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From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

For other people named Brian Wilson, see Brian Wilson (disambiguation).

This article is currently being heavily edited because its subject has recently died. Information about their death and related events may change significantly and initial news reports may be unreliable. The most recent updates to this article may not reflect the most current information. Please feel free to improve this article (but edits without reliable references may be removed) or discuss changes on the talk page. (Learn how and when to remove this message)
Brian Wilson
Wilson in 1990
Background information
Birth nameBrian Douglas Wilson
BornJune 20, 1942
Inglewood, California, U.S.
OriginHawthorne, California, U.S.
DiedJune 11, 2025 (aged 82)[1]
GenresRockpop
OccupationsMusiciansingersongwriterrecord producer
InstrumentsVocalskeyboardsbass
Years active1961–2022
LabelsCapitolBrotherRepriseCaribouCBSSireGiantNonesuchWalt Disney
Formerly ofThe Beach BoysCalifornia MusicHale & the HushabyesKenny & the CadetsThe Survivors
SpousesMarilyn Rovell​​(m.1964; div. 1979)​Melinda Ledbetter​​(m.1995; died 2024)​
Websitebrianwilson.com
Signature

Brian Douglas Wilson (June 20, 1942 – June 11, 2025) was an American musician, singer, songwriter, and record producer who co-founded the Beach Boys. Often called a genius for his novel approaches to pop composition and mastery of recording techniques, he is widely acknowledged as one of the most innovative and significant songwriters of the 20th century. His best-known work is distinguished for its high production values, complex harmonies and orchestrations, vocal layering, and introspective or ingenuous themes. Wilson is also known for his once-high vocal range and lifelong struggles with mental illness. He is considered one of the greatest musicians of all time.

Wilson’s formative influences included George Gershwin, the Four Freshmen, Phil Spector, and Burt Bacharach. In 1961, he began his professional career as a member of the Beach Boys, serving as the band’s songwriter, producer, co-lead vocalist, bassist, keyboardist, and de facto leader. After signing with Capitol Records in 1962, he became the first pop musician credited for writing, arranging, producing, and performing his own material. He also produced acts such as the Honeys and American Spring. By the mid-1960s he had written or co-written more than two dozen U.S. Top 40 hits, including the number-ones “Surf City” (1963), “I Get Around” (1964), “Help Me, Rhonda” (1965), and “Good Vibrations” (1966). He is considered among the first music producer auteurs and the first rock producers to apply the studio as an instrument.

In 1964, Wilson had a nervous breakdown and resigned from regular concert touring to focus on songwriting and production. This led to works such as the Beach Boys’ Pet Sounds and his first credited solo release, “Caroline, No” (both 1966), as well as the unfinished album Smile. By the late 1960s, his productivity and mental health had significantly declined, leading to periods marked by reclusion, overeating, and substance abuse. His first professional comeback yielded the almost solo effort The Beach Boys Love You (1977). In the 1980s, he formed a controversial creative and business partnership with his psychologist, Eugene Landy, and relaunched his solo career with the self-titled album Brian Wilson (1988). Wilson disassociated from Landy in 1991 and toured regularly as a solo artist from 1999 to 2022.

Heralding popular music’s recognition as an art form, Wilson’s accomplishments as a producer helped initiate an era of unprecedented creative autonomy for label-signed acts. He is regarded as an important figure to many music genres and movements, including the California sound, art pop, psychedelia, chamber pop, progressive music, punk, outsider, and sunshine pop. Since the 1980s, his influence has extended to styles such as post-punk, indie rock, emo, dream pop, Shibuya-kei, and chillwave. He received numerous industry awards including two Grammy Awards and Kennedy Center Honors as well as nominations for a Golden Globe Award and Primetime Emmy Award. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1988 and the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2000. His life and career were dramatised in the 2014 biopic Love and Mercy.

Early life and education

Brian Douglas Wilson was born on June 20, 1942, at Centinela Hospital Medical Center in Inglewood, California, the first child of Audree Neva (née Korthof) and Murry Wilson, a machinist who later pursued songwriting part-time.[2][3] Wilson’s two younger brothers, Dennis and Carl, were born in 1944 and 1946.[4] Shortly after Dennis’ birth, the family moved from Inglewood to 3701 West 119th Street in nearby Hawthorne, California.[5][4] Wilson, along with his siblings, suffered psychological and sporadic physical maltreatment from their father.[6] His 2016 memoir characterizes his father as “violent” and “cruel”; however, it also suggests that certain narratives about the mistreatment had been overstated or unfounded.[7]

I got so into The Four Freshmen. I could identify with Bob Flanigan‘s high voice. He taught me how to sing high. I worked for a year on The Four Freshmen with my hi-fi set. I eventually learned every song they did.

—Brian Wilson, 1998[8]

From an early age, Wilson exhibited an aptitude for learning by ear.[9] His father remembered how, after hearing only a few verses of “When the Caissons Go Rolling Along“, the infant Wilson was able to reproduce its melody.[10][nb 1] Murry was a driving force in cultivating his children’s musical talents.[12] Wilson undertook six weeks of accordion lessons, and by ages seven and eight, he performed choir solos at church.[13][nb 2] His choir director declared him to have perfect pitch.[14][11] Wilson owned an educational record titled The Instruments of the Orchestra[15] and was a regular listener of KFWB, his favorite radio station at the time.[16] Carl introduced him to R&B, and their uncle Charlie taught him boogie-woogie piano. Both brothers would frequently stay up listening to Johnny Otis‘ KFOX radio show, incorporating its R&B tracks into their musical lexicon.[17][nb 3]

One of Wilson’s first forays into songwriting, penned when he was nine, was a reinterpretation of the lyrics to Stephen Foster‘s “Oh! Susannah“.[19][nb 4] At age 12, his family acquired an upright piano, and he began teaching himself to play piano by spending hours mastering his favorite songs.[22] He learned how to write manuscript music through a friend of his father.[23] Wilson sang with peers at school functions, as well as with family and friends at home, and guided his two brothers in learning harmony parts, which they would rehearse together. He also played piano obsessively after school, deconstructing the harmonies of the Four Freshmen by listening to short segments of their songs on a phonograph, then working to recreate the blended sounds note by note on the keyboard.[8]

Wilson’s senior yearbook photo, June 1960[24]

In high school, Wilson played quarterback for Hawthorne High‘s football team,[25] played American Legion Baseball,[26][better source needed] and ran cross-country in his senior year.[25] At 15, he briefly worked part-time sweeping at a jewelry store, his only paid employment before his success in music.[27][nb 5] He also cleaned for his father’s machining company, ABLE, on weekends.[29] Wilson auditioned to sing for the Original Sound Record Company’s inaugural record release, but was deemed too young.[30] For his 16th birthday, he received a portable two-track[31] Wollensak tape recorder, allowing him to experiment with recording songs, group vocals, and rudimentary production techniques.[32][33] Wilson involved his friends around the piano and would most frequently harmonize with those from his senior class in these recordings.[34]

For his Senior Problems course in October 1959, Wilson submitted an essay, “My Philosophy”, in which he stated that his ambitions were to “make a name for myself […] in music”.[35] One of Wilson’s earliest public performances was at a fall arts program at his high school. He enlisted his cousin and frequent singing partner Mike Love and, to entice Carl into the group, named the newly formed membership “Carl and the Passions”. They performed songs by Dion and the Belmonts and the Four Freshmen, impressing classmate and musician, Al Jardine.[36] Fred Morgan, Wilson’s high school music teacher, recalled his aptitude for learning Bach and Beethoven at 17.[37]

In September 1960, Wilson enrolled as a psychology major at El Camino College in Los Angeles, also pursuing music.[38] Disappointed by his teachers’ disdain for pop music, he withdrew from college after about 18 months.[39] By his account, he crafted his first entirely original melody, “Surfer Girl“, in 1961, inspired by a Dion and the Belmonts rendition of “When You Wish Upon a Star“. However, his close high school friends disputed his claim, recalling earlier original compositions.[40]

Career

1961–1966: Formation and stardom of the Beach Boys

I wasn’t aware those early songs defined California so well until much later in my career. I certainly didn’t set out to do it. I wasn’t into surfing at all. My brother Dennis gave me all the jargon I needed to write the songs. He was the surfer and I was the songwriter.

—Brian Wilson[41]

The three Wilson brothers, Love, and Jardine debuted their first music group together, called “the Pendletones”, in the autumn of 1961. At Dennis’s suggestion, Brian and Love co-wrote the group’s first song, “Surfin’“.[42] Murry became their manager.[43] Produced by Hite and Dorinda Morgan on Candix Records, “Surfin'” became a hit in Los Angeles and reached 75 on the national Billboard sales charts.[44] However, the group’s name was changed by Candix Records to the Beach Boys.[45] Their major live debut was at the Ritchie Valens Memorial Dance on New Year’s Eve, 1961. Just days earlier, Wilson had received an electric bass from his father and quickly learned to play, prompting Jardine to switch to rhythm guitar.[46] When Candix Records faced financial difficulties and sold the Beach Boys’ master recordings to another label, Murry ended their contract. As “Surfin'” faded from the charts, Wilson collaborated with local musician Gary Usher to produce demo recordings for new tracks, including “409” and “Surfin’ Safari“. Capitol Records were persuaded to release the demos as a single, achieving a double-sided national hit.[47]

Brian Wilson is the Beach Boys. He is the band. We’re his fucking messengers. He is all of it. Period. We’re nothing. He’s everything.

—Dennis Wilson[48]

In 1962, Wilson and the Beach Boys signed a seven-year contract with Capitol Records under producer Nick Venet.[49][50] During sessions for their debut album, Surfin’ Safari, Wilson negotiated with Capitol to record the band outside the label’s basement studios, which he deemed ill-suited for his group.[51][nb 6] At Wilson’s insistence, Capitol permitted the Beach Boys to fund their own external sessions while retaining all rights to the recordings.[51] He also secured production control over the album, though he was not credited for this role in the liner notes.[51][52]

Inspired by producer Phil Spector, whose work with the Teddy Bears he admired, Wilson sought to emulate Spector’s career path.[53][54] Wilson reflected, “I’ve always felt I was a behind-the-scenes man, rather than an entertainer.”[55] Collaborating with songwriter Gary Usher, he composed numerous songs patterned after the Teddy Bears’ style and produced records for local talent, though without commercial breakthrough.[56] His first uncredited production outside the Beach Boys was Rachel and the Revolvers’ “The Revo-Lution”, co-written with Usher and released by Dot Records in September.[57] Interference from Wilson’s father eventually led to the dissolution of his partnership with Usher.[58][59] By mid-1962, Wilson was writing with disc jockey Roger Christian,[60] whom he met via Murry or Usher,[61] and with guitarist Bob Norberg, who later became his roommate.[62] In October 1962, Safari Records—a short-lived label founded by Murry[63]—released the single “The Surfer Moon” by Bob & Sheri, the first record to credit Brian as producer.[64][65] The label’s only other release was Bob & Sheri’s “Humpty Dumpty”,[66] with both songs written by Wilson.[67]

Wilson (top) with his brothers Carl (middle) and Dennis (bottom) at a Beach Boys photoshoot, early 1963[68]

From January to March 1963, Wilson produced the Beach Boys’ second album, Surfin’ U.S.A., limiting his public appearances with the group to television gigs and local shows to prioritize studio work.[69] David Marks substituted for him on vocals during other performances.[70] In March, Capitol released “Surfin’ U.S.A.“, the Beach Boys’ first top-ten single.[71] The accompanying album peaked at number two on the Billboard charts by July, cementing the Beach Boys as a major commercial act.[3] Against Venet’s wishes, Wilson collaborated with artists outside Capitol, including the Liberty Records duo Jan and Dean.[72] Wilson co-wrote “Surf City” with Jan Berry, which topped U.S. charts in July 1963, his first composition to do so.[73] The song’s success revitalized Jan and Dean’s faltering career.[74] Capitol and Wilson’s father disapproved of the collaboration; Murry demanded his son cease working with the duo, though they continued to appear on each other’s recordings.[73]

Around this time, Wilson began producing the Rovell Sisters, a girl group consisting of sisters Marilyn and Diane Rovell and their cousin Ginger Blake, whom he met at a Beach Boys concert the previous August.[75] Wilson pitched the group to Capitol as “the Honeys”, a female counterpart to the Beach Boys. The company released several Honeys records as singles, though they sold poorly.[76] He grew close to the Rovell family and resided primarily at their home through 1963 and 1964.[77] The group’s fourth single “He’s a Doll“, released in April 1964,[78] exemplified his attempts to become an entrepreneurial producer like Spector.[79]

Wilson at a Beach Boys photoshoot, 1964

Wilson was first officially credited as the Beach Boys’ producer on their album Surfer Girl, recorded in June and July 1963 and released that September.[80] This LP reached number seven on the national charts, with similarly successful singles.[81] He also produced the car-themed album Little Deuce Coupe, released just three weeks after Surfer Girl.[82] Still resistant to touring, Jardine was his live substitute. By late 1963, Marks’ departure necessitated Wilson’s return to the touring lineup.[82][83] By the end of the year, Wilson had written, arranged, or produced 42 songs for other acts.[74][nb 7] Throughout 1964, Wilson toured internationally with the Beach Boys while writing and producing their albums Shut Down Volume 2 (March), All Summer Long (June), and The Beach Boys’ Christmas Album (November).[85] Following a particularly stressful Australasian tour in early 1964, the group dismissed Murry as their manager.[86] Murry maintained occasional contact with Wilson, offering unsolicited advice on the group’s business decisions.[87] Wilson also continued to solicit his father’s opinions on musical matters.[88]

In February, Beatlemania swept the U.S., a development that deeply concerned Wilson, who felt the Beach Boys’ supremacy had been threatened by the British Invasion.[89][90] Reflecting in 1966, he said, “The Beatles invasion shook me up a lot. […] So we stepped on the gas a little bit.”[78] The Beach Boys’ May 1964 single “I Get Around“, their first U.S. number-one hit, is identified by scholar James Perone as representing both a successful response to the British Invasion and the beginning of an unofficial rivalry between Wilson and the Beatles, principally Paul McCartney.[91] The B-side, “Don’t Worry Baby“, was cited by Wilson in a 1970 interview as “Probably the best record we’ve done”.[92] By late 1964, Wilson faced mounting psychological strain from career pressures.[93] He began distancing himself from the Beach Boys’ surf-themed material, which had ceased following the All Summer Long track “Don’t Back Down“.[94] During the group’s first major European tour, a reporter asked how he had felt about originating the surfing sound, to which he responded by saying he had aimed to “produce a sound that teens dig, and that can be applied to any theme.”[95] Exhausted by his self-described “Mr Everything” role, he later expressed feeling mentally drained and unable to rest.[96] Adding to his concerns were the group’s “business operations” and the quality of their records, which he believed suffered from this arrangement.[97]

Wilson performing “Dance, Dance, Dance” with the Beach Boys at NBC TV studio, December 18, 1964[98]

On December 23, 1964, Wilson was to accompany his bandmates for a two-week U.S. tour, but during a flight from Los Angeles to Houston, he experienced a breakdown, sobbing uncontrollably due to stress over his recent marriage to Marilyn Rovell.[99][100] Jardine recalled, “None of us had ever witnessed something like that.”[99] Wilson played the show in Houston later that day, but was replaced by session musician Glen Campbell for the rest of the tour.[101][nb 8] Wilson, speaking in 1966, described it as “the first of a series of three breakdowns”.[97] When the group resumed recording their next album in January 1965, Wilson declared that he would be withdrawing from future tours.[102][103] Wilson attributed his decision partly to a “fucked up” jealousy of Spector and the Beatles.[104][nb 9]

Campbell continued substituting for Wilson on tour until February 1965, after which Wilson produced Campbell’s solo single, “Guess I’m Dumb“, as a gesture of appreciation. Columbia Records staff producer Bruce Johnston was subsequently hired as Wilson’s permanent touring replacement.[108][nb 10]

With his bandmates frequently touring, Wilson grew socially distant from the Beach Boys.[110] In late 1964, he had relocated to an apartment at 7235 Hollywood Boulevard, where he began cultivating a new social circle through music industry connections.[111] Biographer Steven Gaines writes that this period marked Wilson’s first independence from familial oversight, allowing friendships without “parental interference”.[112] Wilson befriended talent agent Loren Schwartz, whom he met at a Hollywood studio.[112] Through Schwartz, Wilson engaged with literature on philosophy and world religions, sparking his interest in mystical topics.[113][114] Schwartz also introduced Wilson to marijuana and hashish; his habitual use of these substances, combined with his frequent visits to Schwartz’s apartment, contributed to marital tensions with his wife Marilyn.[115] His first song composed under the influence of marijuana was “Please Let Me Wonder” (1965).[116]

[In 1965] I had what I consider to be a very religious experience. I took LSD, a full dose of LSD, and later, another time, I took a smaller dose. And I learned a lot of things, like patience, understanding. I can’t teach you, or tell you what I learned from taking it.

—Brian Wilson, 1966[117][118]

A view of Los Angeles from Beverly Hills, where Wilson took residence in late 1965

Throughout 1965, Wilson’s musical ambitions progressed significantly with the albums The Beach Boys Today! (March) and Summer Days (And Summer Nights!!) (June).[119] Weeks after relocating to an apartment on West Hollywood‘s Gardner Street with his wife early in the year, Wilson took LSD for the first time under Schwartz’s supervision..[120] Wilson later said of the experience, “it just tore my head off. […] You just come to grips with what you are, what you can do [and] can’t do, and learn to face it.”[97] During the experience, he composed portions of the Beach Boys’ single “California Girls“.[121] He later described the session for the song’s backing track, held on April 6, as his “favorite”, and the opening orchestral section as “the greatest piece of music that I’ve ever written.”[122] However, he attributed persistent paranoia later that year to his LSD use.[123] After unsuccessful efforts to distance Wilson from Schwartz, Marilyn temporarily separated from him.[122][124] She later reflected on the strain caused by his drug-associated social circle, stating, “He was not the same Brian… These people were very hurtful, and I tried to get that through to Brian.”[125] The couple soon reconciled,[126] and, in late 1965, moved into a newly purchased home at 1448 Laurel Way in Beverly Hills.[127][nb 11]

Wilson recalled that after relocating to his Beverly Hills home, he experienced an unexpected surge of creativity, working for hours to develop new musical ideas. He acknowledged heavy drug use, stating, “I was taking […] a lot of pills, and it fouled me up for a while. It got me really introspective”.[129] Over five months, he planned an album that would elevate his music to “a spiritual level”.[129]

Wilson with engineer Chuck Britz recording Pet Sounds, early 1966

In December 1965, Wilson enlisted jingle writer Tony Asher as his lyricist for the Beach Boys’ next album, Pet Sounds (May 1966).[130] He produced most of the album between January and April 1966 across multiple Hollywood studios, mainly employing his bandmates for singing vocal parts and session musicians for the backing tracks.[131] Reflecting on the album, Wilson highlighted the instrumental “Let’s Go Away for Awhile” as his “most satisfying piece of music” at the time and “I Just Wasn’t Made for These Times” as a partially autobiographical song “about a guy who was crying because he thought he was too advanced”.[132][133] In a 1995 interview, he called “Caroline, No” “probably the best [song] I’ve ever written.”[133]

The thing that I remember the most is that when Pet Sounds wasn’t as quickly a hit or as huge or an immediate success, it really destroyed Brian. He just lost a lot of faith in people and music.

—Wilson’s first wife Marilyn[134]

The album’s lead single, “Caroline, No”, released in March 1966, became Wilson’s first solo credit,[135] sparking speculation about his potential departure from the Beach Boys.[136] Wilson later said, “I explained to [the group], ‘It’s OK. It is only a temporary rift […] I wanted to step out a little bit.'”[135] The single peaked at number 32, while Pet Sounds reached number 10.[137] Wilson was “mortified” that his artistic growth had failed to translate into a number-one album.[138] Marilyn stated, “When it wasn’t received by the public the way he thought it would be received, it made him hold back. … but he didn’t stop. He couldn’t stop. He needed to create more.”[134]

Wilson met Derek Taylor, the Beatles’ former press officer, who became the Beach Boys’ publicist in 1966. At Wilson’s request, Taylor launched a media campaign to elevate his public image, promoting him as a “genius”.[139][140] Taylor’s reputation and outreach bolstered the album’s critical success in the UK.[139][140][141] However, Wilson later expressed resentment toward the “genius” label, which he felt heightened unrealistic expectations for his work.[142][143] Bandmates including Mike Love and Carl Wilson also grew frustrated as media coverage increasingly centered on Wilson, overshadowing the group’s collaborative efforts.[144]

Wilson in late 1966

Through late 1966, Wilson worked extensively on the Beach Boys’ single “Good Vibrations“, which topped the U.S. charts in December, and began collaborating with session musician Van Dyke Parks on Smile, the planned follow-up to Pet Sounds.[145] Wilson touted Smile as a “teenage symphony to God”[146] and his expanding circle increasingly influenced his business and creative affairs.[147] Parks said that, eventually, “it wasn’t just Brian and me in a room; it was Brian and me … and all kinds of self-interested people pulling him in various directions.”[148] Television producer David Oppenheim, who visited Wilson’s home while filming the 1967 documentary Inside Pop: The Rock Revolution, characterized the attended scenes as “a playpen of irresponsible people.”[149]

1967–1973: Home studio transition and reduced activity

Bel Air, Los Angeles, where Wilson relocated to in April 1967 and set up a home studio.[150]

Smile was never finished, due in large part to Wilson’s worsening mental condition and exhaustion.[146] Associates often cite late 1966 as a turning point, coinciding with erratic behavior during sessions for the track “Fire” (or “Mrs. O’Leary’s Cow”).[151] In April 1967, Wilson and his wife relocated to a newly purchased mansion on 10452 Bellagio Road in Bel Air.[150][152][nb 12] There, Wilson began constructing a personal home studio.[150] By this time, most of his recent associates had departed or been excluded from his life.[154]

When I was younger, I was a real competitor. Then as I got older, I said, “Is it worth the bullshit? To compete like that?” And I said, “Nah.” For a while there, I just said, “Hey, I’m going to coast. I’m going to make real nice music. Nothing competitive.”

—Brian Wilson, 1994[155]

In May, Derek Taylor announced that Smile had been “scrapped”.[156] Wilson explained in a 1968 interview, “We pulled out […] because I was about ready to die. I was trying so hard. So, all of a sudden I decided not to try any more.”[157] That July, the Beach Boys released “Heroes and Villains” as a single; its mixed critical and commercial reception further strained Wilson’s morale, with biographers citing it as a factor in his professional and psychological decline.[158][159] He later acknowledged that upholding his industry reputation “was a really big thing for me” and that he had grown weary of demands to produce “great orchestral stuff all the time”.[160]

Beginning with Smiley Smile (September 1967), the band shifted recording operations to Wilson’s studio, where they worked intermittently until 1972. The album marked the first time production was credited to the group collectively instead of Wilson alone.[161][162] Producer Terry Melcher attributed this change to Wilson’s reluctance to risk individual scrutiny, saying he no longer wanted to “put his stamp on records”.[163] In August 1967, Wilson briefly rejoined the band for two live performances in Honolulu, recorded for an unfinished live album titled Lei’d in Hawaii.[164]

Wilson produced recordings for the band Redwood, later known as Three Dog Night (pictured 1969).

During sessions for Wild Honey (December 1967), Wilson encouraged his brother Carl to contribute more to the record-making process.[142] He also began producing tracks for Danny Hutton‘s group Redwood, recording three songs including “Time to Get Alone” and “Darlin’“, but the project was halted by Carl and Mike Love, who urged Brian to prioritize Beach Boys commitments.[165] The band’s June 1968 album Friends was recorded during a period of emotional recovery for Wilson.[166] While the album featured increased contributions from other members, Wilson remained central, even on tracks he did not write.[167] He later described Friends as his second “solo album” (after Pet Sounds)[168] and his favorite Beach Boys album.[169][166]

For the remainder of 1968, Wilson’s songwriting output declined substantially, as did his emotional state, leading him to self-medicate with overconsumption of food, alcohol, and drugs.[170] As the Beach Boys faced impending financial collapse, he began to supplement his regular amphetamines and marijuana with cocaine,[171] which Hutton had introduced to him.[172] Hutton later stated that Wilson expressed suicidal ideation during this period, describing it as the onset of Wilson’s “real decline”.[171]

In mid-1968, Wilson was admitted to a psychiatric hospital, possibly voluntarily.[173] His hospitalization was kept private, and his bandmates proceeded with recording sessions for 20/20 (February 1969).[173] Once discharged later in the year, Wilson rarely finished any tracks for the band, leaving much of his subsequent output for Carl to complete.[174] Journalist Nik Cohn wrote in 1968 that Wilson had become the subject of rumors describing him as “increasingly withdrawn”, “brooding”, and “hermitic” [sic], with occasional sightings of him “in the back of some limousine, cruising around Hollywood, bleary and unshaven, huddled way tight into himself.”[175]

Brian went through a period where he would write songs and play them for a few people in his living room, and that’s the last you’d hear of them. He would disappear back up to his bedroom and the song with him.

—Bruce Johnston[176][174]

Wilson typically stayed secluded upstairs while the group recorded below, joining sessions only to suggest revisions to music he had overheard.[177] He occasionally emerged from his bedroom to preview new songs for the group. Melcher likened these appearances to Aesop delivering a new fable.[176][174] Journalist Brian Chidester later coined the term “Bedroom Tapes” to refer to Wilson’s unreleased output between 1968 and 1975, most of which remains unheard publicly.[174]

According to Mike Love, Wilson had “lost interest in the mechanical aspect” of recording, deferring technical work to Carl.[178] Band engineer Stephen Desper said that Brian remained “indirectly involved” with the group’s productions through Carl[179] and that Brian’s reduced contributions stemmed from “limited hours in the day”, as well as his aversion to confrontation: “Brian […] doesn’t like to hurt anyone’s feelings, so if someone’s working on something else, he wasn’t going to jump in there and say, ‘Look, this is my production and my house, so get outta here!'”[180] Conversely, Dennis stated that Brian had “no involvement at all” with the band beginning with the 20/20 sessions, forcing them to salvage and assemble fragments of his earlier work.[181][nb 13] Marilyn recalled that her husband withdrew because of perceived resentment from the group: “It was like, ‘OK, you assholes, you think you can do as good as me or whatever—go ahead—you do it. You think it’s so easy? You do it.'”[155]

Early in 1969, the Beach Boys commenced recording Sunflower (August 1970).[182] Wilson contributed numerous songs, though most were excluded from the final track selection.[180] He co-wrote and produced the single “Break Away” with his father in early 1969, after which he largely withdrew from studio work until August.[183] The group faced difficulties securing a new record deal, attributed by Gaines to Wilson’s diminished standing in the industry.[184] In May 1969, Wilson disclosed the band’s near-bankruptcy to reporters, which derailed negotiations with Deutsche Grammophon and nearly jeopardized their upcoming European tour.[185][186] That July, he opened a short-lived health food store, the Radiant Radish, with cousin Steve Korthof and associate Arny Geller.[187]

In August, the Beach Boys’ publishing company, Sea of Tunes, sold their song catalog to Irving Almo Music for $700,000 ($6 million in 2024).[188] Wilson signed the consent form under pressure from his father.[189] Marilyn later stated that the sale emotionally devastated him: “It killed him. Killed him. I don’t think he talked for days. […] Brian took it as Murry not believing in him anymore.”[190] During this period, Wilson reportedly engaged in self-destructive behavior, including an attempt to drive off a cliff and a demand to be buried in a backyard grave he had dug.[191][nb 14] He channeled his despondence into writing “‘Til I Die“, later calling the song a summation of “everything I had to say at the time.”[193]

Later in 1969, Wilson produced poet Stephen Kalinich‘s spoken-word album A World of Peace Must Come.[194][183] That November, the Beach Boys signed to Reprise Records, a subsidiary of Warner Bros.,[195] with contractual terms requiring Wilson’s active participation in their albums.[196][nb 15] In March 1970, Wilson briefly substituted for Mike Love on tour.[198] In April, he attempted to produce a country and western album for co-manager Fred Vail, later known as Cows in the Pasture.[199]

Wilson in a 1971 Billboard advertisement for Surf’s Up

Wilson’s disappointment over the poor commercial reception of Sunflower[200] led him to reduce his contributions to subsequent Beach Boys recordings.[201] Bruce Johnston described his involvement in the Surf’s Up sessions (August 1971) as that of “a visitor”.[202] In November 1970, Wilson performed with the band at the Whisky a Go Go for one-and-a-half dates. Intense discomfort forced him to leave mid-performance during the second show.[203][nb 16] Following this experience, he told Melody Maker that although he was “quite happy living at home”, he felt less creative and less engaged with the band. He described himself as “a kind of drop-out”.[204] In September 1971, Wilson told a reporter he had recently returned to arranging rather than writing.[205] In December, at a Long Beach concert, manager Jack Rieley persuaded Wilson to perform with the Beach Boys, though his appearance lasted only minutes.[206]

From late 1971 to early 1972, Wilson and musician David Sandler collaborated on Spring, the first album by Marilyn Wilson and Diane Rovell’s new group, American Spring.[178] As with much of his work in this period, the extent of his contributions varied,[207] but it was his most involved production effort since Friends in 1968.[208] During the recording of Carl and the Passions (April 1972), Wilson rarely left his bedroom, though Blondie Chaplin recalled, “when he came down his contribution was amazing.”[209] Wilson’s unavailability was such that his image had to be superimposed into the group portrait included in the record sleeve.[210][nb 17]

During the summer of 1972, Wilson joined his bandmates when they temporarily relocated to Holland after persistent persuasion.[211] Residing in a Dutch house known as “Flowers” and repeatedly listening to Randy Newman‘s album Sail Away, he was inspired to write a fairy tale, Mount Vernon and Fairway, drawing on memories of listening to the radio at Mike Love’s family home in his youth.[212] The group declined to include the fairy tale on their next album, Holland (January 1973), and instead released it as a bonus EP packaged with the album.[213] That April, Wilson briefly joined his bandmates onstage during an encore at the Hollywood Palladium.[214]

1973–1975: Recluse period

I was taking some drugs and I experimented myself right out of action. […] I’d sometimes go and record. But basically I just stayed in my bedroom. I was under the sheets and I watched television.

—Brian Wilson[215]

After his father’s death in June 1973, Wilson secluded himself in the chauffeur’s quarters of his home, where he spent his time sleeping, abusing drugs and alcohol, overeating, and exhibiting self-destructive behavior.[216] He rarely ventured outside wearing anything but pajamas and later said that his father’s death “had a lot to do with my retreating”.[217] Wilson’s family were eventually forced to take control of his financial affairs due to his irresponsible drug expenditures.[218][219][nb 18] This led Wilson to occasionally wander the city, begging for rides, drugs, and alcohol.[219]

According to Wilson, from 1974 to 1975, his output was confined to minimal, fragmentary recordings, due to a diminished capacity for sustained concentration.[220] He elaborated that he had been preoccupied with snorting cocaine, reading magazines such as Playboy and Penthouse,[221] and “hanging out with Danny Hutton”, whose Laurel Canyon house had become the center of Wilson’s social life.[222] Although increasingly reclusive during the day, Wilson spent many nights at Hutton’s house fraternizing with colleagues such as Alice Cooper and Iggy Pop.[223][224][nb 19] Other visitors of Hutton’s home included Harry Nilsson, John Lennon, Ringo Starr and Keith Moon.[223][nb 20] On several occasions, Marilyn Wilson sent her friends to climb Hutton’s fence and retrieve her husband.[222] In 1974, Wilson interrupted a set by jazz musician Larry Coryell at The Troubadour by leaping on stage and singing “Be-Bop-A-Lula” while wearing slippers and a bathrobe.[227]

Many reported anecdotes involving Wilson in the early 1970s, though frequently of questionable veracity, attained a legendary status.[219] Recalling Wilson’s wellbeing at the time, John Sebastian said, “It wasn’t all grimness.”[228] Jeff Foskett, then a Beach Boys fan who had visited Wilson’s home unannounced, similarly commented that Wilson had responded cordially to the visit and had belied the popular myths surrounding him.[229] Wilson also participated in some recording sessions for Nilsson’s “Salmon Falls“[230] and Keith Moon’s solo album, Two Sides of the Moon.[231]

The Beach Boys’ greatest hits compilation Endless Summer was a surprise success, becoming the band’s second number-one U.S. album in October 1974. To take advantage of their sudden resurgence in popularity, Wilson agreed to join his bandmates in Colorado for the recording of a new album at James William Guercio‘s Caribou Ranch studio.[232] The group completed a few tracks, including “Child of Winter (Christmas Song)“, but ultimately abandoned the project.[233] Released as a single at the end of December 1974, “Child of Winter” was their first record that displayed the credit “Produced by Brian Wilson” since 1966.[234]

Early in 1975, while still under contract with Warner Bros., Wilson signed a short-lived sideline production deal with Bruce Johnston and Terry Melcher’s Equinox Records. Together, they founded the loose-knit supergroup known as California Music, which also involved Gary Usher, Curt Boettcher, and other Los Angeles musicians.[216] Along with his guest appearances on Johnny Rivers‘ rendition of “Help Me, Rhonda” and Jackie DeShannon‘s “Boat to Sail“, Wilson’s production of California Music’s single “Why Do Fools Fall in Love” represents his only “serious” work throughout this period.[235]

1975–1982: Return to music and substance abuse issues

Wilson’s increased consumption of food, cigarettes, alcohol, and other drugs—including heroin—strained his marriage to Marilyn, who threatened divorce or institutionalization.[216] His weight reached 240 pounds (110 kg).[236][237] In 1975, to address his declining health, band manager Stephen Love appointed his brother Stan, a professional basketball player, as Wilson’s bodyguard, trainer, and caretaker.[238][239] A family intervention involving the band’s lawyers and accountants was arranged to remind Wilson of his contractual obligation to write and produce for the Beach Boys.[238] According to Stan, Wilson’s growing resentment had led him to frequently announce his withdrawal from the Beach Boys, but his bandmates persisted.[238] Although Stan improved Wilson’s health over several months, he soon returned to his NBA commitments.[238] Wilson entered psychologist Eugene Landy’s intensive 24-hour therapy program in October.[240][241]

Wilson producing 15 Big Ones in early 1976

Under Landy’s care, Wilson stabilized and became more socially engaged, renewing his productivity.[242][243] In 1976, the slogan “Brian’s Back!” was widely used to promote the Beach Boys’ concert tours and the July release of 15 Big Ones, the first album since Pet Sounds to list Wilson as the sole producer.[244][245] Recording sessions were tense, as his bandmates opposed his proposal for a covers album and questioned his readiness to lead studio proceedings.[246] The album ultimately featured a mix of covers and original material.[246]

Beginning on July 2, 1976, Wilson resumed regular performances with the band for the first time since 1964, singing and alternating between bass guitar and piano.[247][248][nb 21] In August, he toured outside California for the first time since 1970.[249] NBC premiered a Lorne Michaels–produced television special, titled The Beach Boys, featuring recent concert footage, interviews, and a comedy sketch with Wilson alongside NBC’s Saturday Night cast members Dan Aykroyd and John Belushi.[250][nb 22] Despite the promotional success of “Brian’s Back!”, the campaign was controversial. Wilson’s remarks in interviews implied he had not fully recovered from his addictions; on one occasion, he remarked that he “felt like a prisoner.”[229] A concert reviewer noted that he “seemed uncomfortable on stage” and contributed “nil”.[252]

That’s when it all happened for me. That’s where my heart lies. Love You, Jesus, that’s the best album we ever made.

—Brian Wilson, 1998[253]

From October 1976 to January 1977, Wilson produced a collection of recordings largely on his own while his bandmates pursued other creative and personal endeavors.[254] Released in April 1977, The Beach Boys Love You was the band’s first album to feature Wilson as the primary composer since Wild Honey in 1967.[255] Originally titled Brian Loves You,[256] the album showcased Wilson playing nearly every instrument.[257] Band engineer Earle Mankey described it as Wilson’s effort to create a “serious, autobiographical” work.[258] In a 1998 interview, Wilson listed 15 Big Ones and Love You as his two favorite Beach Boys albums.[253]

At the end of 1976, Wilson’s family and management dismissed Landy after he raised his monthly fee to $20,000 ($111,000 in 2024).[259] Shortly afterward, Wilson told a journalist he considered the treatment successful.[260] Landy’s role was immediately assumed by his cousins, Steve Korthof and Stan Love, and professional model Rocky Pamplin—a college friend of Stan.[261] Under their supervision, Wilson maintained a healthy, drug-free lifestyle for several months.[262]

In early 1977, Wilson produced Adult/Child, intended as the follow-up to Love You, but some bandmates voiced concerns about the work, leading to its non-release.[263] In March, the Beach Boys signed with CBS Records, whose contract required Wilson to compose most of the material for all subsequent albums. According to Gaines, Wilson was distraught at the prospect.[264] In reference to the sessions for M.I.U. Album (October 1978), Wilson described experiencing a “mental blank-out”.[265] He was credited as the album’s “executive producer”.[266] Stan noted that Wilson was “depressed”[267] and reluctant to write with Mike, though Mike persisted.[268] Around this time, Wilson attempted to produce an album for Pamplin that would have featured the Honeys as backing vocalists.[269]

Wilson in a 1977 publicity shot

After a disastrous Australian tour in 1978, Wilson regressed and began secretly acquiring cocaine and barbiturates.[270][269] In mid-1978, following an overdose, he hitchhiked in West Hollywood, eventually arriving at a gay bar where he played piano for drinks.[271] A bar patron then drove him to Mexico, after which he hitchhiked to San Diego.[272] Days later, police found him in Balboa Park without shoes, money, or a wallet, and he was taken to Alvarado Hospital to detox from alcohol poisoning.[273][274] Wilson rejoined his bandmates for the recording of L.A. (Light Album) (March 1979), but after producing demos and early recordings, he asked that Bruce Johnston take over the project.[275]

With his marriage unraveling, Wilson left his mansion in Beverly Hills for a modest home on Sunset Boulevard, where his alcoholism worsened.[276] After attacking his doctor, he was institutionalized at Brotzman Memorial Hospital[277][278]—initially admitted in November 1978 for three months, discharged for one month, then readmitted.[279] In January 1979, while hospitalized, his caregivers Stan Love and Rocky Pamplin were dismissed.[280] Wilson was released in March.[281] He rented a house in Santa Monica and was cared for by a “round-the-clock” psychiatric nursing team.[282] Later, he purchased a home in Pacific Palisades.[283] Although his bandmates urged him to produce their next album, Keepin’ the Summer Alive (March 1980), he was unable or unwilling to do so.[284][285]

Dennis (pictured) collaborated with Brian on unreleased material in the early 1980s

Wilson continued his overeating and drug habits.[286] To motivate Wilson in his musical endeavors, Dennis occasionally provided him with McDonald’s hamburgers and cocaine.[286][287] Jon Stebbins‘ biography of Dennis describes clandestine recording sessions between the brothers, which were hidden due to efforts by “certain members of the Beach Boys clan” to keep them apart. Discovering their collaboration often led to a halt in the proceedings.[288] Bootlegged tapes of the brothers’ collaborations—produced in 1980 and 1981 at the Venice Beach home studio of musicologist and film executive Garby Leon—later became known among fans as the “cocaine sessions” or “hamburger sessions”.[289]

In early 1981, Pamplin and Stan Love were convicted of assaulting Dennis after learning he had been providing Wilson with drugs.[290] In early 1982, Wilson signed a trust document granting Carl control of his finances and voting power in the band’s corporate structure, and he was involuntarily admitted for a three-day stay at St. John’s Hospital in Santa Monica.[291] By the end of the year, his weight exceeded 340 pounds (150 kg).[292]

1982–1991: Second Landy intervention

In 1982, after overdosing on alcohol, cocaine, and other drugs,[293] Wilson’s family and management staged an elaborate ruse to persuade him to reenter Landy’s program.[294][295] On November 5, the group falsely informed Wilson that he was destitute and no longer a Beach Boy, insisting he reenlist Landy as his caretaker to continue receiving his touring income.[294] Landy agreed to resume treatment only if granted complete control over Wilson’s affairs and promised rehabilitation within two years.[296]

Wilson performing with the Beach Boys in 1983

Wilson acquiesced and was taken to Hawaii, where he was isolated from friends and family and placed on a strict diet and health regimen.[297][298] Combined with counseling sessions that retaught him basic social etiquette, the treatment restored his physical health.[299] By March 1983, he had returned to Los Angeles and was moved, under Landy’s direction, to a Malibu home where he lived with several of Landy’s aides and was cut off from many of his own friends and family.[300]

Between 1983 and 1986, Landy charged approximately $430,000 annually ($1.36 million in 2024). When he requested additional funds, Carl Wilson was obliged to allocate a quarter of Brian’s publishing royalties.[293] Landy gradually assumed the role of Wilson’s creative and financial partner, eventually representing him at Brother Records, Inc. corporate meetings.[301][302] Landy was accused of creating a Svengali-like environment by controlling every aspect of Wilson’s life—including his musical direction.[303] Wilson countered these claims, stating, “People say that Dr. Landy runs my life, but the truth is, I’m in charge.”[304] He later claimed that in mid-1985 he attempted suicide by swimming as far out to sea as possible before one of Landy’s aides retrieved him.[305]

As Wilson’s recovery consolidated, he participated in recording The Beach Boys (June 1985),[306] a release touted as his “comeback”.[307] He then curtailed regular collaborations with the band to pursue a solo career under Landy’s guidance.[304] In 1986, he worked with former collaborator Gary Usher at Usher’s studio, producing roughly a dozen songs—most unreleased[308]—with one track, “Let’s Go to Heaven in My Car“, appearing on the Police Academy 3 (1986) soundtrack.[305] This body of work became known as “the Wilson Project“.[308]

“Love and Mercy” from Brian Wilson (1988)

Duration: 28 seconds.0:28

Wilson described “Love and Mercy” as a “personal message from me to people.”[309]

Problems playing this file? See media help.

Wilson occasionally rejoined his bandmates on stage and performed his first ever solo gigs at several charity concerts around Los Angeles.[310] In January 1987, he accepted a solo contract from Sire Records president Seymour Stein, mandated co-production by multi-instrumentalist Andy Paley to keep Wilson focused.[305][308] In return, Landy was allowed to serve as executive producer.[305] Other producers, including Russ Titelman and Lenny Waronker, soon joined the project, and conflicts with Landy emerged.[311]

Released in July 1988, Brian Wilson received favorable reviews and moderate sales, peaking at number 52 in the U.S.[308][312] The album featured “Rio Grande“, an eight-minute Western suite reminiscent of songs from Smile.[313] Its release was largely overshadowed by the controversy surrounding Landy and the success of the Beach Boys’ “Kokomo“, their first number-one hit since “Good Vibrations” and the first without Wilson’s involvement.[314] By 1990, Wilson was estranged from the Beach Boys, with his bandmates scheduling recording sessions without him and twice rejecting his offers to produce an album, according to Brother Records president Elliot Lott.[315]

In 1989, Wilson and Landy formed the company Brains and Genius. By then, Landy was no longer legally recognized as Wilson’s therapist and had surrendered his California psychology license.[316] Together, they worked on Wilson’s second solo album, Sweet Insanity, with Landy co-writing nearly all the material.[317] Sire rejected the album due to Landy’s lyrics and the inclusion of Wilson’s rap song “Smart Girls“.[308] In May 1989, Wilson recorded “Daddy’s Little Girl” for the film She’s Out of Control, and in June, he was among the featured guests on the charity single “The Spirit of the Forest”.[308]

In October 1991, Wilson published his first memoir, Wouldn’t It Be Nice: My Own Story.[318] Biographer Peter Ames Carlin noted that the book plagiarized excerpts from earlier biographies and ranged from harsh criticisms of his bandmates to passages resembling legal depositions.[318] The memoir prompted defamation lawsuits from Mike Love, Al Jardine, Carl Wilson, and his mother, Audree Wilson.[319][320] After a conservatorship suit filed by his family in May 1991, Wilson and Landy’s partnership was dissolved in December, followed by a restraining order.[319]

1992–2009: Career resurgence and touring

Throughout the 1990s, Wilson was embroiled in numerous lawsuits.[319] In August 1989, he had filed a $100 million suit against Irving Music to reclaim song publishing rights sold by his father decades earlier.[308] He did not regain the rights, but secured a $10 million out-of-court settlement in April 1992.[319] The next month, Wilson was sued by Mike Love over long-neglected royalties and songwriting credits. In December 1994, a jury ruled in favor of Love, awarding him $5 million and a share of future royalties from Wilson.[321] In September 1995, Wilson sued his former conservator, Jerome Billet, seeking $10 million for alleged failures in supervising the lawyers handling the Irving Music and Love lawsuits.[322] According to his second wife Melinda, when they married in 1995, Wilson was entangled in nine separate lawsuits, many unresolved until the early 2000s.[323]

Wilson’s productivity had increased significantly after his disassociation from Landy.[324] He and Andy Paley composed and recorded a substantial body of material intended for a proposed Beach Boys album throughout the early to mid-1990s.[325] Concurrently, Wilson collaborated with musician Don Was on the documentary Brian Wilson: I Just Wasn’t Made for These Times (1995), whose soundtrack—comprising rerecorded Beach Boys songs—was released in August as his second solo album.[326][327]

In 1993, Wilson agreed to record an album of songs by Van Dyke Parks,[328] which was credited to the duo and released as Orange Crate Art in October 1995.[327][329] In the late 1990s, Wilson and Tony Asher rekindled their writing partnership,[330] and one of their songs, “Everything I Need”, appeared on The Wilsons (1997)—a project by his daughters Carnie and Wendy that included select contributions from Wilson.[330]

At his wife’s behest, Wilson worked on adult contemporary music projects with former wrestler Joe Thomas (pictured 2017)[331]

Although some recordings with the Beach Boys were completed, the Wilson–Paley project was eventually abandoned.[332] Instead, Wilson co-produced the band’s 1996 album Stars and Stripes Vol. 1 with Joe Thomas, owner of River North Records.[333] In 1997, Wilson relocated to St. Charles, Illinois, to work on a solo project with Thomas.[334] His third solo album, Imagination (June 1998)—which he described as “really a Brian Wilson/Joe Thomas album”—peaked at number 88 in the U.S. and received criticism for its homogenized radio pop sound.[335] Shortly before the album’s release, Wilson lost his brother Carl and their mother Audree.[336]

Some reports from this period suggested that Wilson was exploited by those close to him, including Melinda.[337] His daughter Carnie nicknamed Ledbetter “Melandy”,[331] while family friend Ginger Blake described Wilson as “complacent and basically surrendered”.[338] Mike Love stated his willingness to reunite the Beach Boys with Wilson but remarked that “Brian usually has someone in his life who tells him what to do. And now that person kinda wants to keep him away from us. I don’t know why. You’d have to ask her, I guess.”[337] When asked if he still considered himself a Beach Boy, Wilson responded, “No. Maybe a little bit.”[337] Debate persisted among fans over whether Wilson fully consented to his semi-regular touring schedule through the 2010s.[339][nb 23]

From March to July 1999, Wilson embarked on his first solo tour, playing about a dozen dates in the U.S. and Japan.[341] His supporting band included former Beach Boys touring musician Jeff Foskett (guitar), Wondermints members Darian Sahanaja (keyboards), Nick Walusko (guitar), Mike D’Amico (percussion, drums), and Probyn Gregory (guitar, horns); along with Chicago-based session musicians Scott Bennett (various), Paul Mertens (woodwinds), Bob Lizik (bass), Todd Sucherman (drums), and Taylor Mills (backing vocals).[342][343] He toured the U.S. again in October.[344] In 2000, he stated, “I feel much more comfortable on stage now. I have a good band behind me. It’s a much better band than the Beach Boys were.”[345]

In August 1999, Wilson filed suit against Thomas, seeking damages and a declaration that he could work on his next album without Thomas’s involvement.[346] Thomas counter-sued, alleging that Wilson’s wife had “schemed against and manipulated” him and Wilson; the case was settled out of court.[347]

Early in 2000, Wilson released his first live album, Live at the Roxy Theatre.[348] Later that year, he embarked on U.S. tour dates featuring the first full live performances of Pet Sounds, with Wilson backed by a 55-piece orchestra. Van Dyke Parks was commissioned to write an overture arrangement of Wilson’s songs.[349] Although critics praised the tour, it was poorly attended and resulted in hundreds of thousands of dollars in losses.[348] In March 2001, Wilson attended a tribute show held in his honor at Radio City Music Hall in New York, where he performed “Heroes and Villains” publicly for the first time in decades.[350][351]

The Pet Sounds tour was followed by one in Europe in 2002, with a sold-out four-night residency at the Royal Festival Hall in London.[352] Recordings from these concerts were issued as the live album Brian Wilson Presents Pet Sounds Live (June 2002).[353] Over the next year, Wilson continued sporadic recording sessions for his fourth solo album, Gettin’ In over My Head.[354] Released in June 2004, the record featured guest appearances from Parks, Paul McCartney, Eric Clapton, and Elton John.[355] Some of the songs were leftovers from Wilson’s collaborations with Paley and Thomas.[356]

Brian Wilson Presents Smile at the Royal Festival Hall in London on February 21, 2004

To the surprise of his associates, Wilson agreed to follow the Pet Sounds tours with concert dates featuring songs from the unfinished Smile album.[357] Sahanaja assisted with sequencing and Parks contributed additional lyrics.[358] Brian Wilson Presents Smile (BWPS) premiered at the Royal Festival Hall in London in February 2004[359] and its positive reception led to a subsequent studio album adaptation.[360] Released in September, BWPS debuted at number 13 on the Billboard 200, the highest chart position for any album by the Beach Boys or Wilson since 1976’s 15 Big Ones[361] and the highest ever debut for a Beach Boys-related album.[362] It was later certified platinum.[363]

In support of BWPS, Wilson embarked on a tour covering the U.S., Europe, and Japan.[364] Sahanaja told Australian Musician, “In six years of touring this is the happiest we’ve ever seen Brian”.[365] In July 2005, Wilson performed at the Live 8 in Berlin, an event watched by about three million viewers on television.[366] In September, he organized a charity drive for Hurricane Katrina victims, raising over $250,000.[367] In November, Mike Love filed a lawsuit alleging that Wilson misappropriated his songs, likeness, the Beach Boys trademark, and the Smile album in connection with BWPS.[368][48] The suit was dismissed.[369]

In October 2005, Arista Records released Wilson’s album What I Really Want for Christmas, featuring two new originals by Wilson.[370] To celebrate the 40th anniversary of Pet Sounds, he toured the album briefly in November 2006 with Al Jardine.[371][372] In 2007, the Southbank Centre in London commissioned Wilson to create a new song cycle in the style of Smile. Collaborating with Scott Bennett, Wilson reconfigured a collection of recently written songs into That Lucky Old Sun, a semi-autobiographical conceptual piece about California.[373] A studio-recorded version of the work was released as his seventh solo album in September 2008 and received generally favorable reviews.[374][nb 24]

In 2009, Wilson was approached by Walt Disney Records to record a Disney songs album, agreeing only if he could also record an album of George Gershwin songs.[376] The Gershwin project, Brian Wilson Reimagines Gershwin, was released in August 2010, reaching number 26 on the Billboard 200 and topping its Jazz Albums chart. Wilson then toured, performing the album in its entirety.[377] In October 2011, he released In the Key of Disney, which peaked at number 83 in the U.S. This release was soon overshadowed by The Smile Sessions, issued one week later.[378]

2010–2025: Albums, film biopic, and final performances

Wilson performing with the Beach Boys during their brief 2012 reunion

In mid-2011, he reunited with Mike Love, Al Jardine, David Marks, and Bruce Johnston to re-record “Do It Again” in secret for a potential 50th anniversary album.[379] Rumors soon circulated in the music press about a world tour by the group. In a September report, Wilson said he was not participating in the tour with his bandmates, remarking, “I don’t really like working with the guys, but it all depends on how we feel and how much money’s involved. Money’s not the only reason I made records, but it does hold a place in our lives.”[380]

Ultimately, Wilson agreed to the tour—which lasted until September 2012—and to record the album That’s Why God Made the Radio, released in June 2012.[381] By that time, Wilson had renewed his creative partnership with Joe Thomas. Although Wilson was listed as the album’s producer, Thomas was credited with “recording” and Love with “executive producer”.[382]

In June 2013, Wilson’s website announced that he was recording and self-producing new material with Don Was, Al Jardine, David Marks, Blondie Chaplin, and Jeff Beck.[383] It stated that the material might be split into three albums: one of new pop songs, another of mostly instrumental tracks with Beck, and another of interwoven tracks dubbed “the suite” which initially began form as the closing four tracks of That’s Why God Made the Radio.[384] In January 2014, Wilson declared in an interview that the Beck collaborations would not be released.[385][386]

In September 2014, Wilson attended the premiere of Bill Pohlad‘s biopic Love & Mercy at the Toronto International Film Festival.[387] He had contributed “One Kind of Love” to the film, which later received a Golden Globe nomination for Best Original Song.[388] In October, BBC released a re-recorded version of “God Only Knows” —featuring Wilson, Brian May, Elton John, Jake Bugg, Stevie Wonder, Lorde, and others—to commemorate the launch of BBC Music.[389] A week later, he was featured as a guest vocalist on Emile Haynie‘s single “Falling Apart“.[390] His cover of Paul McCartney’s “Wanderlust” was included on the tribute album The Art of McCartney in November.[391]

Released in April 2015, No Pier Pressure marked another collaboration between Wilson and Joe Thomas, featuring guest appearances from Jardine, Marks, Chaplin, and others.[392] Fans had reacted negatively to the announcement that Wilson would be recording a duets album, prompting a Facebook post—attributed to Wilson—that said, “In my life in music, I’ve been told too many times not to fuck with the formula, but as an artist it’s my job to do that.”[393] The album reached the U.S. top 30, but critical reaction was mixed due to its adult contemporary arrangements and extensive use of autotune.[394] Later that year, Sahanaja was asked if Wilson was reaching the end of his career as a performing artist, responding, “I gotta be honest. Each of the past five years I thought to myself, ‘Well, this is probably going to be it.'”[395]

Wilson's large band onstage in front of an LED screen showing photos from the Pet Sounds era
Wilson performing Pet Sounds at Byron Bay Bluesfest, 2016

In March 2016, Wilson and Al Jardine began the Pet Sounds 50th Anniversary World Tour, billed as his final performances of the album.[396] In October, his second memoir, I Am Brian Wilson, written by journalist Ben Greenman after several months of interviews, was published.[397][nb 25] Asked about negative remarks in Wilson’s book, Love refuted that his printed statements were spoken and argued that Wilson was “not in charge of his life, like I am mine”, adding that he preferred to avoid pressuring Wilson “because I know he has a lot of issues.”[400] In the late 2010s, Wilson remarked to a journalist that he had not “had a friend to talk to in three years.”[401]

In a 2016 Rolling Stone interview, Wilson responded to a retirement question by stating he would rather continue touring than sit idle.[402] In 2019, Wilson embarked on a co-headlining tour with the Zombies, performing selections from Friends and Surf’s Up.[403]

Around this time, Wilson had two back surgeries that left him reliant on a walker.[404] In 2019, he postponed some concert dates due to worsening mental health.[405] The next month, his social media declared that he had recovered and would resume touring.[406] Pausing his tours due to the COVID-19 pandemic,[407] he resumed touring in August 2021.[408] In November, two releases followed: At My Piano, featuring new instrumental piano recordings of his songs,[409] and the soundtrack to Brian Wilson: Long Promised Road, which includes both new and previously unreleased recordings.[410]

At the end of 2021, Wilson sold his publishing rights to Universal Music Publishing Group for $50 million. Wilson was paid almost $32 million for his songwriter share plus $19 million for his reversion rights (his ability to reclaim his song rights within a time period after signing them away under the Copyright Act of 1976).[411] In 2022, his ex-wife Marilyn, who had been awarded half of his songwriting royalties, sued Wilson for $6.7 million.[411]

On July 26, 2022, Wilson played his final concert as part of a joint tour with Chicago at the Pine Knob Music Theatre in Clarkston, Michigan, where he was reported to have “sat rigid and expressionless” throughout the performance.[412] Days later, he cancelled his remaining tour dates for that year, with his management citing “unforeseen health reasons”.[413] During a January 2023 appearance on a Beach Boys fan podcast, Wilson’s daughter Carnie reported that her father was “probably not going to tour anymore, which is heartbreaking”.[414]

On January 30, 2024, Melinda Ledbetter died at their home.[415] The following month, it was announced that Wilson had dementia and entered into another conservatorship, which began in May 2024.[416][417]

Cows in the Pasture, the unfinished album Wilson had produced for Fred Vail in 1970, is to be released in 2025, accompanied by a docuseries about Vail and the album’s making.[418]

Musical influences

Early influences

George Gershwin was one of Wilson’s main formative influences.

Wilson’s chordal vocabulary derived primarily from rock and roll, doo-wop, and vocal jazz.[419] At age two, he heard Glenn Miller‘s 1943 rendition of Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue, an experience that left a lasting emotional impact[420][421]—later saying, “It sort of became a general life theme”.[422] As a child, his favorite artists included Roy Rogers, Carl Perkins, Bill Haley, Elvis Presley, Henry Mancini, and Rosemary Clooney.[22] He recalled Haley’s “Rock Around the Clock” (1954) as the first music he felt compelled to learn and sing.[225] His education in music composition and jazz harmony largely came from deconstructing the vocal harmonies of the Four Freshmen, whose repertoire included works by Gershwin, Jerome Kern, and Cole Porter.[423][nb 26]

Wilson credited his mother with introducing him to the Four Freshmen,[426] attributing his love for harmonies and the human voice to their “groovy sectional sound”.[427] Their 1956 album Freshmen Favorites was the first pop album that Wilson listened to in its entirety[428] and he regarded Voices in Love (1958) as “probably the greatest single vocal album I’ve ever heard”.[429] He greatly admired the group’s arrangers, Pete Rugolo and Dick Reynolds,[430] the latter’s services he later employed for the Beach Boys’ Christmas album and Adult/Child.[431] It is likely that Wilson learned nearly the entirety of the Four Freshmen’s recorded repertoire through 1961, after which his obsession with the group diminished.[424] In addition to the Four Freshmen, Mike Love recalled Wilson “playing and studying a lot of Ricky Nelson, the Four Preps, and the Hi-Los“.[430][nb 27]

Inquired for his music tastes in 1961, Wilson replied, “top 10“.[433] Particular favorites included Chuck Berry, the Coasters, and the Everly Brothers.[434] He particularly admired Berry’s “rhythm and lyrical thoughts”.[435] Carl said that he and his brother “were total Chuck Berry freaks” and together sang Coasters songs with Four Freshmen-style arrangements before the Beach Boys formed.[436]

Wilson disliked surf music. In the estimation of biographer Timothy White, he instead sought a “new plateau midway between Gershwin and the best Four Freshmen material” when forming his band.[437] Gershwin’s influence became more pronounced later in his career, particularly after the 1970s when he dedicated himself to learning the violin parts from Rhapsody in Blue.[438] In 1994, he recorded a choral version of the piece with Van Dyke Parks.[439]

Spector and Bacharach

Wilson said of Phil Spector, “I really respect him as a producer — so I just copied him.”[168]

Phil Spector‘s influence on Wilson is widely acknowledged.[440][441] In 1966, he referred to Spector as “the single most influential producer”,[442] and in 2000, “probably the biggest influence of all”, noting, “Anybody with a good ear can hear that I was influenced by Spector.”[443] He particularly admired his method of treating “the song as one giant instrument”, valuing the enormous, spacious sound, with “the best drums I ever heard”.[444] Upon hearing the Ronettes‘ 1963 hit “Be My Baby” on his car radio, he immediately pulled over and declared it the greatest record he had ever heard.[445][nb 28] Record producer Lou Adler personally introduced them only a few days later.[448][449]

Contrary to many accounts,[450] Spector’s engineer, Larry Levine, recalled that Spector held Wilson in high regard and was openly effusive in his praise.[451] Levine said that the two producers “had a good rapport”, with Wilson often attending Spector’s recording sessions and consulting him about his production methods.[452][nb 29] After Spector’s “You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feelin’” (1964) became a hit for the Righteous Brothers, Wilson called co-writers Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil to laud the record as the greatest ever and expressed his desire to work with them in the future.[454] He submitted “Don’t Worry Baby” and “Don’t Hurt My Little Sister“, both written with the Ronettes in mind, but Spector declined.[455]

Wilson cited Burt Bacharach as “probably the greatest songwriting genius of the 20th century, and that includes…even better than George Gershwin.”[331]

Asked for songs that he wished he had written, Wilson listed three: “You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feelin'”, “Be My Baby”, and Burt Bacharach‘s “Here I Am“,[435][nb 30] the latter composer being often overlooked by scholars as an influence.[457] Wilson named Bacharach, alongside Spector and Chuck Berry, as his main chordal influences,[435] and said that Bacharach had a “profound” influence that “got me going in a direction.”[458][nb 31] Wilson produced renditions of Bacharach’s “My Little Red Book” and “Walk On By” in 1967 and 1968, respectively, but left the recordings unreleased.[460][nb 32]

Others

Wilson’s other significant musical influences include Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons,[440] Nelson Riddle,[467] the Motown sound,[435][nb 33] Disney film soundtracks such as Mary Poppins (1964),[469] and soul musicians such as Smokey Robinson and Stevie Wonder.[470] Wendy Carlos‘ 1969 album Switched-On Bach, described by Wilson as “one of the most electrifying records” he had ever heard,[471] influenced his use of synthesizers.[472]

The Beatles inspired me. They didn’t influence me.

—Brian Wilson, 2015[473]

It is often reported that the Beach Boys and the Beatles influenced each other,[474] although Wilson rejected the notion.[473][nb 34] He acknowledged that he had felt threatened by the Beatles’ success[104] and that this awareness drove him to concentrate his efforts on trying to outdo them in the studio.[477] He praised Paul McCartney’s stylistic versatility and commended his bass playing as “technically fantastic”.[478]

In 1976, Wilson commented that he felt contemporary popular music had lacked the artistic integrity it once had,[168] with Queen‘s “Bohemian Rhapsody” (1975) being one exception.[479] In a 1988 interview, he named the 1982 compilation Stevie Wonder’s Original Musiquarium I and Paul Simon‘s 1986 release Graceland among his ten favorite albums of all time.[480] In 2007, he cited Billy Joel as his favorite pianist.[481] By 2015, Wilson maintained that he does not listen to modern music, only “oldies but goodies”.[482][483]

Artistry

Compositional style

Wilson’s early piano sketch of “Don’t Talk (Put Your Head on My Shoulder)”

Duration: 31 seconds.0:31

Home recording of Wilson performing the basic chord patterns of “Don’t Talk (Put Your Head on My Shoulder)“.

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Wilson’s writing process, as he described in 1966, started with finding a basic chord pattern and rhythm that he termed “feels”, or “brief note sequences, fragments of ideas”. He explained, “once they’re out of my head and into the open air, I can see them and touch them firmly.”[484][485] He wrote later that he aspired to write songs that appear “simple, no matter how complex it really is.”[486]

Common devices in Wilson’s musical structures include jazz chords, such as sevenths and ninths.[487] Wilson attributed his use of minor seventh chords to his affinity for the music of Bacharach.[472] Chord inversions, particularly those featuring a tonic with a fifth in the bass, are also prevalent in his work,[488] again influenced by Bacharach.[435] The flattened subtonic, which is common in the music of the Four Freshmen and popular music in general, is the nondiatonic chord that appears the most in Wilson’s compositions.[489] Sudden breaks into a cappella segments, again borrowed from the Four Freshmen, are another feature of his music, having been employed in “Salt Lake City” (1965) and “Sloop John B” (1966).[490]

A visual representation of the functionally ambiguous harmonic structure of “God Only Knows“.

Many of Wilson’s compositions are marked by destabilized tonal centers.[491] He frequently uses key changes within verses and choruses, including “truck driver’s modulations“, to create dynamic shifts.[492] Tertian movement is another recurring technique.[493]

Wilson’s bass parts are often melodic and given prominent focus in his arrangements.[488] He also applied chromaticism in his musical structures.[494] His use of chromatic bass descents are most notably displayed in “Our Prayer” (1969).[495] Other songs are characterized by “syncopated exercises and counterpoints piled on top of jittery eighth-note clusters and loping shuffle grooves“, features that producer Alan Boyd said took “an almost manic edge” in Wilson’s work during the 1970s.[174]

Some of Wilson’s songs incorporate a I – IV – I – V pattern, a formula derived from “Da Doo Ron Ron”,[496] as well as a circle of fifths sequence that begins with the mediant (iii), inspired by “Be My Baby”.[497] He frequently uses stepwise-falling melodic lines,[498] stepwise diatonic rises,[499] and whole-step root movements.[500] Numerous songs alternate between supertonic and dominant chords or tonic and flattened subtonic chords, the latter featuring in the verses of “Guess I’m Dumb” and the intro to “California Girls”.[501]

Lyrics

I don’t carry a notebook or use a tape player. I like to tell a story in the songs with as few words as possible. I sort of tend to write what I’ve been through and look inside myself. Some of the songs are messages.

—Brian Wilson, 1977[481]

Wilson generally collaborated with another lyricist,[502] although he occasionally composed both words and music alone.[481] Most of his songs explore introspective themes,[503] and several portray the male object or narrator as a “loser”, evident on “She Knows Me Too Well“, “Don’t Hurt My Little Sister“, “Merry Christmas, Baby“, and “All Dressed Up for School“.[504] Other recurring themes in Wilson’s songs include feminine objectification,[505][nb 35] youthful innocence,[506][nb 36] slice of life stories,[507][508][nb 37] and health and fitness.[509][nb 38]

Although the Beach Boys became known for surfing imagery, his compositions with collaborators outside the band typically avoided this subject matter.[510] Unlike his contemporaries, social issues were never referenced in his lyrics.[503][nb 39] In his 2008 book Dark Mirror: The Pathology of the Singer-Songwriter, Donald Brackett identifies Wilson as “the Carl Sandburg and Robert Frost of popular music—deceptively simple, colloquial in phrasing, with a spare and evocative lyrical style embedded in the culture that created it.”[512] Brackett opined that Wilson expressed “intense fragility” and “emotional vulnerability” to degrees that few other singer-songwriters had.[513]

Studios and musicians

Wilson said, “I was unable to really think as a producer up until the time where I really got familiar with Phil Spector’s work. That was when I started to design the experience to be a record rather than just a song.”[514] He frequently attended Spector’s recording sessions, observing his arranging and recording techniques, and adopted Spector’s choice of studios and session musicians, later known as the Wrecking Crew.[446][nb 40] Wilson established approximately one-third of a song’s final arrangement during the writing process, with the remainder developed in the studio.[516][nb 41]

Exterior of Western Studio in Hollywood, Wilson’s preferred recording facility in the mid-1960s.

Rather than using Gold Star Studios, Spector’s favored facility, Wilson chose Studio 3 at Western for its privacy and the presence of staff engineer Chuck Britz,[518] who served as Wilson’s principal engineer from 1962 to 1967.[519][nb 42] While Britz typically handled technical tasks like level mixing and microphone placement,[437] Wilson made extensive adjustments to the setup,[521] usurping standard studio protocols of the era that limited console use to assigned engineers.[522] Once Britz prepared an initial configuration, Wilson took control of the console, directing session musicians from the booth using an intercom or non-verbal cues alongside chord charts.[523] Britz recalled that Wilson would work with the players until he achieved the desired sound, a process that frequently lasted for hours.[524]

Wilson first used the Wrecking Crew for productions with the Honeys in March 1963,[525] and two months later, during sessions for Surfer Girl, he began gradually integrating these musicians into Beach Boys records.[526][527][nb 43] Until 1965, the band members typically performed the instrumentation,[531][528] but as Wilson’s sessions came to necessitate 11 or more different players, his reliance on the Wrecking Crew increased.[475] In 1966 and 1967, he almost exclusively used these musicians for the backing tracks,[528][531] although their involvement diminished considerably after 1967.[528]

His musicians, many trained in conservatories, were impressed by his abilities.[532] Unlike most other producers, Wilson never required them to devise their own parts.[533] Bassist Carole Kaye recounted that the group “were in awe of Brian”,[533] while guitarist Jerry Cole recalled that he and his fellow players “would walk out of Brian’s sessions shaking our heads, saying, ‘This son of a bitch is either crazy, or he’s an absolute genius.'”[534][nb 44] Drummer Hal Blaine, however, recalled that all of the musicians “helped arrange, as far as I’m concerned.”[537]

Production style

Wilson’s best-known productions typically employed instruments such as saxophones and bass harmonicas.[524] He usually instructed his drummer to play only the snare and floor-tom afterbeats characteristic of Spector’s records.[538] Reflecting further Spector influence, Wilson rarely used ride or crash cymbals[538] and often combined color tones to produce novel sounds.[539] Other practices he adopted from Spector included recording two echo chambers simultaneously and having standup and Fender bass play identical parts.[481] His bass lines were usually played with a hard plectrum, which imparted a more percussive quality—a technique he adapted from Motown.[540]

Wilson with his bandmates at a Pet Sounds vocal session, early 1966

His first use of a string section was on “The Surfer Moon” in mid-1963.[541] Before Pet Sounds, he seldom used string ensembles,[542] preferring to overdub them after recording the basic instrumental track,[524] which was then followed by vocal overdubs.[475] Beginning with the 1963 track “Surfin’ U.S.A.”, he double-tracked the vocals, resulting in a more resonant sound.[71][543]

An elaborate tape deck
A Scully four-track 280 tape deck, identical to the model used on many of Wilson’s mid-1960s productions.[131]

Starting in 1964, Wilson performed tape splices on his recordings, usually to allow difficult vocal sections to be performed by the group. By 1965, he had become more adventurous in his use of tape splicing. These experiments culminated with the complex editing processes adopted for “Good Vibrations” and Smile. Mark Linett, who has engineered Wilson’s recordings since the 1980s, stated, “He certainly wasn’t the first person to do edits, but it was unusual to record a song in four or five sections, and then cut it together.”[544]

According to Wilson, after his first nervous breakdown in 1964, he had endeavored to “take the things I learned from Phil Spector” and maximize his instrumental palette.[545] In Priore’s assessment, Wilson reconfigured Spector’s Wall of Sound techniques, aiming for “audio clarity” and “a more lush, comfortable feel”.[461] The 2003 book Temples of Sound states that Wilson distinguished himself from Spector through the usage of certain instruments, such as banjo, and by possessing a “clean muscle” missing in Spector’s work.[546] Danny Hutton remarked that anyone recording immediately after Wilson’s session would fail to replicate the sound he achieved. According to Hutton, “There was a lot of subtle stuff he did. […] He was just hands-on. He would change the reverb and the echo, and all of a sudden, something just – whoa! – got twice as big and fat.”[547]

Singing

Wilson singing the chorus of “Don’t Worry Baby” (1964)

Duration: 21 seconds.0:21

Wilson’s lead on “Don’t Worry Baby” is regarded as one of his defining vocal performances.[548]

Problems playing this file? See media help.

Wilson’s vocal style was shaped by studying the Four Freshmen, from whom he developed a versatile head voice that allowed him to hit high notes without resorting to falsetto, although he did use falsetto on some Beach Boys tracks.[429] He recalled that he “learned how to sing falsetto” through listening to Four Freshmen renditions.[549] Rosemary Clooney also influenced his singing; by mimicking her phrasing on recordings like “Hey There“, he learned “to sing with feeling”.[550]

Wilson’s highest note was D5 in 1966.[427] Initially, his singing was characterized by a pure tenor voice; later in life, he employed this range only rarely.[551] Fearing that a high vocal delivery might fuel perceptions of homosexuality, he avoided it.[552] After the early 1970s, his voice degraded following heavy cigarette and cocaine use,[553] with 15 Big Ones marking the emergence of what biographer Peter Ames Carlin termed Wilson’s “baritone croak”.[554] In a 1999 interview, Wilson compared his style to Bob Dylan‘s “harsh, raspy voice”.[555]

Mental health

Onset of illness

Wilson was diagnosed with schizoaffective disorder and mild bipolar disorder.[556] Since 1965, he regularly experienced auditory hallucinations in the form of disembodied voices.[557] Wilson referred to the voices as “heroes and villains” that contributed to “a life of scare”.[558]

His family and associates faced challenges in discerning genuine mental health issues from potential manipulative behavior on Wilson’s part.[559] Subsequent to his Houston flight incident from December 1964, Marilyn arranged his first psychiatrist visit, where it was ruled that Wilson’s condition was due to work-related fatigue.[560] Wilson typically refused counseling, and his family believed his idiosyncrasies stemmed from drug habits or were innate to his personality.[561][562][nb 45] Marilyn countered accusations of neglect on her part, emphasizing her repeated efforts to get him professional help.[564]

According to Wilson, he was introduced to recreational drugs by an acquaintance during a Beach Boys tour.[168][nb 46] His hallucinations emerged early in 1965, about a week after his first time using psychedelics.[566] Loren Schwartz, his supplier, said that Wilson’s first dosage was 125 micrograms of “pure Owsley” and resulted in “full-on ego death“.[567][nb 47] Mike Love observed signs of irregular behavior in Wilson by July, recalling an incident where Wilson deliberately crashed his car, an act Love deemed out of character.[569] His drug use was initially concealed from his bandmates and family,[570] including Love, who had thought Wilson to be strictly opposed to drugs.[565]

[In mid-1965, Brian had] asked me to come down to Studio B. When we got down there, he said to me, “Let me play something that I hear when I’ve been on LSD.” He sat down at the piano and played one note. He described what he was hearing. That’s when I knew he was in trouble.

—Four Freshmen manager Bill Wagner[571]

Wilson, in 1990, attributed LSD to his developing “a Jesus Christ complex” in the mid-1960s.[572] Following the advice of Four Freshmen manager Bill Wagner, Wilson consulted with a UCLA psychiatrist on the adverse effects of LSD. The psychiatrist later told Wagner, “I don’t know if he is savable. He gives me the impression he’s been on it for a while, and he’s entirely enamored of it.”[571] By 1966, Wilson acknowledged using “pills” for introspection rather than leisure and viewed psychedelic usage as benign.[573] His 2016 memoir states that he abstained from consuming LSD for a second time until he was 23, around 1966 or 1967.[574] Marilyn suspected he had numerous LSD experiences in the ensuing years, although she only knew of two such incidents at the time.[125] Ledbetter, in 2004, claimed Wilson had taken LSD only thrice in his life.[323][nb 48]

As Wilson’s condition worsened, he grew susceptible to paranoid delusions, believing that his auditory hallucinations were Satan coming “in the form of other people that were competing with me and had ideas of killing me.”[215] By 1968, following the birth of their first child, Marilyn’s concerns about Wilson’s mental health intensified.[576] Wilson was hospitalized later that year and prescribed Thorazine for severe anxiety disorder.[174] He may have self-admitted and possibly received treatments ranging from talking therapies to doses of lithium and electroconvulsive therapy during this stay.[173]

Post-Landy

Wilson was given the since-retracted diagnosis of paranoid schizophrenia,[556] in addition to manic-depressive psychosis, when he was a patient at Brotzman Memorial Hospital in 1978.[279] Landy, in 1976, had initially refuted such a diagnosis, suggesting Wilson’s main issue was “being scared”.[577] In 1984, doctors again misdiagnosed Wilson with schizophrenia, also finding evidence of brain damage caused by drug use.[578]

In the late 1980s, Wilson developed facial tics (tardive dyskinesia) symptomatic of excessive psychotropic medications.[579] Therapist Peter Reum stated that Wilson would have deterioriated into a “drooling, palsied mental patient”, and potentially died of heart failure had he continued this drug regimen.[302][nb 49] In a 2002 interview, Wilson stated, “I don’t regret [the Landy program]. I loved the guy—he saved me.”[580] After Wilson sought medical care elsewhere, he was declared to have organic personality disorder.[581][nb 50]

Wilson performing “Good Vibrations” in Washington D.C. in 2017

Wilson’s mental condition improved in later years, although his auditory hallucinations persisted, especially when performing onstage.[229] He credits his relationship with his second wife for allowing him to resume his career as a musician. In his own words, he said that he should have spent the early 2000s “in a mental institution under heavy sedation” due to the stresses of his condition; however, “Things have started to get a little bit easier, but I’m not always in a positive, happy place.”[557] In 2002, he lamented that his successful treatment had inhibited his creativity and songwriting.[578]

Personal life

Deafness in right ear

At age 11, during a Christmas choir recital, it was found that Wilson had significantly diminished hearing in his right ear.[550] The issue was diagnosed as a nerve impingement.[583] The exact cause remains unclear.[583][584][15][nb 51]

Due to this infirmity, Wilson developed a habit of speaking from the side of his mouth,[588][586] giving the false impression that he had suffered a stroke.[586] He also experienced tinnitus.[589] In the late 1960s, he underwent corrective surgery that was unsuccessful in restoring his hearing.[590]

Relationships and children

Wilson’s first serious relationship was with Judy Bowles, a high school student he had met at a baseball game in mid-1961.[591] The couple were engaged during Christmas 1963 and were to be married the following December.[592] She inspired his songs “Judy” (1962), “Surfer Girl” (1963), and, according to some accounts, “The Warmth of the Sun” (1964), the latter being written shortly after they had separated.[593] Around then, he had gradually become romantically involved with singer Marilyn Rovell, whom he had met in August 1962.[594][75] Inspired by a remark from Marilyn’s older sister Diane, Wilson wrote “Don’t Hurt My Little Sister” (1965) about his early relationship with Marilyn.[595][596]

Wilson’s daughters Carnie (right) and Wendy (center) performing with Chynna Phillips in 2011.

Wilson and Marilyn were married in December 1964. They had two daughters, Carnie and Wendy (born 1968 and 1969, respectively), who later had musical success as two-thirds of the group Wilson Phillips.[327] His daughters inspired his songs “Roller Skating Child” (1977)[597] and “Little Children” (1988).[598]

Much of the lyrical content from Pet Sounds reflected early marital strains[485] that later intensified.[599] Wilson later described himself as a neglectful father and husband during his first marriage.[600] He had encouraged his wife to pursue extramarital affairs, including one with songwriter Tandyn Almer,[601] while he engaged in an affair with her sister,[602][603] the subject of his song “My Diane” (1978).[604] Concurrently, Wilson maintained an affair with Debbie Keil,[602] who inspired his song “The Night Was So Young” (1977).[602][nb 52]

In July 1978, Wilson and Marilyn separated, and he filed for divorce in January 1979.[606] Marilyn received custody of their children[607] and a half share of Wilson’s songwriting royalties.[411] Wilson continued his relationship with Keil until 1981.[605] After the separation, Wilson dated one of his nurses, Carolyn Williams, until January 1983.[608][nb 53] Singer Linda Ronstadt, in her 2013 memoir Simple Dreams, implied that she had briefly dated Wilson in the 1970s.[605]

Wilson initially dated Melinda Kae Ledbetter from 1986 to late 1989.[612] Ledbetter attributed the premature end of their relationship to interference by Landy.[613] After 1991, he and Ledbetter reconnected and married on February 6, 1995,[614][nb 54] Ledbetter became Wilson’s manager.[616] They adopted five children.[617] By 2012, Wilson had six grandchildren, two daughters of Carnie and four sons of Wendy.[366] Ledbetter died on January 30, 2024.[415] In his social media, Wilson declared she “was my savior. She gave me the emotional security I needed to have a career. She encouraged me to make the music that was closer to my heart”.[618]

Spirituality

Wilson was raised in a Presbyterian family.[225] In many interviews, he emphasized the spiritual essence of his music, particularly with Pet Sounds.[619] He was also intrigued by astrology, numerology, and the occult, as reflected in his original concepts for Smile.[620] In 1966, Wilson expressed his belief that all music “starts with religion”, and while he recognized a “higher being who is better than we are”, he was not traditionally religious.[484]

In the late 1960s, Wilson and his bandmates promoted Transcendental Meditation (TM).[621] By 1968, he had equated religion and meditation,[621] though he ultimately abandoned TM.[260] He described himself in 1976 as having over-diversified his readings,[168] maintaining then that he still believed that the coming of “the great Messiah […] came in the form of drugs” while acknowledging that his own drug experiences “really didn’t work out so well”.[622][623][nb 55]

In 2011, he said that while he had spiritual beliefs, he did not follow any particular religion.[625] Asked in 2004 for his favorite book, Wilson answered “the Bible“, and questioned if he believed in life after death, Wilson replied “I don’t”.[626]

Interviews

He is an artist wrapped densely in myth and enigma who, in person, in interview, creates as many questions as he answers. Is this guy crazy, or is he crazy like a fox? Missing a synapse or just as sensitive as a raw nerve ending? Startlingly honest or putting you on? Childishly naïve or a master manipulator?

—Journalist Verlyn Klinkenborg, 1988[480]

Wilson admitted to having a poor memory and occasionally lying in interviews to “test” people.[627] In later years, many writers found Wilson challenging to interview, as his responses usually to be curt or lacking in substance.[628][nb 56] Edgers wrote in 2000 that “no writer will ever understand Brian Wilson”, highlighting his often “clipped and conflicting” responses, adding that he “generally makes it clear to interviewers that he would rather be somewhere else — and that’s when he’s feeling good.”[631] Salon‘s Peter Gilstrap wrote in 2015 that Wilson had been known to end interviews abruptly.[632][nb 57]

Death and tributes

In 2024, it was revealed that Wilson was suffering from dementia following the death of Ledbetter. Following this, he was placed in a conservatorship, with his long-time publicist Jean Sievers, and his manager, LeeAnn Hard, as his conservators.[634] His death at the age of 82 was announced on June 11, 2025. His family declined to state a cause of death.[635][636]

Celebrities who paid tribute to Wilson included musicians such as Keith Richards, Mick Fleetwood, Ronnie Wood, Gracie Abrams, Clairo, Nancy Sinatra, Sean Ono Lennon, Diane Warren, John Cale, Stephen Bishop and Questlove.[637][638] Actor John Cusack who portrayed Wilson in the 2014 biopic Love and Mercy wrote, “The maestro has passed – the man was a open heart with two legs – with an ear that heard the angels. Quite literally. Love and Mercy for you and yours tonight.”[639]

Cultural impact and influence

Sales achievements

Wilson after a concert performance in London, 2009

From 1962 to 1979, Wilson wrote or co-wrote over two dozen U.S. Top 40 hits for the Beach Boys, with eleven reaching the top 10, including the number-ones “I Get Around” (1964), “Help Me, Rhonda” (1965), and “Good Vibrations” (1966).[640][nb 58] Three more that he produced, but did not write, were the band’s “Barbara Ann” (number 2) in 1965, “Sloop John B” (number 3) in 1966, and “Rock and Roll Music” (number 5) in 1976.[640] Among his other top 10 hits, Wilson co-wrote Jan and Dean’s “Surf City” (the first chart-topping surf song) and “Dead Man’s Curve” (number 8) in 1963, and the Hondells‘ “Little Honda” (number 9) in 1964.[641]

See also: Recording studio as an instrument

Wilson is widely regarded as one of the most innovative and significant songwriters of the late 20th century.[642] Fellow composers who have acknowledged his advancements include Philip Glass, Gustavo Dudamel, and Burt Bacharach, the latter of whom praised Wilson as “one of the greatest innovators” in music history.[643] In discussing Wilson’s harmonic ingenuity, musicologist Philip Lambert states in 2016 that his harmonic approach demonstrated an exceptional mastery, leaving a lasting imprint on popular music since.[644]

The level of creative control that Wilson had asserted over his own record output was unprecedented in the music industry,[645][646][647] leading him to become the first pop artist credited for writing, arranging, producing, and performing his own material.[648] Wilson’s autonomy encompassed control over recording studios and personnel, including engineers and the typically intrusive A&R representative. According to biographer James Murphy, Wilson’s singular artistic freedom was pivotal in reshaping both the landscape of popular music and the music industry’s perception of artistic control.[647]

In addition to being one of the first music producer auteurs, Wilson helped popularize the idea of the recording studio as a compositional tool,[649] and he was the first rock producer to use the studio in this fashion.[524] Granata writes that Wilson “redefined” the role of the producer.[650] Peter Doggett identifies Wilson as the quintessential figure of an era marked by “some of the most notorious pop battles” between “idealistic musicians” and the executives funding their ambitious projects.[651][nb 59]

The Beatles were engaged in a creative rivalry with Wilson during the mid-1960s.[653][91][654]

Beatles producer George Martin said, “No one made a greater impact on the Beatles than Brian […] the musician who challenged them most of all.”[655][656][nb 60] Jimmy Webb explained, “As far as a major, modern producer who was working right in the middle of the pop milieu, no one was doing what Brian was doing. We didn’t even know that it was possible until he did it.”[660] David Crosby called Wilson “the most highly regarded pop musician in America. Hands down.”[52]

His accomplishments as a producer influenced many others in his field, effectively setting a precedent that allowed subsequent bands and artists to produce their own recording sessions.[649] Following his exercise of total creative autonomy, Wilson ignited an explosion of like-minded California producers, supplanting New York as the center of popular records.[661] Wilson was also a pioneer of “project” recording, where an artist records by himself rather than at an established studio.[649]

The 1967 CBS documentary Inside Pop: The Rock Revolution described Wilson as “one of today’s most important pop musicians.”[662] Many musicians have voiced admiration for Wilson’s work or cited it as an influence, including Bob Dylan, Neil Young, Ray Davies, John Cale, David Byrne, Todd Rundgren, Patti Smith, Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Bruce Springsteen, Randy Newman, Ray Charles, and Chrissie Hynde.[480]

Art pop, pop art, psychedelia, and progressive music

There is no god and Brian Wilson is his son. Brian Wilson stirred up the chords.

—Velvet Underground co-founder Lou Reed, 1966[663][664]

Further to his invention of new musical textures and his novel applications of quasi-symphonic orchestras, Wilson helped propel the mid-1960s art pop movement,[665] and, with Pet Sounds, was immediately heralded as art rock‘s leading figure.[666] Carlin writes that Wilson had originated an “art-rock” style that merged transcendent artistic possibilities with the mainstream appeal of pop music.[667] Academic Larry Starr writes, “In a sense, Brian Wilson was the first self-conscious second-generation rock ‘n’ roller” as well as “the first fully realized” example of both an innovative and majorly successful pop musician.[668] Starr credits Wilson with establishing a successful career model that was then followed by the Beatles and other mid-1960s British Invasion acts.[669][nb 61] According to journalist Erik Davis, in addition to composing “a soundtrack to the early ’60s”, Wilson initiated “a delicate and joyful art pop unique in music history and presaged the mellowness so fundamental to ’70s California pop.”[670]

Comparisons have been drawn between Wilson and pop art figures such as Andy Warhol (pictured 1973)

Van Dyke Parks stated, “Brian Wilson was not imitative, he was inventive; for people who don’t write songs, it’s hard to understand how inventive he really was.”[671] Parks elaborated that “Wilson made music as accessible as a cartoon and yet rewarded repeated listening as much as Bach“, also suggesting that Wilson’s sensibilities overlapped with those espoused by other pop artists of the era.[475][nb 62][nb 63]

Under Wilson’s creative leadership, the Beach Boys became major contributors to the development of psychedelic music, although they are rarely credited for this distinction.[674] Christian Matijas-Mecca, in his book about psychedelic rock, credits Wilson, alongside Bob Dylan and the Beatles, for establishing a creative standard that “enabled psychedelic artists to expand their sonic and compositional boundaries”, yielding “entirely new” sounds and tone colors.[675] In an editorial piece on sunshine pop, The A.V. Club‘s Noel Murray recognized Wilson as among “studio rats [that] set the pace for how pop music could and should sound in the Flower Power era: at once starry-eyed and wistful.”[676]

Wilson’s work with the Beach Boys, especially on Pet Sounds, “Good Vibrations” and Smile, marked the beginnings of progressive pop, a genre that is distinguished by sophisticated and unorthodox approaches to pop music.[677] Writing in 1978, biographer David Leaf identified Wilson’s 1960s productions as a chief influence on bands such as Queen, Electric Light Orchestra, 10cc, and Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, among others.[678][nb 64] Musicologist Bill Martin acknowledged Wilson’s influence on progressive rock, particularly through his complex songwriting and basslines.[679]

Wilson’s detachment from live performance—deploying bandmates as “attractive avatars”—presaged later producer-musicians like Max Martin. Writing in 2016, The Atlantic‘s Jason Guriel credits Pet Sounds with inventing “the modern pop album” by establishing auteur-driven production, anticipating “the rise of the producer [and] the modern pop-centric era, which privileges producer over artist and blurs the line between entertainment and art.”[680][nb 65]

Naïve art, rock/pop division, and outsider music

Further information: Naïve art and Rockism and poptimism

Wilson (pictured 1962) posing with the Beach Boys.

Wilson’s popularity and success is attributed partly to the perceived naïveté of his work and personality.[681][682][683] In music journalist Barney Hoskyns‘ description, the “particular appeal of Wilson’s genius” can be traced to his “singular naivety” and “ingenuousness”, alongside his band being “the very obverse of hip”.[683] Commenting on the seemingly “campy and corny” quality of the Beach Boys’ early records, David Marks said that Wilson had been “dead serious about them all”, elaborating, “It’s hard to believe that anyone could be that naive and honest, but he was. That’s what made those records so successful. You could feel the sincerity in them.”[681][682]

The most culturally significant “tragedy” in 1960s rock, according to journalist Richard Goldstein, was Wilson’s failure to overcome his insecurities and realize “his full potential as a composer” after having anticipated developments such as electronica and minimalism.[684] Writing in 1981, sociomusicologist Simon Frith identified Wilson’s withdrawal in 1967, along with Phil Spector’s self-imposed retirement in 1966, as the catalysts for the “rock/pop split that has afflicted American music ever since”.[685]

Speaking in a 1997 interview, musician Sean O’Hagan felt that rock music’s domination of mass culture following the mid-1960s had the effect of artistically stifling contemporary pop composers who, until then, had been guided by Wilson’s increasingly ambitious creative advancements.[686] In her article which dubbed him “the godfather of sensitive pop”, music journalist Patricia Cárdenas credits Wilson with ultimately inspiring many musicians to value the craft of pop songwriting as much as “the primal, hard-driving rock ‘n’ roll the world had come to know since then.”[687]

“I guess I just wasn’t made for these times,” he had declared on Pet Sounds, and the song had become the overture for a decades-long saga that would be, in its way, just as influential as Pet Sounds had been. […] Ultimately, Brian’s public suffering had transformed him from a musical figure into a cultural one.

—Biographer Peter Ames Carlin[688]

By the mid-1970s, Wilson had tied with ex-Pink Floyd member Syd Barrett for rock music’s foremost “mythical casualty”.[331] Timothy White wrote that Wilson’s ensuing legend rivaled that of the California myth promoted by the Beach Boys,[689] while Brackett characterized Wilson’s “rise and fall and rise” as a “downright Shakespearean” story.[690][nb 66]

Ultimately, Wilson became regarded as the most famous outsider musician.[691][692] Author Irwin Chusid, who codified the term “outsider music”, noted Wilson as a potentially unconvincing example of the genre due to Wilson’s commercial successes, but argued that the musician should be considered an outsider due to his “tormented” background, past issues with drug dependencies, and unorthodox songwriting.[691]

Alternative music and continued cultural resonance

Wilson has also been declared the “godfather” of punk, indie rock, and emo.[687] Principally through his early records, Wilson, alongside his collaborator Mike Love, was a key influence on the development of punk rock and the movement’s evolution into indie rock.[693][nb 67] According to critic Carl Wilson (no relation to the Beach Boys’ Carl Wilson), “The Ramones, for instance, seized on and subverted the early Wilson template: Be True to Your School became Rock’n’Roll High School.”[695] The critic adds that Wilson’s “vulnerability”, “offbeat instruments”, and “intricate harmonies”, together with the Smile mythos, served as a “touchstone” for art-inclined post-punk and bands such as Pere Ubu, XTC, U2, R.E.M., the Pixies, and My Bloody Valentine.[695]

Later in the 20th century, Wilson was credited with “godfathering” an era of independently produced music that was heavily indebted to his melodic sensibilities, chamber pop orchestrations, and recording experiments.[696] Author Nathan Wiseman-Trowse credited Wilson, alongside Spector, with having “arguably pioneered”, in popular music, the “approach to the sheer physicality of sound”, an integral characteristic of the dream pop genre.[697] Newer acts who were influenced by Wilson, or that voiced their admiration, included Robyn Hitchcock, Redd Kross, the Church, Rain Parade, Big Dipper, the Go-Betweens, Psychic TV, the Feelies, and the dBs.[480]

Barenaked Ladies enjoyed a top 40 hit with their tribute song, “Brian Wilson“, in 1998.[698] Wilson himself performed the song at his concerts, showcased on Live at the Roxy.[699]

Many of the most popular acts of the 1980s and 1990s recorded songs that celebrated or referenced Wilson’s music, including R.E.M., Bruce Springsteen, Barenaked Ladies, the Jayhawks, and Wilco.[700] Simultaneously, the High Llamas inspired many American touring groups, especially around Los Angeles, to recognize Wilson as an “alternative music hero”.[701] Stereolab and the Elephant 6 collective, whose roster included Apples in Stereo, of Montreal and the Olivia Tremor Control, were all heavily influenced by Wilson.[702] In Japan, references to Wilson and his “mad boy genius” legend became a common trope among Shibuya-kei (渋谷系) musicians such as Cornelius.[703] In 2000, Marina Records released Caroline Now!, an album of Wilson’s songs recorded by artists including Alex Chilton, Kim Fowley, the Aluminum Group, Eric Matthews, Saint Etienne, Peter Thomas, the High Llamas, and Jad Fair of Half Japanese.[704]

Through acts such as Panda Bear, and especially his 2007 album Person Pitch, Wilson began to be recognized for his continued impact on the indie music vanguard.[702] In 2009, Pitchfork ran an editorial feature that traced the development of nascent indie music scenes, and chillwave in particular, to the themes of Wilson’s songs and his reputation for being an “emotionally fragile dude with mental health problems who coped by taking drugs.”[705]

Wilson’s influence continues to be attributed to modern dream pop acts such as Au Revoir Simone, Wild Nothing, Alvvays, and Lana Del Rey.[702] In 2022, She & Him, accompanied by the release of Melt Away: A Tribute to Brian Wilson, embarked on a concert tour dedicated to renditions of Wilson’s songs.[706]

Authorized documentary films

Accolades

Awards and honors

At the Kennedy Center, 2007. (From l. to r.) Leon Fleisher, Martin Scorsese, Diana Ross, President George W. Bush, Wilson, Laura Bush, Steve Martin.
OrganizationsYearAwardResultRef.
Grammy Awards2005Best Rock Instrumental Performance for “Mrs. O’Leary’s Cow“Won[713]
2013Best Historical Album for The Smile SessionsWon[714]
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame1988As a member of the Beach BoysHonored[308]
Primetime Emmy Award1996Outstanding Cultural Music-Dance Program for
Brian Wilson: I Just Wasn’t Made For These Times		Nominated[715]
Songwriters Hall of Fame2000inducted by Paul McCartney[716][a]Honored[717]
Ivor Novello International Award2003For his contributions to popular musicHonored[355]
Northeastern University2003Honorary doctorate of musicHonored[355]
Broadcast Music Incorporated2004BMI Icon Awards[b]Honored[718]
MusiCares Person of the Year2005for his artistic and philanthropic accomplishmentsHonored[366]
UK Music Hall of Fame2006Inducted by Pink Floyd guitarist David GilmourHonored[719]
Hollywood Bowl Hall of Fame2007InductionHonored[481]
Kennedy Center Honors2007Medal[c]Honored[720]
American Academy of Achievement2008Golden Plate Award[721]Honored[722]
UCLA2011George and Ira Gershwin Award at UCLA Spring SingHonored[723]
Golden Globe Award2015Best Original Song for “One Kind of Love” from Love & MercyNominated[724]

Polls and critics’ rankings

OrganizationsYearNotesRef.
NME1966Wilson was ranked number four in “World Music Personality” reader’s poll.[d][725]
Rolling Stone2008Wilson was ranked number 52 in list of the “100 Greatest Singers of All Time”.[e][726]
NME2012Wilson was ranked number eight in list of the “50 Greatest Producers Ever”.[f][727]
Rolling Stone2015Wilson was ranked number 12 in the list of the “100 Greatest Songwriters of All Time“.[728]
Rolling Stone2020Brian Wilson Presents Smile was ranked number 399 on the list of “The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time“.[729]
Ultimate Classic Rock2022Wilson was ranked second in the list of the best producers in rock history.[730]
Rolling Stone2023Wilson was ranked number 57 in the list of the “200 Greatest Singers of All Time”.[g][731]

Discography

Main article: Brian Wilson discography

See also: List of songs recorded by Brian Wilson

Filmography

YearTitleRoleNotesRef
Film
1965The Girls on the Beachhimself (with the Beach Boys)Beach comedy film[732]
1965The Monkey’s Unclehimself (with the Beach Boys)Beach comedy film
1987The Return of BrunohimselfMockumentary film
1994Theremin: An Electronic OdysseyhimselfDocumentary[733][734]
1995Brian Wilson: I Just Wasn’t Made for These TimeshimselfDocumentary[734]
2004Beautiful Dreamer: Brian Wilson and the Story of SmilehimselfDocumentary[733]
2006Tales of the Rat FinkThe Surfite (voice)
2014Love & Mercyhimself (archival)Musical biopic
2018Echo in the CanyonhimselfDocumentary[733]
2021Brian Wilson: Long Promised RoadhimselfDocumentary[733]
Television
1967Inside Pop: The Rock RevolutionhimselfTelevision movie
1988The New Leave It to BeaverMr. HawthorneEpisode: “Day Dreamin'”
1988Full Househimself (with the Beach Boys)Episode: “Beach Boy Bingo”
1995Baywatchhimself (with the Beach Boys)Episode: “Surf’s Up”[733]
2005Duck Dodgershimself (voice)Episode: “Surf the Stars”

See also

Notes

  1. ^ Some sources indicate the tune was the “Marine Corps Hymn“.[11]
  2. ^ According to his mother, “The [accordion instructor] said, ‘I don’t think he’s reading. He hears it just once and plays the whole thing perfectly.'”[11]
  3. ^ Carl remarked that by the age of 10, his brother “could play great boogie-woogie piano!”[14][18]
  4. ^ In his 1991 memoir, he recalls writing his first song for a fourth-grade school project concerning Paul Bunyan.[20] In a 2005 interview, he said that he began composing original music in 1955, when he was 12.[21]
  5. ^ His 2016 memoir says his “first real job” was at a lumberyard.[28]
  6. ^ Their rooms had been designed for large orchestras and ensembles of the 1950s, not small rock groups.[51]
  7. ^ This includes records by the Honeys, Jan and Dean, the Survivors, Sharon Marie, the Timers, the Castells (“I Do“), Bob Norberg, Vickie Kocher, Gary Usher, Christian, Paul Petersen (“She Rides with Me”), and Larry Denton (“Endless Sleep“).[74] He also founded Brian Wilson Productions, a record production company with offices on Sunset Boulevard, and Ocean Music, a publishing entity for his work with artists outside the Beach Boys.[84]
  8. ^ This was the first time Wilson had skipped concert dates with the Beach Boys since 1963.[97] Although he continued to make sporadic appearances at gigs, the Houston show marked his last as a regular member of the touring group until 1976.[99]
  9. ^ Songwriters Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil recalled that Wilson had confided in them about considering retirement from the music industry, changing his mind after hearing Spector’s latest hit record, “You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feelin’.”[105] In an interview from August 1966, Wilson states, “I never wanted to quit the music business. I just wanted to get off the road, which I did.”[106] Photographer Ed Roach said that Brian had felt overshadowed by the audience’s enthusiastic response to his brother Dennis during live performances.[107]
  10. ^ Wilson rejoined the live group for one-off occasions in February, March, July, and October 1965.[109]
  11. ^ Sources differ on the move-in date: White cites December,[128] while Badman specifies October.[127]
  12. ^ Marilyn cited Wilson’s desire for a larger home,[152] while Badman writes that the move aimed to distance them from his entourage of “hanger-ons”.[150] Marilyn later installed security measures, including a brick wall and electronic gate.[153]
  13. ^ Dennis also refuted claims that the Beach Boys excluded Brian, explaining that he repeatedly visited Brian’s home to prioritize his health over recording.[181]
  14. ^ David Leaf, writing in his 1978 biography of the band, said that Wilson’s family and friends had dismissed these incidents as jokes.[192]
  15. ^ Though Wilson never personally signed the agreement, the band’s corporate structure allowed it to pass with three of five member votes.[197]
  16. ^ Wilson recalled, “On the second night, I started […] feeling dizzy and I told the guys I had to stop. It felt like I was killing myself.”[204]
  17. ^ Bruce Johnston left the band during these sessions partly due to his unhappiness with Wilson’s creative withdrawal.[209]
  18. ^ Carl explained, “There was a thing where Brian kept on giving people money to ‘score’. Not for himself but for themselves. It’s like he was giving a guy every week a few hundred bucks, and a very well-known guy at that.”[218]
  19. ^ In the 1970s, Wilson developed a longtime obsession with the folk standard “Shortnin’ Bread”, recording numerous unreleased variations of the song.[174][176] According to Cooper, Wilson had proclaimed that it was “the greatest song ever written.”[58]
  20. ^ Wilson stated in a 2001 interview that he had never met Lennon.[225] However, Cooper told another story in which he had witnessed Wilson at a party, with Lennon, repeatedly asking fellow attendees to introduce him to the Beatle, one after another.[226]
  21. ^ Some reports erroneously state that this was his first appearance since 1964.[247]
  22. ^ Other television appearances included a September guest-presenter role on Don Kirshner‘s Annual Rock Music Awards, where he was nominated for the Hall of Fame category but lost to the Beatles, and a November feature on The Mike Douglas Show and NBC’s Saturday Night, marking his first solo TV appearances since the Inside Pop special in 1966.[251]
  23. ^ Jeff Foskett rebutted such claims in a 2011 interview.[229] Although Wilson often stated that he enjoyed live performances, Jon Stebbins argued in his 2011 biography that his handlers, managers, and wife compelled him to work. Stebbins cited an interview in which, after Wilson admitted disliking touring, his handler promptly reminded him that he loved performing.[340]
  24. ^ Around this time, Wilson announced he was developing a new concept album titled Pleasure Island: A Rock Fantasy. He explained that the project centers on a group of men who discover a place called Pleasure Island, where they encounter various women and attractions. Although the concept was not yet fully developed, he expressed optimism about its potential, suggesting it might become his finest work.[375]
  25. ^ That same month, Wilson announced a new album, Sensitive Music for Sensitive People, comprising originals and rock and roll cover songs.[398] He said the name as a “working title” and that recording would begin in December.[399]
  26. ^ Lambert noted that if Four Freshmen singer Bob Flanigan “helped teach Brian how to sing, then Gershwin, Kern, Porter, and the other members of this pantheon helped him learn how to craft a song.”[424] Tony Asher recalled that Wilson had minimal familiarity with Tin Pan Alley songs beyond the Four Freshmens’ repertoire during the creation of Pet Sounds.[425]
  27. ^ The Four Preps’ influence has been “largely underappreciated” by journalists and historians, according to Murphy.[432]
  28. ^ Carlin describes the song as having become “a spiritual touchstone” for Wilson,[446] while music historian Luis Sanchez states that it formed an enduring part of Wilson’s mythology, being the Spector record that “etched itself the deepest into Brian’s mind […] it comes up again and again in interviews and biographies, variably calling up themes of deep admiration, a source of consolation, and a baleful haunting of the spirit.”[441] Spector acknowledged, “I’d like to have a nickel for every joint he smoked trying to figure out how I got the ‘Be My Baby’ sound.”[447]
  29. ^ Wilson played piano at a recording session for Spector’s 1963 Christmas album, often cited as Wilson’s favorite album of all time.[453]
  30. ^ Wilson said that Dionne Warwick‘s singing on “Here I Am” was like “the voice of God”.[456]
  31. ^ In 1966, he said, “Burt Bacharach and Hal David are more like me. They’re also the best pop team—per se—today. As a producer, Bacharach has a very fresh, new approach.”[459]
  32. ^ Music journalist Domenic Priore believed that Bacharach’s “Walk on By” was possibly as influential to Wilson as “Be My Baby”.[461] Wilson said that Bacharach was a direct influence on “She Knows Me Too Well“,[265] “Let’s Go Away for Awhile“,[458] and “Love and Mercy“.[462] Writers have variously attributed Bacharach influence on Wilson’s “Guess I’m Dumb“,[463] “Let Him Run Wild,[464][465] and “The Little Girl I Once Knew“.[466]
  33. ^ Regarding his increasingly melodic bass lines in the mid-1960s, Granata speculated that Wilson “may have taken a cue” from Motown’s James Jamerson.[468]
  34. ^ Carl supported that Brian had preferred Spector over the Beatles, although his brother “loved the Beatles’ later music when they evolved and started making intelligent, masterful music”.[475] Mike Love remarked of the Beatles’ influence on Wilson in 1969, “Brian was in his own world, believe me.”[476]
  35. ^ Songs centered on feminine objectification include “The Shift“, “Pom, Pom Play Girl“, “Girls on the Beach“, “All Dressed Up for School”.[505]
  36. ^ Songs centered on youthful innocence include “The Little Girl I Once Knew“, “Caroline, No“, “Wonderful“, “Song for Children“, “Surf’s Up“, “Little Children“.[506]
  37. ^ His slice of life songs include “Time to Get Alone“, “I’d Love Just Once to See You“, “Wake the World“, “Busy Doin’ Nothin’“, and “I Went to Sleep“.[508]
  38. ^ Songs centered on health and fitness include “Vegetables“, “H.E.L.P. Is On the Way“, “Life Is for the Living“, “He Couldn’t Get His Poor Old Body to Move“, and “Too Much Sugar“.[509]
  39. ^ Wilson acknowledged that he had “never been the type” to preach social messages in his songs.[511]
  40. ^ Dean Torrence stated that Wilson learned much about studio technology from Jan Berry, who advised him to use session musicians to expedite recording instead of waiting for the Beach Boys to finish touring.[515]
  41. ^ He elaborated in 1990, “As I write a song, I write some of the instrumental piano and pluck some of the different notes for the arrangement. It’s impossible to lay the whole arrangement on the piano but you play just enough to get the overall feelin’ of the record. It is an art in itself.”[517]
  42. ^ Wilson did occasionally record at Gold Star. The studio’s owner, Stan Ross, commented, “Brian liked the sound Gold Star got on the instrumentation, but he did the voices elsewhere because we were limited to two or three tracks and that wasn’t enough for voice overdubbing. […] The tracks were really rhythm pads that would be sweetened after the voices were put on.”[520]
  43. ^ Contrary to the common misconception that these musicians completely replaced the band on backing tracks after the early 1960s, this substitution occurred primarily on most tracks of Pet Sounds and Smile.[528][529][530]
  44. ^ Kaye noted of Wilson’s basslines, “He took bass up another step. He saw it as integral in a symphonic orchestra. He used bass as the framework for a hit record. Very few people can write for bass, but his writing was beautiful. There are a lot of jazz musicians who admire him for it.”[535] Keyboardist Don Randi similarly expressed admiration for Wilson’s chord choices, referring to him as “the Bill Evans of rock ‘n’ roll”.[536]
  45. ^ Gaines goes on to write that Brian receiving “intense psychiatric care in a hospital setting” would have been perceived as “an admission of defeat and an embarrassment” to his bandmates.[563] Carlin recounted an episode where a friend from Wilson’s childhood days visited him and observed him as being “detached from reality”. Wilson’s family seemed “less sympathetic than confused and, it’s hard not to conclude, resentful.”[562]
  46. ^ In his memoir, Love wrote of an incident in which he had discovered drug paraphernalia in Wilson’s hotel room during a tour stop in Texas in the early 1960s. Love was unsure of the drug contents, although it was certainly not marijuana, and he did not confront Wilson about the matter.[565]
  47. ^ Brian remembered taking the LSD at his home,[121] but according to Marilyn, he took the drug elsewhere with Schwartz.[120] By her recollection, he returned home the next day and recounted his experience, telling her repeatedly that his “mind was blown” and that he had seen God.[568]
  48. ^ Micky Dolenz recalled an occasion in the 1970s where he took LSD with Wilson, Harry Nilsson, and John Lennon in Malibu. Dolenz said that Wilson “played just one note on a piano over and over again” for the duration.[575]
  49. ^ In 1991, Wilson told reporters that his prescribed medications included Navane and Serentil (anti-psychotics), Cogentin (to mitigate the side effects of the anti-psychotics), Xanax (a sedative used for anxiety), and Eskalith (for manic depression).[143]
  50. ^ Musician Sean O’Hagan, who was invited to collaborate with Wilson in the 1990s, characterized Wilson as “totally dependent on other people”, with signs reminiscent of autism.[582]
  51. ^ It is improbable that Wilson was born partially deaf as such defects generally manifest earlier.[550] Wilson himself believed the deafness might have resulted from his father slapping him shortly before turning three,[583] although he also stated in a 2000 interview that his deafness had been present at birth and unrelated to his father’s physical abuse.[585] Murry commented that the deafness may have resulted from a football game injury,[550] while Wilson’s mother, Audree, said that Wilson believed the incident occurred when he was around 10 and a child hit his ear,[550] a claim repeated in his 2016 memoir.[586] On another occasion, Audree attributed it to Murry hitting Wilson with an iron while he was asleep.[587]
  52. ^ Keil later provided many anonymous quotations for David Leaf‘s 1978 biography The Beach Boys and the California Myth.[605] Gaines describes Keil as a Beach Boys fan who had moved from Kansas to Los Angeles when she was 19 with the purpose of getting close to Wilson.[599] Writing in his 2022 revision of California Myth, Leaf explained, “Debbie never tried to shape the narrative. I felt her observations were insightful, very different from what I’d been reading.”[605]
  53. ^ During that period, Williams had claimed that Wilson was being held captive by Landy. In response, Wilson held a press conference to announce that he was disassociating himself from her.[609] Carlin described Williams as generally considered to be “a sweet, well-intentioned woman”,[610] while Wilson, via his 2016 memoir, attributed their split “mostly because of me”, citing an incident in which he berated Williams, a black woman, with a racist remark.[611]
  54. ^ Wilson chose the date because it was Marilyn’s birthday, and thus easy to remember for future anniversaries.[614] Marilyn attended the wedding.[615]
  55. ^ Asked whether his music was religiously influenced in 1988, he referred to the 1962 book A Toehold on Zen, explaining that he believed that he possessed what is called a “toehold”, meaning that having “a good grasp” on one aspect of life can translate to others.[624]
  56. ^ David Oppenheim, recalling his 1966 interview with Wilson, remembered, “we tried to talk with him but didn’t get much out of him. Some guy said ‘He’s not verbal.'”[629][630]
  57. ^ Westword contributor Michael Roberts wrote in 2000 that “his public statements over time have tended to reiterate those of whoever’s supervising his activities at the moment.”[633] In 2017, The Charlotte Observer‘s Theoden Janes surmised that despite Wilson’s widely documented past struggles with mental illness, he appeared to be actively involved in major projects like his second memoir and a concert tour, indicating he could choose to decline interviews if he wished.[630]
  58. ^ The remaining eight top 10 hits were:
  59. ^ Brian’s brother Carl remarked, “Record companies were used to having absolute control over their artists. […] But what could they say? Brian made good records.”[652]
  60. ^ John Lennon, Paul McCartney, and George Harrison each championed Pet Sounds when it was released.[657] Moreover, Harrison recalled that the group had felt threatened by the album.[658] Asked in 1966 for the musical person he most admired, Lennon named Wilson.[659]
  61. ^ In Starr’s estimation, Wilson had initially demonstrated a proficiency in the fundamental styles of early rock ‘n’ roll, both in ballads and faster-paced songs. He then developed and evolved these styles through original compositions, and, ultimately, diverged significantly from traditional rock ‘n’ roll forms, sounds, and themes to forge a distinctive musical identity.[669]
  62. ^ Pop artist Peter Blake, who designed the Beatles’ Sgt. Pepper album cover, said, “I’ve never been an enormous fan of the Beatles like I am of the Beach Boys.”[672]
  63. ^ In a 1968 article for Jazz & Pop, contributor Gene Sculatti addressed popular criticisms regarding the Beach Boys openly embracing mass culture and commercialism; Sculatti argued that these associations were artistically validated by Wilson’s authentic “fascination with popular culture”, a preoccupation that had “served Warhol and Chuck Berry equally well.”[673]
  64. ^ Many of the 1970s and 1980s acts that Wilson influenced, including ELO, Sparks, Supertramp, Kate Bush, and Tears for Fears, came to be linked under the “progressive pop” banner.[677]
  65. ^ Guriel goes on to note, “In a move that would’ve pleased Andy Warhol, Wilson recruited an advertising copywriter to come up with the album’s lyrics. In a move that would’ve pleased a Dadaist, he rattled listeners’ sense of sonic possibility.”[680]
  66. ^ Hoskyns identified Wilson’s retreat as “central to the obsession many people have with his lost greatness.”[683]
  67. ^ In a 2001 interview, Darian Sahanaja characterized Wilson as “more punk [than modern punk bands]. Just him on stage – you can see teenagers going ‘whoahh!’ as he says things off the top of his head. At Neil Young’s Bridge Benefit Concert for disabled children he’d say – ‘OK this is for all the crippled children…’ […] There’s no irony there.”[694]

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Bibliography

Further reading

Books

Journals

Web articles

hidevteBrian Wilson
DiscographySongs
Studio albumsBrian WilsonI Just Wasn’t Made for These TimesOrange Crate ArtImaginationGettin’ In over My HeadBrian Wilson Presents SmileWhat I Really Want for ChristmasThat Lucky Old SunBrian Wilson Reimagines GershwinIn the Key of DisneyNo Pier PressureAt My Piano
Live albumsLive at the Roxy TheatreBrian Wilson Presents Pet Sounds Live
SoundtracksI Just Wasn’t Made for These TimesLong Promised Road
CompilationsThe Beach Boys Classics Selected by Brian WilsonPet Projects: The Brian Wilson ProductionsThe Big Beat 1963Sessions ’64Playback: The Brian Wilson Anthology
Singles“Caroline, No“”Gettin’ Hungry“”Let’s Go to Heaven in My Car“”Love and Mercy“”Melt Away“”Do It Again“”Your Imagination“”Wonderful“”Good Vibrations“”Our Prayer” (Freeform Reform)”Walking Down the Path of Life / Love & Mercy“”What I Really Want for Christmas“”Midnight’s Another Day“”What Love Can Do””The Like In I Love You“”God Only Knows“”The Right Time“”Runaway Dancer“”On the Island“
Other non-
Beach Boys
songs		Album tracks”Rio Grande“”Still I Dream of It“”Smart Girls“”She Says That She Needs Me“”California Feelin’“”Soul Searchin’“”Can’t Wait Too Long“”One Kind of Love“”The Last Song“”Somewhere Quiet“Co-written”The Big Beat“”Dead Man’s Curve“”Drag City“”I Do“”Guess I’m Dumb“”He’s a Doll“”The New Girl in School“”Push It“”Sidewalk Surfin’“”Surf City“Guest features”When Love Is Dying“”Any Emotions“”Falling Apart“”Dirty Computer“”Resentment“
MemoirsWouldn’t It Be Nice: My Own StoryI Am Brian Wilson: A Memoir
DocumentariesI Just Wasn’t Made for These TimesBeautiful Dreamer: Brian Wilson and the Story of SmileLong Promised Road
Tributes2001 Radio City Music hall concert“Brian Wilson“Caroline Now!Making God SmileMelt Away: A Tribute to Brian Wilson“Pancreas“Smiles, Vibes & HarmonySmiling Pets“This Could Be the Night“
Related mediaAdult/ChildThe Beach Boys Love YouCatch a WaveThe Cocaine SessionsCows in the PastureFolkways: A Vision SharedFriendsInside the Music of Brian WilsonLove & Mercy soundtrackAndy Paley sessionsPet Sounds Sessions“Shortenin’ Bread“Smile SessionsSpringSweet InsanityThe Wilson ProjectThe WilsonsA World of Peace Must Come
Other topicsAmerican SpringThe Beach BoysBellagio home studioBob & Sheri“Brian Wilson is a genius“California MusicCalifornia soundThe HoneysEugene LandyMelinda LedbetterMike LoveStan LoveLove v. WilsonPet Sounds 50th Anniversary World TourRadiant RadishWilson–Beck 2013 TourCarl WilsonCarnie WilsonDennis WilsonWendy WilsonMarilyn Wilson-RutherfordWondermints
showvteThe Beach Boys
showvteWilson family (the Beach Boys)
showvteThe Wrecking Crew
showAwards for Brian Wilson

Brian Wilson at Wikipedia’s sister projects:

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