It’s not all Smile-s for Brian Wilson: His cousin and former Beach Boys bandmate Mike Love is suing Wilson. According to the Associated Press, the suit, filed in federal court yesterday, accuses Wilson of misappropriating Love’s songs and the Beach Boys’ trademark in Brian Wilson’s promotion of 2004’s critically acclaimed solo record, Smile. The Beach Boys as a whole began the recording of Smile in the late ’60s, and the album was considered a “lost classic” until Wilson took it upon himself to finish the record last year.
One specific action drawing Love’s ire is a promotion for Smile by U.K. rag The Daily Mail. Readers of the Mail were given a Beach Boys compilation for free as a scheme to promote Wilson’s Smile, an action that Love’s attorneys say undercut Beach Boys profits, AP reported. No word yet from Wilson’s camp on the impending suit.
Brian Wilson official site
Beach Boys official site
Mike Love fan club official site
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