Al Jardine Banned From Calling Himself A Beach Boy

01/29/03 5:30pm

Face it, the real Beach Boys have been gone for a long time. Yet, the two least consequential members of the group continue to feud over The Beach Boys name.

Yesterday (January 28), a San Francisco judge ruled that original Beach Boy Al Jardine could not continue to tour under The Beach Boys banner. In recent years, Jardine, along with a group that often included Beach Boys genius Brian Wilson's two daughters Carnie and Wendy, was touring under the name "Beach Boys Family And Friends."

Meanwhile, the often maligned Beach Boys singer Mike Love has been touring with his band "The Beach Boys." Neither "The Beach Boys" or "Beach Boys Family And Friends" contain any additional original members of The Beach Boys (Carl and Dennis Wilson have both passed away and Brian Wilson is touring under the name "Brian Wilson" and also, incidentally, playing Beach Boys songs).

Confused?

Yeah, that's what the judge thought, too. In 1998, Love legally secured the right to use the Beach Boys name. In 2000, he went to court and won an injunction prohibiting Jardine from using the Beach Boys Family And Friends name.

Jardine appealed, but yesterday the court announced that they'd uphold the ruling. The judge reasoned that the Beach Boys Family And Friends moniker would confuse fans and booking agents who were expecting to see Love's band.

So, Al Jardine has changed the name of his band to The All-Star Beach Band. It's probably for the best — the man's in his 60s, for crissakes. It's about time he stopped calling himself a boy.