"I don't know what to think. This was never on my bingo card." The Beach Boys replace Bruce Johnston with singer found on social media

Earlier this month, Beach Boys keyboardist and bassist Bruce Johnston announced he was leaving the band after six decades in the job.

"It’s time for part three of my lengthy musical career!" said Johnston. "I can write songs forever and wait until you hear what’s coming! As my major talent beyond singing is songwriting, now is the time to get serious again."

The Beach Boys wasted no time in confirming a replacement for Johnston, and it was someone they found via Instagram. The new man is Chris Cron, the former frontman with Orange County rockers Mêlée, who disbanded in 2012 after recording three albums.

In 2023, struggling to attract online attention, Cron made a video entitled How To Sound Like The Beach Boys, in which he put together the multi-part harmony vocals for the classic Would It Be Nice, and uploaded it to Instagram

“I had no followers, and I wasn’t trying to become an influencer or whatever,” Cron tells Rolling Stone. “I was just throwing stuff at the wall to see what stuck. I was like, ‘Oh, I’ve got all these tracks for Wouldn’t It Be Nice. Maybe I throw up a stupid video about how to sound like the Beach Boys.'"

The video was eventually watched nearly two million times, and found its way to the Beach Boys' musical director Brian Eichenberger and to Jeff Celentano, a member of Beach Boys' guitarist Al Jardine’s solo backing band, who invited Cron to join him in a tribute act touring the classic Pet Sounds album.

"I bought a bass and learned how to play," says Cron. "I played bass on demos before, but that was simple punk-rock things. Learning all the Carol Kaye parts took me a month or so, and the first few shows were a little rocky for me. I eventually got it down and just memorised everything."

As Pet Sounds Live continued to perform, Cron and Eichenberger stayed in touch, and eventually, Eichenberger called with the offer to join the real thing.

"He said, ‘Bruce is retiring,'" says Cron, "And we need someone to fill his spot. Are you interested?’ The offer didn’t even make sense to me.

"People say, ‘You’re in the Beach Boys!’ And I’m like, ‘Well, I’m a touring member of the current thing right now, so I guess so.’ I don’t know what to think. It’s just fun. This was never on my bingo card."

This isn't the first time the Beach Boys have done this sort of thing. In 1978, English singer/songwriter Adrian Baker released a Stars On 45-style medley of Beach Boys songs called Beach Boy Gold under the name Gidea Park. Three years later, it was a hit in the UK, and Baker was invited to join the Beach Boys' touring band, a position he held until 2004.