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5 days ago
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Forever No. 1: The Beach Boys, ‘Help Me, Rhonda'
Forever No. 1 is a Billboard series that pays special tribute to the recently deceased artists who achieved the highest honor our charts have to offer — a Billboard Hot 100 No. 1 single — by taking an extended look back at the chart-topping songs that made them part of this exclusive club. Here, we honor Brian Wilson, who died on Wednesday (June 11) at age 82, by looking at the second of The Beach Boys' three Hot 100-toppers: 'Help Me, Rhonda,' the final classic of the Beach Boys' earliest golden age. What a difference an 'h' makes. When 'Help Me, Ronda' was originally featured on The Beach Boys Today! in early 1965, the band didn't think too much of the shuffling love song with the repetitive hook; you can tell by how little care they took to normalize the volume levels, which inexplicably jump around in the song's last two choruses. But leader Brian Wilson believed in the song's potential, and after the band re-recorded it or single release (and for inclusion on the band's second 1965 album, Summer Days (And Summer Nights!!)) as 'Help Me, Rhonda,' it became the latest in a stunning streak of smashes for the family-and-friends quintet from Southern California. More from Billboard The 20 Best Beach Boys Songs (Staff Picks) Addison Rae Announces Dates For Debut 2025 Headlining World Tour How Brandon Lake Is Leading A Whole New Flock To 'What's Real And What's True' In Christian Music In fact, by early 1965, The Beach Boys was one of the only American bands still holding its own against the pop-rock raiders from overseas. The British Invasion was in full swing, and The Beatles alone had topped the Hot 100 six times in 1964. In between No. 1s four and five for the Fab Four that year came the Boys' eternal teen anthem 'I Get Around' and the group had two additional top 10 hits by the end of '64: the wistful 'When I Grow Up (To Be a Man)' (No. 9) and the the ebullient 'Dance, Dance, Dance' (No. 8). Both of those were included on The Beach Boys Today! at the top of 1965, and the set also spawned a third single in a cover of Bobby Freeman's 'Do You Wanna Dance?,' which just missed the top 10 (No. 12) that April. As the Beach Boys were still enjoying their run of fun-and-sun early hits, Brian Wilson was beginning to stretch out both as a songwriter and a producer. 'I Get Around' was backed by 'Don't Worry Baby,' Wilson's first real attempt to outdo his idol Phil Spector, with impossibly dreamy production and harmonies and a gorgeous rising verse melody that somehow elevated into an even-higher-flying chorus. The flip-side to 'Dance, Dance, Dance' was 'Please Let Me Wonder,' another Spectorian love song with strikingly fragile verses and a near choir-like refrain. And perhaps most notably, Today! included the lovely but disquieting 'She Knows Me Too Well,' Wilson's first real lyrical examination of his own romantic insecurities and failings. All of these would ultimately point the way to the artistic leap forward the band would take on 1966's Pet Sounds, the band's intensely personal and overwhelmingly lush masterwork which disappointed commercially, but made them critics' darlings for the first time. But they weren't there yet. In mid-'65, they were still fighting to maintain their place in an increasingly crowded pop-rock landscape — and, not having reached the Hot 100's top five since 'I Get Around' nearly a full year earlier, they needed a no-doubter to lead off Summer Days. So Brian Wilson dug back in on the song he'd relegated to deep-cut status on the album before. 'Ronda' was much more in line with the group's earlier, simpler hits than the more lyrically and musically complex fare Wilson was starting to explore, but he was right that the song had real potential: It was a clever number that basically managed to be both a breakup ballad and an upbeat love song at once, with a chorus so relentless that you could hear it once and remember it for the rest of your life. It just needed a little extra maintenance. In truth, Brian did a lot more on the re-recording of 'Help Me, Ronda' than add an 'h' to her name and keep his finger steadier on the volume controls. He also clipped the intro, so it began right with its 'Well, since she put me down…' intro, dropping you right into the middle of the song's narrative. He tightened the tempo a little, and added some 'bow-bow-bow-bow' backing vocals to tie together the 'help-help me, Rhonda' pleas of the chorus. He added some extra piano and guitar to give the song's instrumental bridge a little extra zip. And perhaps most importantly, he laid an extra falsetto backing 'Help me, Rhonda, yeah!' on top of the chorus climax to make it stand out a little better from the rest of the refrain. They're all small additions, but you don't realize how much difference they make until you go back to the Today! original and wonder why the whole thing sounds so empty and lifeless by comparison. But while Brian Wilson allowed the song to soar, 'Rhonda' was anchored by a less-celebrated Beach Boy: Al Jardine. A high school friend of Brian's, Jardine had mostly served as a glue guy in the band to that point and had never sung lead on one of their songs, much less a single A-side. But Brian was intent on giving his buddy a spotlight moment, and decided Jardine would take the reins for 'Rhonda.' It was a good match: While the Wilsons' voices drifted towards the ethereal and sentimental, and Mike Love's had a more muscular, occasionally snide edge to it, Al Jardine's voice had both a sturdiness and an unassuming everyman quality to it. He was the Beach Boy best equipped to sell a relatable song like 'Rhonda.' And while 'Rhonda' was a less musically and lyrically ambitious song than others Wilson was attempting contemporaneously, there is still a bit of trickiness to it. It's a lyric that mourns a romantic split with one girl while attempting to simultaneously ask a new girl to ease his pain — and the vocal matches the shift; Jardine's singing is frenzied and pained and in the first half of his verses and smooth and composed in the second. From a less likable or compelling vocalist, the whole thing could've very easily come off like a cheap come-on, like he doesn't actually give a damn about either girl. But Jardine manages to sound sincere, like he actually is going through it and is genuinely in need of the help that only the titular female can provide. When he begs on the chorus for Rhonda to 'get 'er outta my heart!' — after a couple dozen shorter pleas from the rest of the Boys — you really hope she succeeds in doing so. With its new arrangement and new title, 'Rhonda' did indeed prove the no-doubter that the Beach Boys were hoping for to re-establish their pop supremacy in '65. The song debuted on the Hot 100 on April 17 at No. 80, and seven weeks later, it replaced — who else — The Beatles' 'Ticket to Ride' to become the band's second No. 1 hit, lasting two weeks on top before being replaced by the other dominant American pop group of the era: The Supremes, with 'Back in My Arms Again.' The Beatles would, of course, be heard from again just a few months later with a 'Help!' No. 1 of their own — and in between them in June, the Four Tops reigned with 'I Can't Help Myself (Sugar Pie, Honey Bunch).' (Draw your own conclusions about a generational cry for additional assistance amidst the turmoil of the mid-'60s if you so desire.) 'Help Me, Rhonda' would mark something of the end of an era for The Beach Boys and Brian Wilson, as it was their last major pop hit before the group started rapidly scaling up its ambitions. Even 'California Girls,' the group's universally accessible No. 3-peaking follow-up to 'Rhonda' — which, wouldn't you know it, got stuck behind The Beatles' 'Help!' on the Hot 100 — came affixed with a cinematic instrumental intro and a vocal outro in-the-round that no other pop group of the time would have dared attempt. By 1966, the group was pushing pop music into the future at a rate that would ultimately prove uncomfortable for both the public and for the Beach Boys themselves — though it would culminate in one more all-time classic pop single before it all fell apart. And 'Help Me, Rhonda' stands alone in all of pop history in at least one respect: It remains the lone Billboard Hot 100 representation for all Rhondas worldwide. No other song (or artist) with that name — outside of a No. 22-peaking Johnny Rivers cover of the song in 1975, featuring Brian on backing vocals — has ever reached the chart since its 1958 introduction. (No 'Ronda's either.) Tomorrow, we look at the final of the Beach Boys' three Brian Wilson-led No. 1s: the forever singular 'Good Vibrations.' Best of Billboard Chart Rewind: In 1989, New Kids on the Block Were 'Hangin' Tough' at No. 1 Four Decades of 'Madonna': A Look Back at the Queen of Pop's Debut Album on the Charts Chart Rewind: In 1990, Madonna Was in 'Vogue' Atop the Hot 100
Yahoo
13-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
‘Rest in peace to the greatest': Co-founder of iconic ‘60s band dies at 82
Brian Wilson — a co-founder of the iconic rock band The Beach Boys — has died. He was 82 years old. Wilson's death was announced by his family via the musician's official Instagram on Wednesday, June 11. 'We are heartbroken to announce that our beloved father Brian Wilson has passed away. We are at a loss for words right now,' the family wrote. '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.' A cause of death was not revealed. Read More: Rock icon with dementia now under conservatorship months after wife's death The post was flooded with empathetic comments from fans and fellow musicians alike. 'Favourite producer & composer of all time. Pushed the boundaries further than anyone had before,' electronic duo Disclosure commented. 'Lost for words. We love you Brian. Rest in peace to the greatest.' Born on June 20, 1942 in Inglewood, California, Wilson formed The Beach Boys in 1961 with his two younger brothers — Dennis and Carl — alongside cousin Mike Love and school friend Alan Jardine. Read More: Legendary musician planning to tour with former bandmate's group Serving as the group's primary songwriter, Wilson penned dozens of The Beach Boys' biggest hits such as 'Surfin' U.S.A.' 'God Only Knows,' 'I Get Around,' 'Help Me, Rhonda' and 'Good Vibrations.' His efforts — along with the rest of the band — helped the Beach Boys revolutionize the 'California sound' of the 1960s, sell more than 100 million records worldwide and have 37 songs reach the Top 40 of the Billboard Hot 100 — the most by any American band — with four reaching No. 1. The Beach Boys were ranked 12th on Rolling Stone's list of the greatest artists of all time while the band's founding members were inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 1988. Outside the Beach Boys, Wilson wrote hit songs for other artists (including Jan and Dean's 1963 single 'Surf City') and released 12 solo albums. Rolling Stone reported last year that Wilson's forthcoming country album, which had been locked away since 1970s, would be released 'at some point in 2025.' Read More: Beach Boys member's country album locked away since 1970s to be released The music legend struggled with dementia toward the end of his life, according to his family who placed Wilson in a conservatorship last May, People reported. Wilson's family filed for a conservatorship in February 2024, shortly after Wilson's wife, Melinda Ledbetter Wilson, died at 77 in January. Wilson struggled with drug abuse and a number of mental health issues, including auditory hallucinations, throughout his life and career. He stopped touring with the Beach Boys in the late 1960s (returning only briefly in the 1970s and 2010s) and was later diagnosed with schizoaffective disorder. Wilson toured with on his own and with various bands in recent years. His final concert was at the Pine Knob Music Theatre in Clarkston, Michigan, on July 26, 2022. Music superstar hilariously reacts to bra thrown at him during Mass. show Popular folk rock band's frontman abruptly walks off stage mid-song Australian singer, rapper The Kid LAROI to headline The Big E Arena this fall Country singer involved in pedestrian crash that killed 77-year-old woman Doechii calls out Trump's 'ruthless attacks' to stop Los Angeles protests Read the original article on MassLive.
Yahoo
12-06-2025
- Entertainment
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Carnie Wilson Mourns Dad Brian Wilson: ‘I've Never Felt This Kind of Pain Before'
Following the death of Beach Boys frontman and legendary songwriter Brian Wilson at 82, his daughter Carnie Wilson shared a moving tribute to him on social media. 'I have no words to express the sadness I feel right now,' Carnie wrote alongside a photo of her, Brian and sister Wendie. 'My Father @brianwilsonlive was every fiber of my body. He will be remembered by millions and millions until the world ends.' More from Rolling Stone Al Jardine Pays Tribute to Beach Boys Bandmate Brian Wilson: 'My Brother in Spirit' Elton John Calls Late Brian Wilson 'The Biggest Influence on My Songwriting' Elton John, Carole King, More Remember Brian Wilson: 'His Cherished Music Will Live Forever' She continued, saying she was '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,' she wrote. At the end of her tribute, she said that she 'will post something else soon but this is all my hands will let me type,' adding, 'I love you Daddy….I miss you so much already.' Brian formed the Beach boys with his younger brothers Dennis and Carl in 1961 with their cousin Mike Love and friend Al Jardine. His prolific legacy includes dozens of ubiquitous hit singles with the Beach Boys, including three Number One tracks ('I Get Around,' 'Help Me, Rhonda,' and 'Good Vibrations'). His family announced his death in a statement Wednesday. 'We are heartbroken to announce that our beloved father Brian Wilson has passed away. We are at a loss for words right now,' his family wrote on social media. 'Please respect our privacy at this time as our family is grieving. We realize that we are sharing our grief with the world.' Wilson's family did not provide a cause of death, but it was revealed in February 2024 that the Beach Boys member was battling dementia. 'The world mourns a genius today, and we grieve for the loss of our cousin, our friend, and our partner in a great musical adventure,' the band wrote in a statement. 'Brian Wilson wasn't just the heart of the Beach Boys — he was the soul of our sound. The melodies he dreamed up and the emotions he poured into every note changed the course of music forever. His unparalleled talent and unique spirit created the soundtrack of so many lives around the globe, including our own. Together, we gave the world the American dream of optimism, joy, and a sense of freedom — music that made people feel good, made them believe in summer and endless possibilities. 'We are heartbroken by his passing,' the group continued. 'We will continue to cherish the timeless music we made together and the joy he brought to millions over the decades. And while we will miss him deeply, his legacy will live on through his songs and in our memories.' 'Brian 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,' Jardine said in a separate statement to Rolling Stone. '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.' Best of Rolling Stone Sly and the Family Stone: 20 Essential Songs The 50 Greatest Eminem Songs All 274 of Taylor Swift's Songs, Ranked
Yahoo
12-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Brian Wilson, Beach Boys Co-Founder and Architect of Pop, Dead at 82
Brian Wilson, who as leader of the Beach Boys and a founder of California rock invented a massively successful pop sound full of harmonies and sunshine, has died at the age of 82. 'We are heartbroken to announce that our beloved father Brian Wilson has passed away. We are at a loss for words right now,' his family wrote in a statement posted on social media. 'Please respect our privacy at this time as our family is grieving. We realize that we are sharing our grief with the world.' More from Rolling Stone Questlove, Clairo, Earthgang, and More Remember Sly Stone: He 'Was a Giant' Billy Jones, Baby's All Right Owner and Key Player in New York Music Scene, Dead at 45 Sly Stone, Family Stone Architect Who Fused Funk, Rock, and Soul, Dead at 82 Wilson's family did not provide a cause of death, but it was revealed in February 2024 that the Beach Boys legend was battling dementia. 'Brian 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,' Al Jardine said in a statement to Rolling Stone. '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. Brian, I'll really miss you…still I have the warmth of the sun within me tonight.' '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,' Wilson's longtime manager Jean Sievers said in a statement to Rolling Stone. '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's legacy includes dozens of ubiquitous hit singles with the Beach Boys, including three Number One singles ('I Get Around,' 'Help Me, Rhonda,' and 'Good Vibrations'). In the 1960s, the Beach Boys were not only the most successful American band, but they also jockeyed for global preeminence with the Beatles. And on albums such as Pet Sounds, Wilson's lavish, orchestral production techniques dramatically expanded the sonic palette of rock & roll and showed how the recording studio could be an instrument by itself. Born on June 20, 1942, Brian Wilson grew up in Hawthorne, California, a modest town next to the Los Angeles Airport. Brian was the eldest of three brothers; his younger brothers were Dennis and Carl. Their father, Murry, was an aspiring songwriter and a tyrant. '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,' Wilson wrote in his 1991 autobiography, Wouldn't It Be Nice: My Own Story. Wilson grew up playing sports and obsessing over music, teaching his brothers to harmonize with him. Music was his sustenance and his solace, he said: 'Early on, I learned that when I tuned the world out, I was able to tune in to a mysterious, God-given music. It was my gift, and it allowed me to interpret and understand emotions I couldn't articulate.' In 1961, Brian, Dennis, and Carl formed a band with their cousin Mike Love and their friend Al Jardine, managed by Murry Wilson; Brian played bass, took many of the lead vocals, and wrote the songs. Signed to Capitol Records and named the Beach Boys, they started to roll out hits like convertible Thunderbirds coming off an assembly line: 'Surfin' U.S.A.' (with music borrowed from Chuck Berry's 'Sweet Little Sixteen'), 'Surfer Girl,' 'Be True to Your School,' 'Fun, Fun, Fun.' Those Brian Wilson compositions all sounded like insanely catchy jingles for the California teenage lifestyle — surfboards, hamburger stands, pep rallies — but on the flip side of the good times was a real sense of melancholy. Sometimes that was apparent in the lyrics — the lonesome 'In My Room,' for example — and sometimes it was expressed nonverbally, with the Beach Boys' heartbreaking multipart harmonies. Wilson got more ambitious in his songwriting and experimented with new sounds — like the chunky surf guitar and falsetto lead on 'I Get Around.' But he buckled under the stress of touring, having a nervous breakdown on the road in Europe in 1964. He decided that while the other Beach Boys toured the world, he would stay home and work on perfecting new material in the studio: When the band came back to California, they would step in and lay down their tracks. The results included gorgeous singles such as 'California Girls' and the immortal 1966 album Pet Sounds. The album, which regularly ranks at or near the top of the best albums ever made (Rolling Stone named it Number Two in its list of the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time), was inspired by the Beatles' innovative work on Rubber Soul; in return, it inspired the Fab Four to new heights of experimentation on Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band. Paul McCartney frequently cited Pet Sounds as a masterpiece, giving it particular credit for its innovative bass playing, and has called the aching 'God Only Knows' his favorite song of all time; 'God Only Knows' placed Number 11 on Rolling Stone's list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time. The album was orchestrated with instruments that included harpsichords, bicycle bells, and barking dogs. The culmination was 'Wouldn't It Be Nice,' with its lyrics yearning for an adult life and love. The other Beach Boys, particularly Mike Love, were not impressed by Pet Sounds, and Wilson considered releasing it as a solo record; as a Beach Boys album, it was only a middling success in the United States, although its influence was huge, and it was recognized as an instant classic in the U.K. Wilson followed up with the Beach Boys' finest single, 'Good Vibrations,' three-and-a-half thrilling minutes of electro-theremin and stacks of vocals, recorded over a period of six months in various studios at a cost that reportedly made it, at that point, the most expensive single in history. Wilson returned to the studio with plans to top himself: an album called Smile, which he told friends would be a 'teenage symphony to God.' Working with lyricist Van Dyke Parks, he started to assemble an elaborate collection of musical suites, intended to change the face of popular music, but the sessions fell apart, weighed down by the indifference of the other Beach Boys, Wilson's consumption of pot and LSD, and his growing mental instability. While recording 'Mrs. O'Leary's Cow,' a piece of the 'Elements' suite about fire, Wilson handed out plastic firemen's helmets to the orchestra and actually lit a fire in the studio to inspire them. When he found out that a building near the studio had burned down, he thought he had caused the fire through his music, freaked out, and locked the tapes in a vault. Wilson spent most of the next decade in his Bel Air mansion, which included both a recording studio and a sandbox in the living room (he put his piano in it so he could feel sand between his toes when he played). 'He was a man so lonely and so abused and maligned, ostracized,' Van Dyke Parks told Rolling Stone in 2004. 'It was an outrage what he suffered.' The Beach Boys continued without Brian Wilson; even as their album sales evaporated, they remained a popular oldies-oriented touring act. Over the following decades, Wilson would periodically rejoin the band and sometimes even tour with them, despite the intra-band lawsuits over songwriting credits and money. Wilson hesitantly stepped back into the public eye and started releasing solo albums, beginning with the 1988 cult masterpiece Brian Wilson, which had an executive producer credit for Wilson's longtime therapist, Dr. Eugene Landy. From the outside, Landy — who was first hired by Brian's wife Marilyn in 1975 — seemed like a positive influence on Wilson. He played a pivotal role in getting Wilson to curb his excessive eating and drug intake in the late Seventies and early Eighties. But as the Eighties wore on, the therapist slowly seized control of nearly every aspect of Wilson's life. By the end of the decade, Wilson was forcibly secluded from his close friends, family, and bandmates. 'There was a total parallel between [Brian's father] Murry and Landy,' Wilson's second wife, Melinda Ledbetter, told the New York Post in 2015. 'Because Brian came from such dysfunction, it was hard for him to recognize how dysfunctional the situation with Landy was.' (Landy died in 2006.) It took a 1992 lawsuit filed by Wilson's family to finally remove Landy from his life forever. In the aftermath, Landy lost his license to practice therapy. Right around this same time, Wilson's daughters, Carnie and Wendy, formed two-thirds of Wilson Phillips, a vocal trio that sold 10 million copies of their 1990 debut album. Wilson performed with his daughters on I Just Wasn't Made for These Times, the soundtrack to a 1995 documentary about him. That same year he released Orange Crate Art, a collaboration with Van Dyke Parks. Smile's legend had only increased in the decades since it was abandoned; it was considered the great lost rock album and even inspired a time-travel novel (Lewis Shiner's Glimpses) where the protagonist persuades Wilson to complete the album. Although songs, including 'Heroes and Villains' and 'Surf's Up,' had made their way piecemeal onto Beach Boys albums, it was generally assumed that it was impossible to piece together the shards of Wilson's masterpiece. In 2004, however, against all odds, Wilson completed the album; in a five-star review, Rolling Stone said it was 'beautiful and funny, goofily grand.' (Wilson's Smile later landed on Rolling Stone's list of the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time.) Wilson had found his way to something that once seemed impossible: a happy ending. 'I'll tell you something I've learned,' he confided to Rolling Stone in 2004. 'It's hard work to be happy.' The album earned Wilson his first-ever Grammy Award, as the LP's 'Mrs. O'Leary's Cow' — the song that sparked Wilson's meltdown decades earlier — won Best Rock Instrumental Performance. In 2012, Wilson reunited with the Beach Boys for That's Why God Made the Radio, the band's first album together since 1996; the LP peaked at Number Three on the Billboard 200, their highest-slotting album since 1965. Wilson also embarked on a tour with the Beach Boys. Both the album and the tour marked the end of his Beach Boys tenure. Over the past decade, Wilson would release two more albums: 2015's No Pier Pressure, featuring guests like Kacey Musgraves and She & Him as well as Beach Boys bandmates like Al Jardine, David Marks, and Blondie Chaplin, and 2021's At My Piano, a collection of newly recorded instrumental versions of Beach Boys classics. That same year, Wilson was the focus of the documentary Long Promised Road, in which the singer reflected on his past and legacy. The soundtrack for that film also yielded what would be the final new song Wilson released, 'Right Where I Belong,' a collaboration with My Morning Jacket's Jim James. Wilson, along with the Beach Boys, was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1988. Upon his entry into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2000, Paul McCartney — who delivered the induction speech — called Wilson 'one of the great American geniuses,' and thanked him 'sir, for making me cry.' Wilson also received the Kennedy Center Honors in 2007 for his contribution to music. In February 2024, just weeks after the death of Brian's second wife and longtime manager, Melinda, Brian's family revealed that the singer was suffering from dementia, and a conservatorship was sought to secure his continued care. 'This decision was made to ensure that there will be no extreme changes to the household, and Brian and the children living at home will be taken care of and remain in the home where they are cared for,' the Wilson family statement said at the time. 'Brian will be able to enjoy all of his family and friends and continue to work on current projects as well as participate in any activities he chooses.' 'Being called a musical genius was a cross to bear,' Wilson told Rolling Stone in 1988. 'Genius is a big word. But if you have to live up to something, you might as well live up to that. Goddamn!' Best of Rolling Stone Sly and the Family Stone: 20 Essential Songs The 50 Greatest Eminem Songs All 274 of Taylor Swift's Songs, Ranked
Yahoo
11-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Brian Wilson, co-creator of iconic 1960s band The Beach Boys, dies aged 82
Brian Wilson, the legendary frontman and co-founder of The Beach Boys, has died at the age of 82, his family announced. "We are heartbroken to announce that our beloved father Brian Wilson has passed away," his family said in a statement shared online. "We are at a loss for words right now," they added. "Please respect our privacy at this time as our family [is] grieving. We realize that we are sharing our grief with the world." Born in 1942 and raised in Hawthorne, California, Wilson formed a group along with his younger brothers Carl and Dennis, cousin Mike Love and friend Al Jardine. They went on to become one of the country's biggest rock bands, The Beach Boys. One of the most commercially successful bands of all time, they have sold more than 100 million records globally, according to the group's website. Brian Wilson obituary: Troubled genius who wrote most of The Beach Boys' hits Music magazine Rolling Stone ranked them at 12 on its list of the "100 Greatest Artists of All Time". Wilson's catalogue with the group includes dozens of hit singles, including the three number one singles I Get Around, Help Me, Rhonda, and Good Vibrations. He was especially known for using the recording studio to create unique sounds, especially on the album Pet Sounds, which contributed to his reputation as a music pioneer. Tributes have been pouring in for the beloved musician. Frank Sinatra's daughter Nancy Sinatra, who enjoyed a high-profile music career around the time of the Beach Boys heyday, shared a picture with Brian Wilson on Instagram. "His cherished music will live forever as he travels through the Universe and beyond," she wrote. "God bless you, sweet Brian." Sean Ono Lennon, son of Beatles frontman John Lennon and Yoko Ono, called Wilson the "American Mozart" and a "one of a kind genius from another world". "Anyone who really knows me knows how heartbroken I am about Brian Wilson passing," he wrote on X. "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." Wilson lost his wife Melinda in 2024. The couple had been married for 24 years, and adopted their children Dakota Rose, Daria Rose, Delanie Rose, Dylan and Dash together. Wilson also had two daughters, Carnie and Wendy, from his first marriage. The musician was diagnosed as a paranoid schizophrenic in 1984, according to Forbes, when doctors found evidence that his brain damage was linked to his use of psychedelic drugs. In February 2024 it was revealed he had dementia. Beach Boys: Band hope Brian Wilson can still make music with them Brian Wilson's family seeks conservatorship
