The Beach Boys’ co-founder, singer, arranger and chief songwriter Brian Wilson has died at the age of 82, his family has announced.
Wilson – univerally recognised as one of the greats of 20th Century music – was the eldest and last surviving of the three musical brothers who made up the American rock band, alongside their cousin Mike Love and school friend Al Jardine.
“We are heartbroken to announce that our beloved father Brian Wilson has passed away,” his family said in a statement on his website.
“We are at a loss for words right now. Please respect our privacy at this time as our family is grieving.
“We realise that we are sharing our grief with the world.”
The statement finished “Love & Mercy,” a reference to Wilson’s 1988 song of the same name, which became the signature tune of his solo career. It was also the title of a film about the Beach Boys’ star starring Paul Dano and John Cusack as Wilson in separate, pivotal stages of his life.
Cusack said in a social media post: “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. RIP Brian.”
Wilson’s band, known for their vocal harmonies – influenced by barbershop quartets as much as doo-wop street harmony – signed with Capitol Records in 1962 and they released their first album, Surfin’ Safari, in the same year.
Wilson was born on June 20 1942, and began to play the piano and teach his brothers to sing harmony as a young boy.
The Beach Boys started as a neighbourhood act, rehearsing in Wilson’s bedroom and in the garage of their house in suburban Hawthorne, California.
In the group Wilson played bass while his brother Dennis was the drummer and Carl played lead guitar.
Their debut single, Surfin’, became a minor hit on its release in 1961, but was nothing compared with the success that followed from their second studio album, Surfin’ USA, released in 1963.
The band were managed by the trio’s father, Murry Wilson, but by mid-decade he had been displaced and Brian, who had been running the band’s recording sessions almost from the start, was in charge.
They were inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall of Fame in 1988 and received a Lifetime Achievement Grammy Award in 2001.
The Beach Boys’ many hits included I Get Around, California Girls, Surfin’ USA, Barbara Ann, Help Me Rhonda and Good Vibrations, and their most famous album is 1966’s Pet Sounds, which often features in lists of the greatest albums ever made.
It was a groundbreaking collection of introspective and reflective songs co-written and produced by Brian Wilson that marked a maturity for a band previously known for upbeat songs about girls, surfing and having fun.
The track listing included classic tunes such as God Only Knows, You Still Believe In Me, Sloop John B, I Guess I Just Wasn’t Made For These Times, Wouldn’t It Be Nice and Caroline, No.
Other studio albums including The Beach Boys Today! and Summer Days (Summer Nights!!), both released in 1965, also performed well in the charts.
In the later half of the 1960s and into the 1970s they had success with the likes of 1971 album Surf’s Up as well greatest hits albums including 20 Golden Greats, which peaked at number one in the UK albums chart in 1976.
Wilson had married singer Marilyn Rovell in 1964 and the couple welcomed daughters Carnie and Wendy, whom he became estranged from following their divorce.
He later reconciled with them and they sang together on the 1997 album The Wilsons, which was also the name of a music group formed by Carnie and Wendy following the breakup of pop vocal group Wilson Phillips.
Wilson, who had dealt with mental health and drug problems, got his life back on track in the 1990s and married talent manager Melinda Ledbetter.
When Ledbetter died last year Wilson said their five children, Daria, Delanie, Dylan, Dash and Dakota, were “in tears”.
“She (Ledbetter) was my saviour. She gave me the emotional security I needed to have a career. She encouraged me to make the music that was closest to my heart. She was my anchor,” he said in a statement.
Wilson was also embroiled in multiple lawsuits some of which followed from the release of his 1991 autobiography, Wouldn’t It Be Nice: My Own Story.
Rolling Stone Ronnie Wood was among the first to pay tribute to Mr Wilson, saying he is “in mourning”.
Wood wrote on X: “Oh no Brian Wilson and Sly Stone in one week – my world is in mourning, so sad”
His message is punctuated with praying hands and heart emojis, and features pictures of Wilson and American funk singer Sly Stone, who died on Monday, also aged 82.
Versatile US musician Questlove summed Brian Wilson up on Instagram: “If there was a human being who made art out of inexpressible sadness . . . damn it was Brian Wilson.”
Wilson last played Ireland when he brought his Pet Sounds world tour to Dublin in 2017.
