I gave Mike Love a vinyl record album today.
This all came about just a few hours before Love and his Beach Boys were to take the stage at the Alabama Theatre.
I’m going to the show, by the way. My brother bought me tickets for Christmas. Thanks David.
OK, here’s how I came about giving Love an album, or at least I hope he got it.
Earlier today I decided to take a stroll out of my office in downtown Birmingham to get a bite. Instead, I stopped at Reed Books, a favorite haunt which sells just about everything vintage, old and collectible.
All records are $2 and since I was skipping lunch I figured I’d use my lunch money for a record. The record was ‘Almost Summer,’ the 1978 soundtrack of a movie with the same name, which I found just rummaging around. Never heard of it but I looked at the songs and who wrote them.
A good portion of the tracks were written by Mike Love and Brian Wilson, I noticed. So there seemed to be good vibrations following me or leading me.
A record with obscure Beach Boys songs. One of them was apparently a hit.
I bought the record and wandered back to my office. The Alabama Theatre is on the way to my office, however. I stopped where a small group of people were standing near at least three large buses. They eyed me warily as I approached and began talking: Are you with the Beach Boys I asked? They really didn’t say anything. A security guard, clearly labeled so on his shirt, started to make his way closer to me. I reached into my satchel — slowly — and pulled out the album.
I told him I just wanted to give this to Mike Love or Bryan WIlson (not knowing if he’d be here or not).
“Oh,” the security guard said. “You just want me to give this to him?”
I said, yes. And I did, give it to him. Hope he likes it. Hope the security guard gave it to him. Then I started thinking, Love probably has this or maybe he doesn’t like it. I was arguing with myself.
Well, you never know. God only knows I felt good doing it, even if I won’t have it for My Vinyl Countdown.