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NEW YORK, NEW YORK - JUNE 12: Mike Love (L), John Stamos (C), and The Beach Boys Band Perform during the 2025 Songwriters Hall Of Fame Induction Ceremony at Marriott Marquis Times Square on June 12, 2025 in New York City.
Watching someone you love age, even if you don’t know them personally, can be a difficult thing to do. That’s why fans of The Beach Boys co-founder and legend Mike Love are so heartbroken over a recent viral video.
The video showed Love seated in a chair with an oxygen tank while other members of the band, including John Stamos, who was on guitar, played alognside him.
At one point, Stamos walked over to a seated Love and encouraged the 85-year-old to dance, which he struggled to do. This left many fans wondering why Love was put on stage at all.
The Beach Boys have returned to the road after months away, and the presence and health of 85-year-old Mike Love is causing quite a stir https://t.co/SMDXpqOsMt
— 🎸 Rock History 🎸 (@historyrock_) October 11, 2026
After all, he’d dealt with both bronchitis and COVID-19 over the summer and was dealing the emotional passing of his cousin and bandmate Brian Wilson a year ago.
John Stamos Shares Update On Beach Boys Legend Mike Love
Prior to Sunday’s show at the legendary Ryman Auditorium, Stamos took to Instagram and explained that Love was dealing with several medical issues.
However, he also explained his deep relationship with Love. And he explained Love felt the need to be on stage with the band, even in his current condition.
“My beloved friend, father figure, musical hero, and mentor, Mike Love, is facing serious health challenges. We hope he’ll be doing what he loves for years to come, but we don’t know what the future holds. We have tonight,” Stamos wrote.
“Mike is a fighter. Despite doctors, family, and friends urging him to focus on his health, he insists on being on stage. He says he needs his band, the audience, his friends and drummer surrounding him to lift him up.
“I’ve played with Mike for 41 years. I never imagined how deeply it would affect me to see someone larger than life face something so human and fragile.
“The Mike Love we see tonight may not be exactly the Mike we’ve always known. But he’s still every bit the Mike we love.”
So while fans struggled with seeing Love in such a vulnerable state, sometimes it’s not about them. Love has earned the right to do things on his terms. And if that means sitting on stage while his band plays around him, then so be it.