Michael Edward "Mike" Love is an American musician, singer and songwriter who is a member of the Beach Boys. For most of the Beach Boys' career Love has been one of the band's lyricists, contributing to each of the band's studio albums. In the early 1960s, Love collaborated with Brian Wilson and was a lyricist on singles including "Fun, Fun, Fun" and "California Girls". During this period, his lyrics primarily reflected the youth culture of surfing, cars, and romance, which has been described by writers as having helped fashion pop culture's perception of the "Californian Dream". Love's work during this period also assumed elements of melancholy with noted examples being "The Warmth of the Sun"?written the day of John F. Kennedy's assassination?and "I'm Waiting for the Day" from Pet Sounds. In early 1968, Love under Maharishi Mahesh Yogi became a teacher of Transcendental Meditation. The experience influenced his lyrics to take on themes of astrology, meditation, politics and ecology. It was around this period Love began submitting solo compositions to the band including "Big Sur" in 1969. 

March 15th, 1941 in Los Angeles (Age 83)