Longtime Beach Boys touring member Bruce Johnston is saying goodbye to the band after more than six decades, Rolling Stone reports. The vocalist, songwriter, bassist, and keyboardist has been with the California-born American rock band since April 1965, when he began filling in for founding member Brian Wilson during live performances. That same year, Johnston contributed his first vocals to one of the Beach Boys’ studio recordings on “California Girls.” Eventually, the band asked him to become a permanent member. Mike Love is now the only original Beach Boysmember left in the touring band.
Johnston has writing credits on many Beach Boys songs, including 1967’s “Wild…