Brian Wilson, Beach Boys creative genius, dead at age 82
Brian Wilson, the genius behind sunny Beach Boys songs that helped define popular music in the ’60s, has died.
The music world is mourning Brian Wilson, one of the most influential songwriters of all time.
Founding member of the Rolling Stones Keith Richards, singer-songwriter Mick Fleetwood, the legendary Elton John, Bruce Springsteen, and more musicians have shared their grief following the death of Wilson, the legendary Beach Boys cofounder who died at 82.
Wilson’s fellow founding Beach Boys members, including Mike Love, also paid tribute.
Al Jardine, best known as the band’s rhythm guitarist and occasionally singing lead vocals, calls Wilson “my friend, my classmate, my football teammate, my Beach Boy bandmate and my brother in spirit.”
“I will always feel blessed that you were in our lives for as long as you were,” he wrote in a statement shared with USA TODAY on June 11. “I think the most comforting thought right now is that you are reunited with Carl and Dennis, singing those beautiful harmonies again. You were a humble giant who always made me laugh and we will celebrate your music forever.”
Jardine concluded: “Brian, I’ll really miss you…still I have the warmth of the sun within me tonight ☀️ 🎶 ❤️”
Bruce Springsteen: ‘Farewell, maestro’
“Brian Wilson was the most musically inventive voice in all of pop, with an otherworldly ear for harmony,” Bruce Springsteen wrote in a post to his Instagram June 12. “He was also the visionary leader of America’s greatest band, The Beach Boys. If there’d been no Beach Boys, there would have been no ‘Racing In The Street,'” he wrote, referencing one of his own popular tracks.
“Listen to ‘Summer’s Gone’ from The Beach Boys’ last album ‘That’s Why God Made The Radio’ and weep. Farewell, Maestro. Nothing but love and a lovely lasting debt from all of us over here on E Street,” Springsteen concluded.
Meanwhile Fleetwood, the cofounder of Fleetwood Mac, wrote on Instagram that “anyone with a musical bone in their body must be grateful for” Wilson’s “genius magical touch.”
He added he was “greatly saddened of this major worldly loss,” and “My thoughts go out to his family and friends.”
Brian Wilson’s daughter Carnie breaks her silence
“I have no words to express the sadness I feel right now,” wrote Carnie Wilson in a heartfelt tribute on Instagram.
“My father @brianwilsonlive was every fiber of my body. He will be remembered by millions and millions until the world ends,” Carnie continued. “I am lucky to have been his daughter and had a soul connection with him that will live on always. I’ve never felt this kind of pain before, but I know he’s resting up there in heaven … or maybe playing the piano for Grandma Audree his Mom.”Wilson is survived by daughters from his first marriage, Carnie and Wendy, who achieved success as part of Wilson Phillips, and five adopted children from his second marriage to Melinda Ledbetter.
Mike Love of the Beach Boys says the ‘world lost a genius’
Mike Love, who’s a founding Beach Boys member, shared a tribute Wednesday mourning his cousin Wilson.
“Today, the world lost a genius, and I lost a cousin by blood and my partner in music,” he wrote. “Brian Wilson wasn’t just the heart of The Beach Boys—he was the soul of our sound. From the first time we sang together as kids in my living room, I knew there was something otherworldly in him. His musical gifts were unmatched. The melodies he dreamed up, the emotions he poured into every note—Brian changed the course of music forever.”
He added, “Our journey together was filled with moments of brilliance, heartbreak, laughter, complexity and most of all, LOVE . Like all families, we had our ups and downs. But through it all, we never stopped loving each other, and I never stopped being in awe of what he could do when he sat at a piano or his spontaneity in the studio.”
Love wrote about Wilson’s unmatched artistry and said it was “one of the greatest blessings of my life to experience that creative space with him.”
He called him fragile, intense, funny and “he was one of a kind.”
He added that him and his wife, Jacquelyne, are heartbroken over Wilson’s death. “She stood beside me through so many chapters of this story, and we both send our love and prayers to Brian’s family, his children, and all who were touched by his life and gifts,” he wrote.
He concluded his post, “Brian, you once asked, ‘Wouldn’t it be nice if we were older?’ Now you are timeless. May you rest in the peace you so deeply deserve, surrounded by the heavenly music you helped create. May your spirit soar as high as your falsetto, may your wings spread in effortless flight.”
“Thank you for the harmonies, the memories, and the love. Death leaves a heartache no one can heal, Love leaves a memory no one can steal.”
Elton John says Brian Wilson was a major influence: ‘A true giant’
In a June 11 Instagram post of the two, the “Rocket Man” singer remembered Wilson as someone who “was always so kind to me from the day I met him.”
“He sang ‘Someone Saved My Life Tonight’ at a tribute concert in 2003, and it was an extraordinary moment for me,” he wrote. “I played on his solo records, he sang on my album, The Union, and even performed for my AIDS Foundation.”
John wrote he grew to love Wilson “as a person, and for me, he was the biggest influence on my songwriting ever.”
“He was a musical genius and revolutionary,” John wrote on Instagram. “He changed the goalposts when it came to writing songs and shaped music forever. A true giant.”
Bob Dylan remembers his dear friend Brian Wilson
“Heard the sad news about Brian today and thought about all the years I’ve been listening to him and admiring his genius,” wrote Bob Dylan on X. “Rest in peace dear Brian.”
Rolling Stones members Keith Richards and Ronnie Wood remember Brian Wilson
Richards took to Instagram to share a page from his 2010 memoir, in which he recalled listening to Wilson’s “very well-constructed” songs. He captioned the post, “Rest in Peace!”
Fellow Rolling Stone Ronnie Wood remarked that Wilson’s death came the same week as the passing of another iconic musician, Sly Stone. “Oh no Brian Wilson and Sly Stone in one week~ my world is in mourning 🙏🙏so sad ❤️❤️xx,” Wood wrote on Instagram.
Mike Portnoy, Todd Sucherman mourn Brian Wilson: ‘
Co-founder of the metal band Dream Theater, Mike Portnoy, wrote in an Instagram post that he was “absolutely shocked to hear” that Wilson died.
“Paul McCartney has often said that if there were no Pet Sounds, there’d be no Sgt Pepper…and that he thought God Only Knows was one of the most beautiful songs ever written,” Portnoy said. “This is surely a big one… #RIPBrianWilson Rest in Peace reunited with your brothers Dennis and Carl 🙏”
Todd Sucherman, drummer and member of Styx since March 1995, wrote on Instagram that “words fail at a moment like this.”
“It’s hard to imagine a world without Brian Wilson,” he added. “More words, memories and tributes will be forthcoming but beyond changing the face of music— he was at the epicenter of the life Taylor and I built together. So many friends we made were also planets in Brian’s galaxy. What a galaxy it was indeed, and we all share our collective grief for this kind soul who made the world better for all of us-forever.”
Carole King, Sean Ono Lennon and more pay tribute to Brian Wilson
Carole King remembered Wilson as “my friend and my brother in songwriting,” writing, “The world will miss Brian, but we are so lucky to have his music.”
The Velvet Underground founding member, John Cale, said Wilson “was not merely about surf music, rather a true musical genius toiling away at melding POP into startling sophistication.”
Sean Ono Lennon, son of John Lennon and Yoko Ono, shared on X that he was heartbroken by Wilson’s death.
“Not many people influenced me as much as he did,” Lennon said. “I feel very lucky that I was able to meet him and spend some time with him. He was always very kind and generous. He was our American Mozart. A one of a kind genius from another world.”
John Cusack calls Beach Boys’ Brian Wilson ‘the maestro’
In the comments of the post on Wilson’s Instagram account announcing his death, Sugar Ray’s Mark McGrath wrote that he was “truly heartbroken,” adding, “May his memory and music always bring you joy and comfort.”
John Cusack, who played Wilson in the film “Love & Mercy,” also paid his respects. In an X post, the actor remembered Wilson as “the maestro” and wrote, “The man was a open heart with two legs — with an ear that heard the angels.”
In a statement to USA TODAY, Cusack elaborated, “To see him so happy with his wife Melinda — finally talking about and performing his unfinished masterpiece Smile, (after the release of the astounding Smile sessions) — to hear him be so open about the depth of his struggles so that the telling of his story might help others and take away the stigma of mental health — was to see a triumph of endurance and spirit, love and Mercy.”
Sir Lucian Grainge, the chairman and CEO of Universal Music Group, also mourned Wilson, calling him “one of the most talented singer-songwriters in the history of recorded music.”
“Not only did his songs capture the spirit of youth, joy and longing in ways that still inspire millions of fans around the world, his innovative work in the studio transformed the way musicians record even to this day,” Grainge continued. “Brian made an indelible mark, and our thoughts are with his family in this time of loss.”
Wilson’s family said in a statement on June 11 that they were “at a loss for words” and requested privacy as they grieved. “We realize that we are sharing our grief with the world.”
Contributing: Pamela Avila, USA TODAY
‘ The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties ’
‘ Some details of this article were extracted from the following source www.usatoday.com ’
