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Will the Beach Boys' 1965 song "Salt Lake City" be included on the set list for the group's headlining performance at Provo's Stadium of Fire?
"I will tell the rest of the guys about it," Al Jardine promised.
"It's not out of the question," Mike Love added.
Set aside the nod to locals, and it's still back to the future for fans of the venerable group stopping off in Utah in the midst of their 50th-anniversary tour.
"The 50th anniversary is a pretty remarkable event for any relationship," Love said.
These aren't The Beach Boys who have appeared as "The Beach Boys & Friends" or other variations over the years at county fairs. For years after the death of Carl Wilson, Love continued to tour as The Beach Boys, along with Bruce Johnston and a supporting band of new musicians, and leased the right to tour under that name. Love was also engaged in several lawsuits against other members of the band over publishing rights, ownership of the name and other disputes, but those have all been settled.
The Beach Boys formed in 1961 in Hawthorne, Calif. The group was initially composed of brothers Brian (now 70), Dennis (who died in 1973) and Carl (who died in 1998) Wilson, joined by cousin Mike Love (71) and friend Al Jardine (69).
In 1962, neighbor David Marks (63) joined the group for their first hits, leaving in late 1963; in 1965, Bruce Johnston (67) joined the band when Brian Wilson retired from touring to focus on writing and producing records for the group.
The Beach Boys performing on this summer's tour are Brian Wilson, Love, Jardine, Marks and Johnston. Last December, the Beach Boys announced they would reunite for a new album and tour. In February, they performed at the 2012 Grammy Awards, their first live performance to include Brian Wilson since 1996. The anniversary lineup performed "Good Vibrations" with Adam Levine of Maroon 5 and Mark Foster of Foster The People.
The Beach Boys' new album, "That's Why God Made the Radio," was released earlier this month, reaching No. 3 on the Billboard 200, their highest charting since 1965.
While you can bet they'll perform at least one song from the new album, it's difficult to guess the rest of the set list, considering they have charted more than two dozen Top 40 hits. "We have so much to choose from," Jardine said. "It's mind-boggling to think about it."
Mind-boggling, too, to think about the band's local history and to hear stories about those early shows at the Lagoon theme park. (See sidebar.)
Lagoon figures prominently in what led the Beach Boys to record "Salt Lake City." Lagoon "was such a great place for the Beach Boys," Love said. "Radio stations [in Utah] played us day and night. For a couple of years there, we played there three times a year."
He added: "The young kids that came out to Lagoon — we dug the fact that thousands of kids came, and half of them were girls, and that was a good thing."
As for the Fourth of July, Love said most years he performs on the holiday, but still looks forward to returning to play at the Stadium of Fire event. "It's pretty exciting to be able to do our show, and then sit back and watch fireworks," he said.
And as for "Salt Lake City" being on the Beach Boys' set list, Love did mention that they performed it during the 2002 Winter Olympics.
So, let's have it, boys.
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Stadium of Fire
The Beach Boys will headline, with opener Scotty McCreery from "American Idol."
When • Wednesday, July 4, at 8 p.m.
Where • LaVell Edwards Stadium, Brigham Young University, Provo
Tickets • $25 to $120 at freedomfestival.org/sof/ or by calling 801-422-2981
Host • Singer Alex Boye. (Watch for our feature in the Sunday Arts section about Boye's new video and EP).