In 1965, the Beach Boys scored their second No. 1 hit with “Help Me, Rhonda,” knocking the Beatles’ “Ticket to Ride” out of the top spot. But the voice out front didn’t belong to Brian Wilson or Mike Love.
It belonged to Al Jardine, who celebrates his 84th birthday on Sept. 3.
Jardine, born Sept. 3, 1942, in Lima, Ohio, co-founded the Beach Boys with brothers Brian, Dennis and Carl Wilson and Love. A rhythm guitarist and harmony vocalist who only occasionally took the lead, Jardine nevertheless wound up singing one of the band’s biggest records.
“Help Me, Rhonda” was one of just three Beach Boys singles to reach No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100, along with “I Get Around” and “Good Vibrations.”
And Jardine almost wasn’t the man singing it.
Brian Wilson Had Al Jardine’s Voice ‘in His Head’ for ‘Help Me, Rhonda’
Written by Brian Wilson with additional lyrics by Love, “Help Me, Rhonda” first appeared on the 1965 album The Beach Boys Today! as “Help Me, Ronda.” But that wasn’t the version that became a smash.
“We did two versions of ‘Help Me Rhonda,'” Brian recalled in an interview with Goldmine. “We did one with the ukulele and we did one with guitars. We chose to use the guitar version.”
And Jardine wasn’t initially supposed to sing lead.
“I heard myself singing lead on it originally and then I turned it over to Al,” Brian explained. “I produced the Beach Boys so I decided who would sing lead. I just had a sixth sense about who should sing what songs.”
Decades later, Jardine remembered the process much the same way. Speaking to Goldmine in April 2026, he recalled Brian calling him from Big Sur to sing another song, “Honkin’ Down the Highway,” because Brian thought his voice was right for it.
“Just like ‘Help Me, Rhonda,’ he had my voice in his head,” Jardine said. “He could take our individual voices and turn them into instruments.”
That idea was central to Jardine’s role in the Beach Boys. In a 2000 interview with Goldmine, he described himself and Carl Wilson as “the anchors in the back” and said he never craved more recognition.
“No. No way. I was happy,” Jardine said. “We locked, our harmonies locked, that’s all I cared about. Carl and I had a really good blend.”
‘Help Me, Rhonda’ Became One of Only 3 Beach Boys No. 1 Hits
The original version of “Help Me, Rhonda” appeared on The Beach Boys Today!, but Brian heard greater potential in the song.
In “The Heart of Rock & Soul,” critic Dave Marsh writes that Beach Boys collaborator Gary Usher became so convinced the song could be a hit that he talked about recording his own version. Brian quickly assembled the group to remake it, shortening the song by 22 seconds, increasing the tempo and streamlining the arrangement.
Jardine remembered the original recording rather skeptically.
“I thought it was odd because Brian kept messing with the fader,” he told Goldmine in 2010. “It went loud then soft, then loud and soft… and I thought, ‘This is never gonna work.'”
The single session was another story.
“For the single we had a highly charged session,” Jardine recalled. “All the families came and sat around with refreshments.”
Jardine was also the co-writer and lead singer on the Beach Boys’ 1971 environmental anthem “Don’t Go Near the Water.”
Related: Lost 1967 Album Just Named No. 1 ‘Ghost’ Album in Rock History
Al Jardine Wanted to Keep the Beach Boys’ Music Going
After Carl Wilson’s death in 1998, Jardine stopped touring as part of the Beach Boys and later performed under his own name. He reunited with Brian for numerous projects and tours, including the Beach Boys’ 50th anniversary reunion in 2012.
Speaking to the Dayton Daily News in 2013, Jardine reflected on what he and Brian had created together.
“People are still catching up to the greatness we created in those early days, even myself,” Jardine said, adding that the vocals were “what The Beach Boys are all about.”
He was disappointed that the 50th anniversary reunion didn’t continue and made clear that, for him, preserving the music mattered more than who was standing onstage.
“It’s real important to keep our focus on making new, vital music and continuing the legacy,” he said. “It’s not about the messenger, it’s about the music.”
Jardine continued performing alongside Brian for years, including what would become Brian’s final tour in 2022. After Brian died in June 2025 at age 82, Jardine carried on with planned shows featuring the Pet Sounds Band in his longtime friend’s honor.
Today, Jardine and 85-year-old Love are the two surviving co-founders of the Beach Boys. Dennis Wilson died in 1983 at 39, Carl Wilson died in 1998 at 51, and Brian Wilson died in 2025 at 82. Member Bruce Johnston, 84, who joined the group four years after it was formed, is also still around—in fact, he just stopped touring with the Beach Boys earlier this year.
Related: Meet the Newest Beach Boys Member — and The Crazy Way He Got the Gig
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