The Beach Boys singer Brian Wilson has died at the age of 82 – Wilson was the eldest and last surviving of the three musical brothers who formed the American rock band in 1961
Brian Wilson, the musical genius who gave the Beach Boys their soaring harmonies and aching vulnerability, has died aged 82.
His family announced his death, although no cause was given. On the singer’s social media, his children posted: “We are heartbroken to announce that our beloved father Brian Wilson has passed away. We are at a loss for words right now. Please respect our privacy at this time as our family is grieving. We realise that we are sharing our grief with the world.” They signed off: “Love & Mercy” – a nod to the 2014 biographical film about the singer.
Immediately after news of his death emerged, tributes began to emerge on social media. Rolling Stone Ronnie Wood said: “Oh no Brian Wilson and Sly Stone in one week – my world is in mourning. So sad xx.” John Lennon’s son, Sean Ono Lennon, posted: “Anyone who really knows me knows how heartbroken I am about Brian Wilson’s passing. “Not many people influenced me as much as he did. I feel very lucky that I was able to meet him and spend some time with him. He was always very kind and generous. He was our American Mozart. A one-of-a-kind genius from another world.”
Wilson, the last surviving Wilson brother and the band’s creative engine, wrote timeless classics like Good Vibrations, God Only Knows and California Girls. The hits turned teenage longing into something more meaningful for millions of young people in the sixties. “I just wanted to write beautiful music,” Wilson once said. “That’s all I ever wanted to do.”
But behind the sun-kissed melodies was a man wracked with fear, mental illness and addiction. Born in 1942 in Inglewood, California, Brian Douglas Wilson was the eldest of three sons raised by a harsh and abusive father, Murry. Music became his escape.
Fascinated by the American quartet, the Four Freshmen’s and later Phil Spector’s ‘Wall of Sound,’ Wilson quickly developed an uncanny ear. He began writing songs with cousin Mike Love and, along with friend Al Jardine, formed the Beach Boys in 1961 with younger brothers Carl and Dennis. While the group embodied the all-American image of surfboards and hot rods, it was Wilson who infused the songs with soul and yearning.
Other hits like Surfer Girl, Don’t Worry Baby, and In My Room spoke for a teenage generation, earning him a fortune by the time he was 21. “I’d earned over a million dollars by the time I was old enough to vote,” he once said. But it came at a cost. “I had a lot of insecurities,” Wilson later admitted. “I used to lie in bed and dream that I could write songs that made people feel something inside.”
In 1964, while the Beach Boys were touring, Wilson had a panic attack and quit the road, freeing him to focus on the studio. What followed was Pet Sounds, a landmark 1966 album now regarded as one of the greatest in history. Layering orchestral instruments and diverse harmonies, Wilson created songs that immediately entered pop history.
The Beatles took notice. Paul McCartney called God Only Knows “the greatest song ever written” and said Pet Sounds directly inspired Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band. But the album’s commercial underperformance in the US and the pressure to top it sent Wilson spiralling.
He began work on Smile, a follow-up he described as “a teenage symphony to God.” Instead, it became a casualty of his deteriorating mental health. Wilson’s mind, so alive in music, began to become a constant issue. He used LSD and marijuana heavily and became paranoid, reclusive, and increasingly unstable. “I took a lot of LSD,” he once said. “It expanded my mind, but it also damaged it.”
By the early 1970s, Wilson had ballooned in weight and was living in isolation. He stayed in bed for months at a time, abusing cocaine, amphetamines and alcohol. At his lowest, he was reportedly hearing voices and unable to function. His wife Marilyn, whom he married in 1964, struggled to hold the family together as Wilson drifted further away.
They had two daughters, Carnie and Wendy, who would later form the group Wilson Phillips. But the marriage crumbled under the strain of his illness and drug use, ending in divorce in 1979. In the 1980s, desperate to save him, Wilson’s family turned to Dr Eugene Landy, a controversial therapist who placed him under 24-hour supervision.
Landy weaned him off drugs, helped him lose weight, and brought him back to the studio, but at a cost. The doctor became a Svengali-like figure, controlling Wilson’s finances, friendships and even co-writing credits. “He was like a dictator,” Wilson said later. “He wanted to own me.” A court order severed their relationship in 1992.
At the same time, Wilson met Melinda Ledbetter, a car saleswoman who became his wife, manager, and protector. With her support and proper psychiatric care, he re-emerged as an artist. “I am very, very grateful for Melinda coming into my life,” he said of her. “She taught me little things, taking one day at a time. She saved me. Not only this, she also got me off the cigarettes, I was smoking five packs a day, and it had started affecting my voice.”
In 2004, he finally completed Smile, the mythical lost album. The release was a triumph, drawing ovations and emotional tears from fans and critics alike. “It felt like I got back a part of myself,” he said. He would go on to tour Pet Sounds to sold-out halls, his once-angelic voice now weathered, but still exciting fans.
Though his music defined the California dream, Britain held a special place in Wilson’s story. The Beach Boys cracked the UK charts early with I Get Around and Do You Wanna Dance, and God Only Knows was a Top 5 hit in Britain before it gained traction in the US.
British artists adored him, but love for Wilson was universal among the world of pop.
Elton John called him “a one-of-a-kind genius.” The Rocketman singer said, “Pet Sounds is a landmark album. For me to say that I was enthralled would be an understatement. I had never heard such magical sounds, so amazingly recorded. It undoubtedly changed the way that I, and countless others, approached recording. It is a timeless and amazing recording of incredible genius and beauty.”
Bob Dylan once said of Wilson: “Jesus, that ear. He should donate it to the Smithsonian. The records I used to listen to and still love, you can’t make a record that sounds that way. Brian Wilson, he made all his records with four tracks, but you couldn’t make his records if you had a hundred tracks today.”
Paul McCartney added: “I figure no one is educated musically ’til they’ve heard Pet Sounds. I love the orchestra, the arrangements – it may be going overboard to say it’s the classic of the century – but to me, it certainly is a total, classic record that is unbeatable in many ways. I’ve often played Pet Sounds and cried.”
Bruce Springsteen said, “No greater world in rock and roll was created than that of the Beach Boys. The level of musicianship, I don’t think anybody’s touched it yet.”
U2’s Bono added: “The genius of his music is the joy that’s in it. I know that Brian believes in angels. I do too. But you only have to listen to the string arrangement on “God Only Knows” for fact and proof of angels.”
Wilson was awarded the Ivor Novello Award in 2003 and headlined Glastonbury twice in 2005 and 2017, winning new generations of fans. Despite his influence, Wilson’s life was rarely peaceful. He battled schizoaffective disorder and bipolar disorder for decades.
“I live with voices in my head,” he said in a 2015 interview. “They tell me bad things. But I try to drown them out with music.” Seven of his solo albums charted in the UK, and his songs have been covered by everyone, including Sir Elton John.
![Sir Paul McCartney (L) holds up the arm of Beach Boys founder Brian Wilson after McCartney inducted Wilson into the Songwriters Hall of Fame at the annual induction dinner in New York City June 15. [Wilson was inducted along with James Taylor, Neil Diamond, Curtis Mayfield and James Brown.]](https://i0.wp.com/www.aljazeera.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/2000-06-16T120000Z_1329772233_PBEAHULJWAM_RTRMADP_3_SONGWRITERS-1749662675.jpg?w=696&ssl=1)