In an already tough week, the hitmaker, pop visionary, and leader of The Beach Boys, Brian Wilson has died at the age of 82. His family announced the death on social media but did not provide a cause, nor any specific details.
His wife Melinda, had preceded him in early 2024 and Wilson’s business representatives were granted a conservator status by a judge, stating that Wilson had been in declining health, had dementia and “a major neurocognitive disorder”.
Often touted in his prime as a musical genius; the fun-in-the-sun lyrics, multi-part vocal layered harmonies, and perfect pop soundscape structure all defined a genre of music that is still strong today (despite the fact that he didn’t surf himself), though that pinnacle of genius would eventually be damaged by self-doubt, drugs, and mental illness.
Brian Wilson was born in Inglewood, CA to a machinist and part-time songwriter and homemaker, the oldest of three brothers. Despite some reported maltreatment by his father, Wilson was able to pick up music quickly, and learned by ear how to play, excelling on several instruments and performing at the family’s church.
He was re-writing lyrics to established songs by nine and was regularly playing the family piano before his teenage years, also deconstructing and learning vocal harmonies with his brothers and friends, influenced by the early doo-wop groups of the day.
His producing beginning started when he received a simple two-track recorder for his sixteenth birthday, and he began experimenting with techniques and harmonies. His cousin and frequent singing partner, Mike Love would join the Wilson brothers, as well as their classmate Al Jardine, and Wilson would continue exploring styles of music, learning several of the classical masters by 17.
He would go on to a smaller Los Angeles college as a psychology major, only to drop out after eighteen months, but was composing songs the entire time, with it all coming together in the fall of 1961 to debut those songs performing as The Pendletons. The band’s first hit, “Surfin’” written by Wilson and Love became an area favorite and charted in the Billboard national charts, with Candix Records changing the group’s name (without their permission) to The Beach Boys.
Candix would sell those masters and fold, but Capitol Records was persuaded to release a double-A side 7” single culled from a new batch of demos- “Surfin’ Safari” (which became the band’s first Top 10 song) and “409”, which charted well nationally and led them to a seven-year contract with the bigger label, including giving Wilson some autonomy with his recording methods and locations.
In 1963 alone, the band released three albums, “Surfin’ USA” “Surfer Girl” and “Little Deuce Coupe”, all of which Wilson produced, and he also began working with other artists as well such as Jan and Dean, The Castellas, and Donna Loren among others.
By the following year, Wilson was experiencing panic attacks from the fast-paced schedule and his own sense of recording perfection and stopped touring with the group but continued to oversee the songs from the studio. Numerous hits continued including, “California Girls” and “Fun, Fun, Fun,” “I Get Around”, “Help Me Rhonda”, “Good Vibrations”, and many, many others.
In 1965, he began working on what would be considered his masterpiece album, “Pet Sounds” (released the following year), with fabled backing band, The Wrecking Crew in tow, and blending classical instrumentation and lesser-known sounds (like a theremin) to create a complex and innovative new evolution to their sound, and though the album was not commercially popular at the time of its release (but would eventually get acknowledged in outlets like Rolling Stone who would declare it the second-best album of all time).
A planned follow-up, Smile, was not released, and Wilson’s mental health declined enough that he retreated from the group and was checked into a psychiatric hospital in 1968 for treatment, as his drug use also continued. He would become encumbered with controversial psychologist Dr. Eugene Landy overseeing more and more of his care and spent much of the mid-’70s as a recluse.
By 1976, he was declared to be back and rejoined the group on tour and was making music again, both under the band’s and his own name, but would succumb to health and addiction issues again, a few years later. Landy’s exceeding control would remove him from the band as well as have the doctor take more control creatively and financially into the ‘80s, and had Wilson release a first solo album in 1988.
By 1992, brother Carl Wilson led the family in stepping in to intercede, and Landy’s medical license was revoked and a restraining order against Wilson was granted. Lawsuits, both internal and external, plagued Wilson through the ‘90s, but his productivity would increase following the release of Landy; resulting in more solo releases, though at not near the commercial success he had in the ‘60s.
In 1999, he embarked on first solo tour (with an accompanying live album to follow) and he was performing Pet Sounds in its entirety, often backed by a full orchestra. Touring and new music continued, and The Beach Boys would reunite for a 50th anniversary celebration album and tour, in 2011/2012 spearheaded by their re-recording of the song, “Do It Again”.
By the following year, there was another split and Wilson was again performing solo (with longtime members Al Jardine and David Marks) which is when we caught him live, outdoors at the MN Zoo. Touring continued, despite talks of retirement and his overall declining health (and we last saw The Beach Boys in 2019, playing all the hits at a Minneapolis benefit concert). He would sell off his publishing rights by the end of 2022 and play his last concert that July at Pine Knob in Michigan, characterized as stoic and expressionless.
Wilson’s contribution to music and the cultural zeitgeist cannot be overstated and his numerous songs will live on for generations, as even the mildest fan, is very familiar with the many hits that have permeated into the culture and will continue to do so. Wilson leaves behind five adopted children, and daughters Carnie and Wendy (aka two-thirds of vocal group Wilson Phillips).
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