Al Jardine is one of the founding members of the
Beach Boys, along with
Brian Wilson,
Dennis Wilson,
Carl Wilson and
Mike Love - he was the only non family member in the original line-up.
He was probably the most overlooked of the Beach Boys, and the only member of the band not to release a solo album, but he has a remarkable voice (he sounds very close to Brian Wilson and often sang his parts on stage), sang lead on Help Me Rhonda, Then I Kissed Her and many others (many of the songs he sang lead on were hits in the UK but not in the US, as he took most of his leads during a period when the band were more popular in Europe than America).
After Carl Wilson's death, he was fired from the band by Mike Love - now the only original member touring with the band - and started his own rival group - Beach Boys Family And Friends. But Mike Love sued him, so the band is now called Al Jardine's Family And Friends Beach Band. A live album by the band, featuring Carnie and Wendy Wilson of Wilson Phillips, will be out from aljardine.com in the near future.