Brian Wilson, the co-founder and primary songwriter of the Beach Boys, has died, his family announced. The beloved musical auteur, who helped pioneer the studio-as-instrument, influencing generations of musicians in pop and beyond, was revealed in early 2024 to be living with a neurocognative disorder akin to dementia. Wilson was 82 years old.
Born in Inglewood, California, Wilson formed the band—then called the Pendletones—as a teenager with his brothers Dennis and Carl, their cousin Mike Love, and high school friend Al Jardine. Their first song, “Surfin’,” was released by Candix Records, who changed the band’s name to the Beach Boys without the members’ permission. A year later, the band signed with Capitol to release its debut, Surfin’ Safari; the following year, “Surfin’ U.S.A.” became the Beach Boys’ first U.S. Top 10 single. In 1963, the band released three albums: Surfin’ U.S.A., Surfer Girl, and Little Deuce Coupe. By then, Wilson had started his career as a producer for other musicians. He worked with Jan and Dean, the Castellas, Donna Loren, Sharon Marie, and others.
In 1964, Brian Wilson decided to stop touring with the Beach Boys after experiencing a panic attack due to the band’s heavy schedule. He focused on his production, and in 1965 started work on the landmark experimental pop album Pet Sounds. Wilson was the mastermind behind the Pet Sounds sessions, working alongside famed studio musicians the Wrecking Crew. At the time of its release, Pet Sounds was considered a relative commercial flop and critical failure. In 2004, it was inducted into the Library of Congress’ National Recording Registry due to its cultural, historical, and aesthetic significance.
Wilson planned a follow-up called Smile, which he described as a “teenage symphony to God,” but it was scrapped after continual delays. After the album’s cancellation in 1967, Wilson’s role in the band receded. In 1968, he entered a psychiatric hospital for treatment. In the years after the release of Pet Sounds, Wilson briefly owned and operated a health food store called the Radiant Radish. He continued to work with the band while struggling with drug and alcohol addiction in the ’70s.
After a family intervention into Wilson’s deteriorating mental and physical health, he became embroiled with the controversial psychologist Eugene Landy. Their decades-long treatment later became the subject of a biographical film called Love & Mercy. The Beach Boys enjoyed a brief resurgence after their 1977 album Love You, but Wilson’s health issues persisted. In 1982, Landy removed him from the band for intensive treatment and exercised increasing control over Wilson’s financial and creative endeavors, prompting Wilson to release his debut solo album in 1988. In 1992, following legal action from Carl Wilson and other members of the Wilson family, Landy’s psychology license was revoked and he received a restraining order from Wilson.
