So we are happy. We’re gonna be positive.”
Stamos added: “All we have is tonight, really, and I think it’s gonna be very, very special. Mike, he insisted on being here. … He’s done over 7,000 live shows – and tonight’ll be 7,422, I think exactly. I think that’s where we’re at. He’s counting. … We love you, and have the greatest night ever, and God bless you all.”
Love himself only briefly addressed the crowd during the show, acknowledging that he has “been going through health challenges, but I had to make it to the Ryman.”
The Beach Boys have just three future concerts listed on their official website. Their next scheduled show is nearly a month away, on Nov. 11 at Walt Disney World in Orlando.
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Gallery Credit: Michael Gallucci
