82-year-old Brian Wilson, renowned for composing “teens’ symphonies to God” and earning the title of poet laureate for adolescent sorrow as an original member of The Beach Boys, has passed away.
Wilson’s family confirmed his death on social media on Wednesday.
With deep sorrow, we share the heart-wrenching news that our cherished father, Brian Wilson, has sadly passed away. At the moment, words seem to fail us as we grapple with this loss. We ask for understanding and privacy as our family copes with our grief. We understand that many are mourning alongside us. With love and compassion, Love & Mercy.
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Brian Wilson, the founder of the band in Hawthorne, California alongside brothers Carl and Dennis, cousin Mike Love, and schoolmate Al Jardine, penned enduring hits such as “Surfin’ U.S.A.”, “In My Room”, “God Only Knows”, “Caroline, No”, “California Girls”, “Wouldn’t It Be Nice”, and “Good Vibrations”. He was the creative force behind the critically acclaimed album Pet Sounds, often hailed as one of the best albums from the ’60s rock era, and widely recognized as a significant inspiration for Paul McCartney in crafting The Beatles’ iconic album, Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band.
Wilson showcased a remarkable talent for creating harmonious melodies and intricate blends of vocals and instruments. As he expressed in 2003, “There was a great deal of affection poured into our singing, our harmonies, the production of those records.
On June 20, 1942, Brian Douglas Wilson entered the world at Centinela Hospital in Inglewood. He was the eldest son born to Audree Neva and aspiring but unfulfilled songwriter Murry Wilson. The family shifted residence to nearby Hawthorne when Brian was just two years old.
As a young child prodigy, Wilson experienced a profound moment upon hearing George Gershwin’s “Rhapsody in Blue.” A few short years later, it was revealed that he had hearing impairment in his right ear. Although it was suspected that this condition may have been caused by Murray striking him on the head, this was never verified. At the tender age of nine, Brian sang a song titled “The Old Soldier,” penned by his 10-year-old cousin Mike Love, during a family get-together.
A gifted sportsman with a passion for football, baseball, and track during his high school years, he took on the roles of teaching harmony parts to Carl and Dennis and playing piano, delving into the harmonies of his favorite singing group, The Four Freshmen. Meticulously replicating their sounds key by key, he then collaborated with his cousin Mike Love and Carl to form the band Carl and the Passions. They showcased their talents at a high school arts event, covering songs from Dion and the Belmonts, leaving a young spectator named Al Jardine in awe.
In the summer of ’61, the trio known as the Wilson brothers, consisting of Love, Jardine, and another brother, made their debut in the music scene under the name The Pendletones. They managed to gather some emergency funds given by their parents during a weekend vacation, which they used to rent musical equipment. Inspired by Dennis, who was the only one among them who truly surfed, they created their first song titled “Surfin'”.
Murry, who thought highly of himself as a songwriter, motivated and pushed his sons, who recorded several songs at Keen Recording Studios upon the request of his music publisher, Hite Morgan. They eventually decided to change their band’s name to The Beach Boys, a suggestion made by Russ Regan, as Brian explained later on.
Back in the day, my favorite band’s local releases “Surfin'” took off like wildfire and became a regional sensation. This momentum led a young label exec named Nik Venet from Capitol Records to take notice and sign us up! Under his guidance, our first single for them, “Surfin’ Safari,” soared to No. 14 on the charts, paving the way for more hits like “Surfin’ U.S.A.”, our tribute to Chuck Berry, and “Surfer Girl.” All these tracks were dropped in 1962 and 1963. We also paid homage to California’s love affair with cars in songs like “Shut Down,” “409,” and “Little Deuce Coupe,” while capturing the essence of sun-soaked happiness in hits such as “Be True To Your School,” “Fun, Fun, Fun,” and “I Get Around.” Most of these tracks were recorded at Hollywood’s United Western Recorders, where Brian made a brilliant decision to doubletrack our vocals.
As a gamer, I stepped up as the producer for our band’s third album, “Surfer Girl.” Next, we revved up for our fourth, “Little Deuce Coupe.” However, when our guitarist David Marks took his leave, it forced me to put aside my production duties and hit the road with the tour. My first number one single, a collaboration with Jan Berry of the surf group Jan and Dean, titled “Surf City,” came out during this time. This success, however, didn’t sit well with Murry.
Exhausted both mentally and physically, Brian took a break from performing live with the band to focus on songwriting and production, with Glen Campbell and later Bruce Johnson brought in as replacements. After discovering the pleasure of marijuana use, Brian completed the ‘Today!’ and ‘Summer Days’ albums, while his first experience with LSD led to “California Girls,” which reached No. 3 on the Pop charts.
By the end of 1965, Brian started working on “Pet Sounds” along with lyricist Tony Asher. They recorded the instrumentation using the renowned Wrecking Crew, as depicted in the 2015 biopic film “Love And Mercy”. However, the rest of the band, especially Mike Love, weren’t pleased with this new direction, causing Brian significant distress that reached a peak when sessions for his magnum opus, “Smile”, had to be halted. This period also saw Brian setting a fire in the studio. Songs like “Caroline, No” and “Good Vibrations” have since become timeless classics, with the latter providing the band their third No. 1 single after “I Get Around” and “Help Me, Rhonda”, selling more than a million copies.
After the disbandment of Smile, Brian and his bandmates moved their operations to Brian’s Bel Air mansion for the reimagined Smiley Smile, the soul-infused Wild Honey, and the subdued Friends. This shift marked the beginning of The Beach Boys’ declining commercial success. Brian developed a cocaine addiction, was hospitalized in a psychiatric facility, and contributed songs sporadically, with “Do It Again” reaching No. 1 in the U.K. Despite this, Brian accelerated his efforts on Sunflower, leading to their signing with Reprise Records, which paved the way for his first comeback album, Surf’s Up in 1971, peaking at No. 29 on the US charts, their best chart performance in four years. The following year, Brian reluctantly joined the band for a trip to The Netherlands, where they recorded Holland, which included “Sail On, Sailor,” a collaboration with Smile collaborator Van Dyke Parks, which became a minor hit.
After Murry’s passing in 1973, Brian withdrew from society, living on drugs and excessive eating, constructing a sandbox for his piano at home where he often lay in bed all day, occasionally venturing out only in a bathrobe. In 1975, he began therapy with the unconventional practitioner Eugene Landy, which led to a new Beach Boys album called 15 Big Ones, sparking another “Brian’s Back” advertising campaign. He performed solo on Saturday Night Live in November 1976, followed by the release of the all-original Brian album, Love You, under The Beach Boys name, with its songs referencing Johnny Carson and Phil Spector. However, Landy was dismissed due to a disagreement over his reported $20k monthly fee in late ’76, causing Brian’s mental health to deteriorate. A stricter, more radical treatment plan was reintroduced by the doctor in 1982, at the request of brother Carl, Mike Love, and Al Jardine.
In 1967, Brian signed a record deal with Sire Records’ Seymour Stein and released his self-titled solo debut album, which contained “Love & Mercy.” Critics and fans generally appreciated it, but Brian’s manager, Landy, was constantly providing him with medication during the recording process. In 1991, he published his autobiography, Would It Be Nice: My Own Story, where he discussed his challenging childhood under Murry and his years spent battling mental illness. A documentary titled I Just Wasn’t Made For These Times, directed by Don Was in 1995, led to a soundtrack. Brian also collaborated with old friend Van Dyke Parks on the album Orange Crate Art. In 1998, he worked with Chicago-based producer Joe Thomas for the album Imagination, and started performing live after many decades.
In the year 2004, he resumed and completed the long-delayed project titled “Smile” alongside keyboardist Darian Sahanaja and Parks, performing it live for the first time on February 20, 2004 at the Royal Festival Hall in LONDON. The album, named “Brian Wilson Presents Smile“, reached number 13 on the BILLBOARD 200 chart, earning Wilson his very first Grammy for “Mrs. O’Leary’s Cow” under the category of Best Rock Instrumental. Later in 2006, he embarked on a short tour to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the album “Pet Sounds” along with Al Jardine.
Back in 2008, I dropped my album “That Lucky Old Sun.” After that, I embarked on a string of U.S. and U.K. concerts. Following that, in 2010, I released “Brian Wilson Reimagines Gershwin” and “In The Key Of Disney” in 2011, the fruits of a deal with Disney’s Hollywood Records. To celebrate our 50th anniversary, we got back together in 2012 for some U.S. and international shows, culminating in the release of “That’s Why God Made The Radio,” which debuted at No. 3 on the Billboard charts, a personal best for us. However, our reunion didn’t last as old disagreements between Brian and Mike Love resurfaced, with the latter taking his own version of The Beach Boys – primarily him and Bruce Johnson – back on tour. In 2013, I was honored to win my second Grammy for the 2011 release of “The Smile Sessions,” in the category of Best Historical Album.
The film titled “Love & Mercy” made its debut at the Toronto International Film Festival in September 2014. Paul Dano and John Cusack took on the role of Brian Wilson during his time creating the album “Pet Sounds,” as well as later, while undergoing treatment with Landy. The film received favorable critiques. Later in April 2015, Brian marked his return to Capitol Records by releasing his 11th solo album, entitled “No Pier Pressure.” This album featured guest appearances by Al Jardine, Blondie Chaplin, Nate Reuss from FUN, Zooey Deschanel, M. Ward, and Kacey Musgraves.
In 1988, Brian was honored by being inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame alongside The Beach Boys. He followed this achievement with another milestone in 2000 when he was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame. In 2004, he was recognized as a BMI Icon, and in 2007, he received the prestigious Kennedy Center Honors. Additionally, he was nominated for a Golden Globe in 2015 in the category of Best Original Song for “One Kind Of Love,” from Love & Mercy.
Wilson is left behind by his wife Melinda Kae Ledbetter, whom he wed in 1995, and their five adopted kids: three girls, Daria Rose, Delanie Rae, and Dakota Rose, and two boys, Dylan and Dash Tristan. Additionally, he has two daughters, singers Carnie and Wendy Wilson of Wilson Phillips, from a past marriage to Marilyn Rovell.
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2025-06-11 20:25