Just heard it 10 minutes ago...very sad news. He was truly a music legend.

Thank you for the great music. The Beach Boys was the first concert I attended.

A tribute. Song written in 1990 about being a young man and buying Beach Boy records.

Written by Steven Page about his own psychological issues, including weight gain.

“Drove downtown in the rain
Nine thirty on a Tuesday night
Just to check out the late night
Record shop
Call it impulsive
Call it compulsive
Call it insane
But when I'm surrounded I just can't stop
It's a matter of instinct
It's a matter of conditioning
Matter of fact
You can call me Pavlov, dog

Ring a bell and I'll salivate
And how'd you like that?
Dr. Landy, tell me
You're not just a pedagogue….”

”had a dream
That I was three hundred pounds
And though I was very heavy
I floated 'til I couldn't see the ground
I floated 'til I couldn't see the ground, oh
Somebody help me
I couldn't see the ground
Somebody help me
Couldn't see the ground
Somebody help me

Because I'm
I'm lyin' in bed
Just like Brian Wilson did
Well I'm
I'm lyin' in bed, just like Brian Wilson did, oh, yeah”

Brian Wilson’s cover.

I was a huge fan of the Beach Boys since their earliest days, and the Beach Boys were Brian Wilson's creation. Great music, massively influential. He was a music and recording genius.

Anyone looking for a suitable album that captures their work should take a look at Fifty Big Ones, a greatest hits album released for their 50th anniversary in 2012 .I listen to their music all the time.

On his website I found a page of quotes about Brian from other great musical talents, describing what they thought of him. These are not eulogies, I think they've been on the site for some time.

Quotes about Brian Wilson

Wow...another piece of my youth gone. The Beach Boys were an all time favorite

of mine and I still played the songs when a "yen" for the oldies hit me!

RIP Brian...thank you!

I was so sad to see this come across various feeds. The Beach Boys were so uniquely American, in addition to be just superb.

Small story- when SNL was new I remember sending away for tickets--- and actually going to a dress rehearsal for one which I think was at 7 or 8 pm ( and then the actual was LIVE from NY at 11:30 ). The guest host was Jodie Foster ( of Taxi Driver fame) and the musical guest was Brian Wilson. I can never remember when this was but just googled and it was November 1976. I found this article which captured the performance.

I remember that he was "off" but I thought it was maybe the dress rehearsal. Apparently the actual show wasn't much better. I don't share this to be critical but just because that was my recollection.

Anyway he brought so much to so many.

Brian was a genius. I saw them back when he was still with them. I loved their happy music in the 60s but every day on my hike, I hear at least two or three on my 60s stream. God Only Knows is a favorite of mine. Brian , you brought a lot of joy.

lars, you probably know that the beach/surf music scene originated in SoCal and the Beach Boys were at the epicenter. Don't leave out the instrumental groups like Dick Dale and the Ventures.

Many view the album Pet Sounds at the pinnacle of Wilson's achievement and it's hard to disagree. A funny story I heard years ago about the name, it's not something I've seen or heard discussed on the interwebs anywhere.

When the new album songs were in the recording stage, Wilson and Mike Love's relationship had deteriorated and they weren't getting along well. Wilson had long since established his MO of recording parts and segments over and over and over again until the sound recorded corresponded to what he was hearing in his head, which was what he wanted. At some point, Love erupted in anger and frustration about how tedious it was getting, and he stormed out of the studio. He came back and started yelling about how Wilson was treating them like animals. Hey, they weren't dogs, they were artists too. Love calmed down enough and continued, though frustrated.

The outburst gave Wilson inspiration about how he could retaliate. He recorded his dogs barking and put that segment at the end of the song "Caroline No". He decided to name the album "Pet Sounds" and a photo session at a zoo produced the cover image.

There are other stories about how the album title came about but I like this one best.

Oh no, The Beach Boys were the sound of my teenage years. So many of the music makers of my generation are passing away. So sorry to hear this.

Of course, we ’ll always have Mick Jagger and Keith Richards.

For anyone interested.

Link - Brian Wilson

So sad two super talented musicians this week who were ruined by drugs. I know too many talented people who don't realize how talented they are. Self doubt seems to haunt so many.

I believe Brian Wilson mostly had mental health difficulties. I listened to a friend of his today that said, drugs were used as the excuse because people did not talk about mental illness especially in the 60s.

He was diagnosed with Schizo-affective disorder.

Creative people seem to suffer from mental/emotional/sociological/psychological issues and more, compared to others. The same seems to be true of people who are in positions of power, whether because of significant personal wealth, or being in high positions in business, or politics, or members of the clergy, or others in prominent public-facing roles, or others.

Substance addition and abnormal behavior (with the thought that they can do whatever they want and get away with it) are more common among such people.

That's my take. Wilson overdid it and suffered from the influence of a person he sought help from who took advantage of him. That part of his life was quite sad but he seemed to emerge from it at the end, perhaps damaged but closer to normal.

He was fantastic. ”Wouldn’t it be nice” has been stuck in my head all day — a most wonderful bit of ear candy. ABC World News had segments about Wilson and the BB. He (BW) reported that he had trouble with that fame and rocket like success.

What an incredibly talented man. Genius.❤️

Another magnificent talent has left us - but we still have all his wonderful music.

One of my faves - his vocal range was fantastic:

Full vocal version

Here's one of Brian Wilson's songs that many in the music world consider one of his best. This is a special recording, it seems to take place in a restaurant, and it's sung by his brother Carl (now also deceased) with minimal accompaniment. It's a unique version of a unique song and also highlights Carl's beautiful voice. For whatever reason, the video can't be embedded but if you click on Watch on YouTube below, you'll get there.

Thanks, Elmer.

Delicious, and even in that audio hardscape. Amazing.

I was going to remark, earlier on, that maybe there are not many BB, BW sob peliciting songs. But I could see myself tearing at this one.

Elmer, I agree about Carl’s voice. Another (much earlier) example.

This link was part of a Yahoo News email this morning.

Brian Wilson Life in Photos

choebud, I believe they're lip-syncing to a studio recorded version, there are instrument parts present in the song with no other musicians visible playing them. That is a beautiful song.

I thought the live and bare rendition I linked to was particularly special and unique.

Right, a studio version but I always loved it. Love the rendition you posted.

Though not Carl, Brian or any BB member, I found this version of the song once when pulling up Carl’s. Brian seemed to like it.

That is a very nice version. I'm not sure what you were trying to say in the description but the men singing harmony, the scenes of them standing in front of microphones, show members of the band. So they must have participated in the recording.

Sorry, I just meant no solo singing from Carl or any of the BB. In fact, I don’t see Carl in the video. Looks like it’s from 1996; he died in 1998.

ETA - I only see Brian, Mike, Al and Bruce in the video.

One of the things I've always thought amazing was how one family, three brothers plus a cousin and an added on friend (alternatively David Marks and Al Jardine, who stuck), could be so endowed with musical talent and beautiful singing voices. Perhaps drummer brother Dennis to a lesser extent, I don't think he added much. Although like the rest, he did learn his assigned instrument adequately as did the others, so as to tour and perform live.

I know there are other examples in popular music, certainly the Bee Gees are one, but they're not numerous

I'm not sure Brian Wilson's genius would have manifested itself as it did without his band as the vehicle to deliver his creations. A question that will never be answered but it doesn't matter, they were there, he was there, the legacy will never be forgotten.

I really enjoyed the 2014 biopic about him, Love & Mercy. It may have not been 100% accurate (as few biopics are) but I felt like it gave a good sense of who he was.

Brian's music will endure forever.

Surfer Girl

🔸 https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Lvo0O7BpK9Y

In the 1970s, a few years after college, I took a long weekend to visit a friend who'd taken a job located in a Southern city. There was a rock concert of interest while I was there that my friend got us tickets for.

There we were, sitting at the large stadium (where the city's NFL team played), soaked in perspiration from the heat and humidity, and on came the Beach Boys. Playing familiar songs, it was as if a breeze were blowing to cool us down (though in reality, there wasn't). We enjoyed shouting out the names of the beaches cited in the lyrics of "Surfin USA", most of which being places we knew. But the big moment came when they started into "California Girls". We stood and shouted/sang the lyrics while looking around at the people (especially the women) staring at us while we stared back yelling "I wish they all could be California girls".

I remember the concert vividly (the main act was Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young). Most of the evening's raw energy came from the Beach Boys. It was a great show and is a fun memory.

^^^ That must have been exhilarating.

I've been to a lot of concerts in my lifetime (with music being my most consistent hobby) and it is among the best ever.

There was an opening act too - Jesse Colin Young, of the Youngbloods. "Darkness. Darkness" was his big hit but he had some other good songs in his repertoire too.