RIP one of the all-time legends and there will never be another one like him.

https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/...165711806.html

I can’t say I was ever a big fan of Brian. And he became odd and a recluse in recent years.

But, RIP to one of the founders of The Beach Boys and Wendy and Carnie’s Dad.

My dad was a huge Beach Boys fan along with other surf rock bands like Jan & Dean. He made me a cassette tape of the Beach Boys that I used to listen to non-stop back when I was in 3rd or 4th grade.

RIP, absolute legend.

RIP to the original misunderstood, tortured musical genius. I hope you find peace.

In the 90s I was at a Jimmy Buffet concert in San Diego. Towards the end of the concert, he brought out Brian Wilson for one song. Being a fan for decades, got chills seeing him in front of me. Almost brought me to tears.

This is a biggie. RIP to a true music legend.

The Beach Boys stuff after Pet Sounds should be more well known. They made a ton of fantastic music after it that has basically been forgotten. The only thing they are known for after Pet Sounds is basically "Kokomo" which is a shame.

Finally, Mike Love can finally claim that he was the true genius behind ALL the BB music all along and Brian was just a pawn without being alive to defend himself.

I also grew up listening to The Beach Boys courtesy of my dad. You can try to dismiss their work as mindless pop, and some of the early lyrics would bear that out, but waiting to be unleashed was an incredible gathering of talent with Brian absolutely outstanding in his field.

I wish there was a way we could have these artistic geniuses without them suffering from poor mental health so often. But maybe it’s part of the creative process.


God only knows.

In recent years? More like since about 1967.

I got to see Wilson live twice in his later years (once on the Beach Boys 50th tour and once solo w/Al Jardine) and even though he was kind of a doddering old man who at times looked like he was completely checked out, there were still moments when the spark would show.

The musical genius is a given, but he had a sincerity and an earnestness that is just so rare in modern entertainment. And oh my goodness that voice. People forget just how incredible his voice was when he was young. But he was a complicated guy for sure. Sometimes I think he got a free pass on stuff because he was perceived as such a sympathetic figure, but there will probably never be another like him.

Everyone, even non-fans, knows all the hits, but my favorite material of his will always be the sadder, more wistful tracks. Something like Pacific Coast Highway from the final Beach Boys album is barely even a song, but it crushes me everytime I listen to it. Even more so on a day like today. Listen to that or 'Til I Die and I dare you not to tear up a bit. Legend.

Has Mike Love posted/commented about Wilson's death while making it all about himself yet?

I never owned his albums but respected the talent and what he accomplished.

I would not mind if I heard the deeper cuts and songs that were not hits.

There's an interview with him from the 90s talking about the arrival of The Beatles in 1964. How the Beach Boys got shoved to the side. You can see in his face, and hear in his voice, that he never got over it. It haunted him in a "what might have been" way.

I don't know, that feels like revisionist history. Their commercial peak was 1963-1966. Maybe they would have been even bigger without the Beatles, but it's not like they were denied stardom.

1967 is when it went south for Brian/the group. I guess the pressure put on by the Beatles success may have played a role in Brian's brain breaking during the Smile sessions, but he clearly wasn't interested in continuing to churn out hits by that point anyway.

He sounded like an actor that turned down Luke Skywalker, etc.
Or, an artist that has a hit album that parks at #2 on the charts for several weeks because a monster album is parked at #1 forever, blocking them out.

That definitely happened, and I'm sure in the moment it was super frustrating, but I'm not convinced Brian's personal fate is any better in an alternate timeline where he and the Beach Boys are the biggest stars in the world. If anything I could see the whole thing imploding even quicker.

Definitely. He was already battling exhaustion and mental illness just a short time into their career. People forget that The Beach Boys released 10 freaking original albums between 1962 and 1965! That is insane output when you consider so many original songs and how involved Brian was with the production. (11 if you include a live album.) And that doesn't even take into account their touring schedule which was brutal during this time.

Plus, without The Beatles there would likely be no Pet Sounds, which was influenced heavily by Rubber Soul. It helped push Brian to his limits and produce something other than just lush harmonies about summer on the beach.

Granted, making that album probably added extra layers to his illness and eccentricity and you can tell he wasn't the same after it.

Wearing my Beach Boys Reyn Spooner shirt today in Brian's honor. Wonder if anyone will notice it.

I watched The Beach Boys documentary on Disney+ last year, and they said that the Beach Boys and Beatles egged each other on to raise their games, as was mentioned earlier. Pet Sounds was influential on Sgt Pepper etc.

I asked Google what the best pop song ever written was, and the AI preferred Whitney Houston over “God Only Knows.”

If anyone hasn't seen Love & Mercy, I highly recommend it. Maybe my most-favorite music biopic ever.

Always meant to watch that. Guess I have a good excuse now to quit putting it off.

The thing to remember about the Beatles vs the Beach Boys is that the Beatles had maybe the greatest pop songwriting duo of all time, not to mention George who developed into a great songwriter. They were also highly proficient players. The Beach Boys had Brian, who was a musical genius but not really much with lyrics and a bunch of guys who could sing, but mostly weren't allowed to even play on the albums. It wasn't a fair fight.

Brian was convinced that the late 19th century folk song Shortnin’ Bread was the greatest song of all time. He was obsessed with it and recorded it numerous times. Only one version was ever released and it’s a bonkers (and yet as catchy) as you’d imagine.

Ditto!

I had no idea Wilson Phillips had two of his kids Carnie and Wendy in the band.

Yeah that's been widely known for decades. And Chynna is the daughter of Michelle Phillips and the late John Phillips from the Mamas and the Papas. Musical families all around.