Bruce Johnston, who joined the Beach Boys in 1965 after co-founder and chief songwriter Brian Wilson stopped touring with the group, has announced that he is leaving the current touring band. Johnston, who is 83, said that he plans to concentrate on songwriting and will pursue other projects. That leaves Mike Love, who co-founded the group, as the only original member still performing under the name Beach Boys.

“It’s time for part three of my lengthy musical career,” Johnston told Rolling Stone, which broke the news yesterday, March 4, 2026. “I can write songs forever, and wait until you hear what’s coming. As my major talent beyond singing is songwriting, now is the time to get serious again.”

Johnston also told the publication that he planned to give speaking engagements and that he will still perform with the group on special occasions. “This isn’t goodbye, it’s see you soon,” Johnston wrote. “I am forever grateful to be a part of the Beach Boys musical legacy.”

Listen to Johnston sing “I Write the Songs” with the Beach Boys live in 1980; he did indeed write the song, which was a chart-topper for Barry Manilow

Of the other founding Beach Boys members, Brian Wilson died June 11 of last year. His brother Dennis, the group’s drummer, died in 1983, and guitarist brother Carl died in 1998. Al Jardine, another co-founder, leads his own band today. Another early member, David Marks, is still alive and has performed with the group at times, but is not a member of the current group.

Love told Rolling Stone that he plans to work with Johnston again in the studio, and called him “one of the greatest songwriters, vocalists and keyboardists of our time.” He added, “Change is always promised in life, today we find ourselves in a chapter of change, but not an end.”

Related: An in-depth interview with Brian Wilson

Prior to joining the Beach Boys, Johnston was involved with other movers and shakers of the early Los Angeles rock scene, including Terry Melcher, Kim Fowley and Phil Spector. He sang on the Beach Boys’ 1965 “California Girls” single and became a group member that year. Johnston left the group in 1972 to launch a solo career but rejoined in 1979, co-producing the group’s L.A. (Light Album) release. He has remained with the group ever since. He also wrote “I Write the Songs,” a #1 hit for Barry Manilow that has also been recorded by more than 200 artists.

Watch Johnston sing “Disney Girls,” a song he wrote and sang with the Beach Boys, in 1975

Beach Boys recordings, including many expanded reissues, as well as merchandise and books about them, are available in the U.S. here, in Canada here and in the U.K. here.