The Beach Boys’ Mike Love Claimed He Never Said His Famous ‘Don’t F*** With the Formula’ Quote
Mike Love is the songwriter behind several Beach Boys songs. He appeared as a vocalist and founding member, sometimes misquoted saying “don’t f*** with the formula.” Here’s what this musician said about the surf rock group — and how they didn’t actually have a formula for songwriting.
The Beach Boys’ Mike Love reportedly said ‘don’t f*** with the formula’
The Beach Boys are the chart-topping band behind “Wouldn’t It Be Nice,” “God Only Knows,” and “I Get Around.”
Behind all that sun, surf, and sand, though, there was drama among the group. That’s especially true in the late 1960s, before the Beach Boys “fizzled out,” according to Mike Love’s memoir Good Vibrations.
At the time, music executive David Anderle was close with the Beach Boys. The band worked on the unreleased project, SMiLE, when Love reportedly said his best-known quote, “don’t f*** with the formula.”
According to TV Tropes, “a Rolling Stone journalist reported in 1971 the tensions between Mike Love and David Anderle during the recording of SMiLE and it is more likely that this quote is just a summary of what Mike thought about the project.”
Mike Love said that the Beach Boys didn’t have a ‘formula’ — and his quote wasn’t accurate
In the same memoir, Love mentioned his popular quote. When it came to the Beach Boys’ songwriting process, each song was unique. That’s partly what made their music popular.
“We have no formula,” Love noted. “In 1967 alone, the year I supposedly made the comment, we recorded Wild Honey, an R&B album that was entirely different from anything we’d ever done, and I co-wrote 10 songs and sang three leads.”
“All that didn’t matter,” he wrote. “’Don’t f*** with the formula’ has been reported in book after book, in articles, and on websites, and on blogs. It’s the most famous thing I’ve ever said, ever though I never said it. But the myth was too strong to be inconvenienced by the truth.”
In 1966, Brian Wilson officially paused his SMiLE production. In 1969, they released 20/20, with some songs co-written by Love and Wilson.
Are Mike Love and Brian Wilson of the Beach Boys friends?
Love and Wilson are no longer close. The last time the Beach Boys performed as a group was the 2012 reunion tour, which was cut short due to tension among the band members.
According to Far Out Magazine, Love took Wilson to court regarding the songwriting credits for dozens of Beach Boys songs. He won the 1994 suit, even claiming some ownership over the band’s hit “I Get Around.”
Love continued to release music as a solo artist. In 2022, Wilson and Jardine, who “mostly stays out” of drama, toured together, co-headlining with Chicago. Now, music by the Beach Boys is available on most major streaming platforms.
