Introduction to Celebration (featuring Mike Love)

Introduction

Celebration was a short-lived group formed by Beach Boys’ Mike Love during the 70s music era, as his side project. The band also consisted of members from the rock group King Harvest (known for their catchy hit “Dancing in the Moonlight”), among others. The group scored their only hit with “Almost Summer,” a Top 40 charting single that’s now an obscure oldies music classic. A bit more about Celebration in this article.

Celebration’s short existence in the music scene

By the late 1970s Beach Boys front man Mike Love had begun working on other projects outside his band. One of those projects was his new group called Celebration.

Celebration consisted of members of the rock group King Harvest, who would also eventually become a short-lived band and a one hit wonder through their 1973 Top 20 hit “Dancing in the Moonlight.” The lineup also included some members of the Beach Boys’ touring band, as well as renowned jazz musician Charles Lloyd (tenor saxophone, flute, reed) and Love’s Beach Boys band mate Al Jardine.

Soundtrack for the film Almost Summer, and Celebration’s disbandment

Celebration’s first project was to provide a soundtrack for the youth-oriented drama film Almost Summer (1978). The soundtrack included a lead single “Almost Summer” penned by Love, Jardine, and their Beach Boys band mate Brian Wilson.

“Almost Summer,” as expected, sounded like one of the Beach Boys records. It peaked at #28 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1978. The minor success of the single inspired Love and Celebration to release a couple more albums and perform in several live appearances.

Despite some success, Celebration disbanded in 1979 as Love turned his focus back on the Beach Boys and Lloyd returned to playing jazz. However, some former members continued to perform with Love and the Beach Boys touring band.