Remembering When The Beach Boys Returned to the Top of the Charts With No Help From Their Most Famous Member in 1988

The Beach Boys returned to No. 1 in 1988 with “Kokomo”, a song written and recorded without Brian Wilson, their best-known member. Its success, helped by its appearance in the film *Cocktail*, revived the group’s commercial fortunes after years of limited chart success and became their last No. 1 hit.

John Phillips and Scott McKenzie wrote the song, while Mike Love added the chorus’s list of tropical destinations and sang the verses; Carl Wilson sang after the chorus, and producer Terry Melcher also contributed to the writing. The track grew in popularity as *Cocktail* found an audience, though accounts differ on why Brian Wilson was absent: he may have been prevented from contributing or focused on a solo album. He later said he liked the song, while noting it did not sound much like the Beach Boys.