Tributes paid as The Beach Boys icon Brian Wilson dies, age 82: “Love and mercy”
The Beach Boys icon and pop music pioneer Brian Wilson has died, age 82, with the world of music paying tribute.
The news of the innovator’s passing was shared by his family on social media today (Wednesday June 11).
“We are heartbroken to announce that our beloved father Brian Wilson has passed away,” wrote his children. “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.”
Last year saw Wilson placed in conservatorship when his family and close friends cited that the icon could no longer care for himself following a dementia diagnosis. This came after the death of Wilson’s wife and longtime manager Melinda Ledbetter Wilson, who had been acting as the music legend’s care-giver and taking care of his needs after a decline in his health. He suffered a lifelong battle with mental illness, including a nervous breakdown in 1964 that saw him resign from regular touring with The Beach Boys to focus on writing and production.
In a statement to Rolling Stone, Wilson’s longtime manager Jean Sievers said: “Brian gave so much to the world through his music, his spirit and his strength. He was a sweet, gentle soul as well as fierce competitor. There will never ever be anyone like him again. God truly broke the mold when he created Brian Wilson. Besides being a creative genius, he was one the smartest and funniest people I’ve ever known. His message of love will live on through his music forever.”
Wilson was known as one of the true geniuses of contemporary music for shifting the parameters of what pop could achieve with his experimental approach and dazzling ability for composition, production and textures. Born June 20, 1942 in Inglewood, California, he would grow up under an abusive father. Writing in his 1991 autobiography Wouldn’t It Be Nice: My Own Story, Wilson said of his childhood: “Although he saw himself as a loving father who guided his brood with a firm hand, he abused us psychologically and physically, creating wounds that never healed”.
He would go on to form the hugely influential Beach Boys with his brothers Dennis and Carl Wilson, their cousin Mike Love, and their friend Al Jardine, in 1961. Setting themselves apart with their layered vocal harmonies, they scored US Number One singles with the classics ‘Surf City’, ‘I Get Around’, ‘Help Me, Rhonda’ and ‘Good Vibrations’, and reached their creative zenith with 1966 seminal concept album ‘Pet Sounds’ – famously inspiring The Beatles to up their game on ‘Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band’, with Paul McCartney often hailing it as his favourite album of all time.
Wilson was just 23-years-old when he wrote and produced the album, which included the untouchable ‘God Only Knows’.
Wilson’s passing also follows the sad loss of fellow legend Sly Stone earlier this week.
A number of figures have since taken to social media to pay tribute to Wilson, with The Rolling Stones‘ Ronnie Wood saying that his “world is in mourning” and Heaven 17‘s Martin Ware hailing him as “a genius”.
“Brian Wilson was always so kind to me from the day I met him,” wrote Elton John. “He sang ‘Someone Saved My Life Tonight’ at a tribute concert in 2003, and it was an extraordinary moment for me. I played on his solo records, he sang on my album, The Union, and even performed for my AIDS Foundation.
“I grew to love him as a person, and for me, he was the biggest influence on my songwriting ever; he was a musical genius and revolutionary. He changed the goalposts when it came to writing songs and shaped music forever. A true giant.”
Bob Dylan, meanwhile, added: “Heard the sad news about Brian today and thought about all the years I’ve been listening to him and admiring his genius. Rest in peace dear Brian.”
Heard the sad news about Brian today and thought about all the years I’ve been listening to him and admiring his genius. Rest in peace dear Brian.
— Bob Dylan (@bobdylan) June 11, 2025
Friend and fellow legend Nancy Sinatra wrote that “his cherished music will live forever as he travels through the Universe and beyond”, while Questlove shared a lengthy post about his own connection to ‘Pet Sounds’ and added: “Man, if there was a human being who made art out of inexpressible sadness… damn it was Brian Wilson.”
John Lennon and Yoko Ono‘s son and acclaimed solo artist Sean Ono Lennon wrote: “Anyone who really knows me knows how heart broken I am about Brian Wilson passing. Not many people influenced me as much as he did. 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.”
Sex Pistols guitarist Steve Jones shared a photo of himself with Wilson, writing “another super talented mutha gone,” while actor and musician Zooey Deschanel posted an image of her in the studio with the icon and She & Him bandmate M. Ward, noting: “His generosity of spirit and truly incandescent creativity has brought me so much joy and inspiration over the years and I’m grateful for all the time I spent with him.”
Anyone who really knows me knows how heart broken I am about Brian Wilson passing. Not many people influenced me as much as he did. 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… pic.twitter.com/UODb9NdqOl
— Seán Ono Lennon (@seanonolennon) June 11, 2025
John Cale, formerly of The Velvet Underground, wrote: “To me, Brian Wilson was not merely about surf music, rather a true musical genius toiling away at melding POP into startling sophistication. He will he be missed mightily.”
The Walkmen frontman turned solo star Hamilton Leithauser simply wrote “Rest in Peace Brian Wilson, you were a god” while Doves said of the “pioneer”: “Your music will forever live on.”
Former Menswear drummer turned music journalist Matt Everitt shared a touching story of one of his several interviews with Wilson, calling him “the greatest composer of America popular music ever”, while actor and musician Paddy Considine wrote: “Thank you for the most beautiful music. One of the highlights of our lives was seeing you in Boston in 2000. We will remember it forever. Your music and compositions affected us in the most profound way.”
Oh no Brian Wilson and Sly Stone in one week ~ my world is in mourning
so sad
xx pic.twitter.com/NXPfKzy7Ml
— Ronnie Wood (@ronniewood) June 11, 2025
Rest in Peace, Brian Wilson! pic.twitter.com/V6tQ3F8mtQ
— Keith Richards (@officialKeef) June 11, 2025
RIP the genius Brian Wilson
— Martyn Ware
(@martynware) June 11, 2025
Those transcendent words and happy/sad melodies will be there for all-time, waiting for each new generation. Mighty love and thanks always to the great Brian Wilson. pic.twitter.com/BydohAUf1c
— Cameron Crowe (@CameronCrowe) June 11, 2025
(@paddy_considine)
To me, Brian Wilson was not merely about surf music, rather a true musical genius toiling away at melding POP into startling sophistication. He will he be missed mightily.
xx jc https://t.co/UQDhO4dEVD— John Cale (@therealjohncale) June 11, 2025
R.I.P.
Thankful…. pic.twitter.com/OyIOidpKLc
— Julian Lennon (@JulianLennon) June 11, 2025
How much joy can one man bring to the world? RIP #BrianWilson https://t.co/tAQNNFixIp
— Stephen Street (@StreetStephen) June 11, 2025
Anyone with a musical bone in their body
must be grateful for Brian Wilson’s genius magical touch !! And greatly saddened of this major worldly loss!! My thoughts go out to his family and friends
— Mick Fleetwood (@MickFleetwood) June 11, 2025
Brian Wilson was a musical and spiritual giant. His melodies shaped generations, & his soul resonated in every note.
I was fortunate to know him; we all were blessed by his genius.
Rest peacefully, Brian.#BrianWilson #TheBeachBoys #MickyDolenz #Music pic.twitter.com/zgD6uairm8
— Micky Dolenz (@TheMickyDolenz1) June 11, 2025
After ‘Pet Sounds’, Wilson and lyricist Van Dyke Parks started work on a follow-up record, to be titled ‘Smile’. An ambitious and experimental project, it included advanced vocal arrangements and even more sophisticated recording techniques, but due to band tensions, Wilson’s deteriorating mental health and the sheer complexity of the material, the album was abandoned.
Tracks from the ‘Smile’ sessions wound up on subsequent Beach Boys albums, notably 1971’s ‘Surf’s Up’, the title track of which was among Wilson’s most accomplished works. A version of ‘Smile’ that was reconstructed from the original sessions was released as ‘The Smile Sessions’ in 2011, while Wilson released his own solo version with re-recorded parts in 2004.
Though he never officially left the band, Wilson was largely inactive from the mid-’70s onwards, only making sporadic live appearances and occasional songwriting contributions.
His drug issues began to dominate his life during that period, with psychologist and therapist Eugene Landy being introduced to treat him in 1975. During the ’80s, he prescribed Wilson with intense psychotropic medications that left the musician dazed and eventually Landy was dismissed in 1991.
He released a self-titled solo album in 1988, under the supervision of Landy. It included broad ’80s pop production, but songs such as ‘Love And Mercy’ carried his trademark songwriting style. In later life, he released albums reimagining familiar Gershwin and Disney songs, and his final studio album was 2021’s ‘At My Piano’.
Speaking at the time of Melinda’s death in 2024, Wilson told fans: “My heart is broken”, before paying tribute to his late partner, esteeming her as a “savior” and “anchor”.
“Melinda was more than my wife,” he continued. “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 closest to my heart. She was my anchor. She was everything for us. Please say a prayer for her.”
In 2014, Bill Pohlad’s biographical film on Wilson’s life, Love & Mercy, was oriented around Wilson’s and Ledbetter’s relationship, as depicted by Paul Dano and Elizabeth Banks respectively, with The Holdovers’ Paul Giamatti playing Eugene Landy. In an interview with ABC Nightline in 2015, Banks recalled a conversation she had with Ledbetter before shooting the film, who understood music to ultimately be Wilson’s “first love”.
“She said to me, ‘Music is his first love’,” said Banks of her conversation with Ledbetter. “Nothing can replace it. It’s his being, it’s his essence, it’s his everything, So I’m settling for second, but it’s a pretty good– it’s a pretty good second’.”
A long-lost country album recorded by Wilson in the early 1970s had also finally been scheduled for release, with ‘Cows In The Pasture’ expected sometime in 2025.
This is a developing story. Check back at NME for more information and tributes.
The post Tributes paid as The Beach Boys icon Brian Wilson dies, age 82: “Love and mercy” appeared first on NME.
What's Your Reaction?
Like
0
Dislike
0
Love
0
Funny
0
Angry
0
Sad
0
Wow
0
