Beach Boys icon Brian Wilson has died.
The news was confirmed in an official statement placed on his social media channels a few moments ago. Brian Wilson was 82 years old.
A figure who helped conceptualise and revolutionise modern pop music, Brian Wilson’s life was enriched by music, but troubled mental health issues. The creative spearhead in the Beach Boys, their music brought West Coast surf culture to the world, blending doo wop harmonies with rock ‘n’ roll rhythms.
As the 60s progressed, Brian Wilson became infatuated with the possibilities of the studio. Declining to tour with the Beach Boys, he instead focussed on their studio activities, building on the progress made by peers such as Phil Spector, while blasting them into unknown realms.
Perhaps the apex of this was the Beach Boys’ ‘Pet Sounds’ project, an album regularly cited not only as a defining release in the 60s, but one of the greatest of all time.
Defying critics to find incredible success with 1966 single ‘Good Vibrations’ – recorded for a then unheard of studio sum – Brian Wilson’s health deteriorated, with excessive drug use and long-held trauma curbing his creativity.
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The decades that followed are blighted by half-truths and mythology, but it’s fair to say they weren’t happy periods in his life. As the Millennium approached, however, Brian Wilson’s health – and his performance capabilities – visibly improved, sparking extensive tours lit up by the sheer joyous communication between an artist and his fans.
Completing his much speculated upon ‘Smile’ project, Brian Wilson’s life was the subject of a biopic – Love & Mercy – and he toured almost to the end.
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In a short statement, his family write:
We are heartbroken to announce that our beloved father Brian Wilson has passed away.
We are at a loss for words right now.
Please respect our privacy at this time as our family is grieving.
We realize that we are sharing our grief with the world.
Love & Mercy
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God only knows where we would be without him. Revisit our 2016 interview with Brian Wilson in the Clash archive.
Inset Photography: Rob Meyers