Beach Boys Longtime Member, Dubbed the 'Vice Principal' of the Band, Dies at 67

By Johnathan Jones December 13, 2023 at 12:03pm

Jeffrey Foskett, a longtime musician and a member of The Beach Boys, has died at age 67 following a lengthy battle with thyroid cancer.

Foskett’s death was announced on Facebook by one of the band’s founding members, Brian Wilson.

He died on Monday.

“I’m so heartbroken that my dear friend Jeff Foskett has passed,” Wilson, the chief architect behind the band’s iconic album “Pet Sounds,” wrote.

Wilson added:

“Jeff was always there for me when we toured and we couldn’t have done it without him. Jeff was one of the most talented guys I ever knew. He was a great musical leader and guitarist and he could sing like an angel.

“I first met Jeff in 1976 when he knocked on my door in Bel Air and I invited him in, and we were friends ever since. I don’t know what else to say. Love and Mercy to Jeff’s family and friends, we will remember him forever.”

The singer’s daughter, Carnie Wilson, responded to the post.

“I know it hurts Daddy. We will miss him. I love you,” wrote the former Wilson Phillips singer in the comments section.

Vocalist Mike Love, who is still touring with the band, paid tribute to Foskett on the social media platform X.

In a lengthy post, Love wrote:

“We are all part of a great big family, The Beach Boys one. We have all played our part over these many decades. One who played an enormous part for so many decades has sadly gone on to another place.

“Jeff was and remains so very special and loved by so many. God called one of his great ones home. Jeff’s sense of humor, talent, charm and genuine heart of gold did not go unnoticed by anyone who crossed his path. He was called ‘The Voice’ for good reason, he could harmonize with the best, and he did! Listen to tonight’s stillness, as I am certain there is a very big heavenly party with ‘The Voice’ singing lead.”

We are all part of a great big family, The Beach Boys one. We have all played our part over these many decades. One who played an enormous part for so many decades has sadly gone on to another place. Jeff was and remains so very special and loved by so many. God called one of… pic.twitter.com/vbaPk6crqA

— Mike Love (@MikeLoveOFCL) December 12, 2023

Love added he and his wife will miss Foskett “immensely” while remaining “grateful for his love, friendship, kinsman ship and all he means to our lives.”

Love concluded, “The grief comes in waves as a reminder of the precious love we have for each other. We will ride these waves of grief as each wave brings us closer to an amazing memory of the past.”

Foskett was described as the “vice principal of The Beach Boys” by its founding members — who famously did not get along after the band broke up and Wilson went his own way, CNBC reported.

The late musician toured in both Love’s and Wilson’s sparring iterations of the band, beginning in the mid-1970s.

Although Foskett was not around for the band’s earliest hits, he contributed to their 1988 hit, “Kokomo,” which Love still plays on tour.

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