The Beach Boys singer Mike Love had no plans to hold himself back during his Rock Hall induction speech in 1988. The co-frontman decided to go on a rant and slam some of the most prominent names in the industry including Paul McCartney, the Mop Tops, Billy Joel, and, lastly, Mick Jagger.
Love, apparently, was angry that Jagger had refused to attend to Beach Boys’ induction, so he decided to drag down the Rolling Stones singer, saying:
“I know Mick Jagger won’t be here tonight, he’s gonna have to stay in England. But I’d like to see us in the Coliseum and he at Wembley Stadium because he’s always been chickensh*t to get on stage with the Beach Boys.”
However, Love’s assumption that Mick was absent from the celebrations turned out to be wrong, as the Rolling Stones frontman performed ‘[I Can’t Get No] Satisfaction’ on stage while accompanied by numerous other rockers, and Mike was also there singing along Jagger. So… Awkward? Pretty much.
Then, as years passed by, the Beach Boys were billed to share the stage with a British pop band, JLS, in 2013. Love, just before the show, chatted with the Guardian and clarified why he called Mick ‘chickensh*t’ when the host asked if JLS was braver than the Rolling Stones for sharing the stage with the Beach Boys:
“Nawwwwww! It doesn’t mean they’re braver! I’m interested in hearing those guys sing. They must be popular for a reason, huh? But it’s true, I did challenge Mick Jagger one time. But he’s too busy making a fortune.”
Other than his successful collaboration with the Wilson Brothers, Love is also known for not holding back and speaking what he believes the best, as he did with his Rock Hall speech, and the singer previously received backlash on different occasions, including his words against the LGBTQ+ community.
