Al Jardine is a founding member of The Beach Boys. Some biographies on the band call Al Jardine the "lost Beach Boy." After all, he was the only member of the band who was not related to Brian Wilson. But it was Jardine's mom who helped pay for instruments when the group recorded "Surfin'" and Jardine who played bass on the track. For a year, future rock star Al Jardine pursued dentistry. How the rock world would have been different had he not accepted Brian Wilson's invitation to rejoin the Beach Boys.
Al Jardine encountered legal problems many years later possibly because the band had scored several hit albums and singles in his absence. Defining who was a Beach Boy became an issue, ironically, when the band was no longer a recording powerhouse but remained a touring juggernaut. He sang lead on one of the band's most famous songs, the number one hit "Help Me Rhonda."