Brian Wilson, Beach Boys visionary leader and summer's poet laureate, dies at 82

A talented musician.

Guess I'm getting old.

The beach boys was such an aural treat.

Represented so many positive images of life in the US.

I think more than anything the Beach Boys music is what attracted so many people to the US and especially California. They made it into a paradise so many people wanted to live in. Juxtaposed with what is going on now, it is sad he died with what is going on in LA now!

A studio genius. His harmony and studio techniques inspired many bands of many genres. Just listen to some of those YES albums, many 'multi-stacked' harmonies on them. The Beach Boys greatly influenced psychedelic rock, bands like Pink Floyd owe a debt to them for that. Punk rock was inspired by the Beach Boys, ask the Ramones about that. They said so.

People here in the Midwest US think that this band is just 'oldies' surf, suntans, girls and that's it. But Brian took it much farther, esp. with 'Pet Sounds' and beyond. Like the Beatles, he was writing about personal themes, alienation, more 'serious' subjects. If you went to a Beach Boys show in California, the entire spectrum was there - surfers, surf punks, bikers, thrashers, Deadheads, Phish heads, Heep heads, rasta men, soul men, funkateers, proggers, people of Any Color You Like, every ethnicity and race, straight and gay; ALL. The whole enchilada. California is a mixed bag of many musical styles but Brian Wilson ranks with Jerry Garcia in terms of cultural impact. And his revolutionary studio and recording techniques puts him in the same league as Prince.

The Beach Boys were my little sister's very show in 1984 and my fifth in 1987. My pink ticket stub says it cost $12! I saw them one more time and I saw Brian solo in 2019. Sad to say he was a bit of a wreck, he just sang the choruses and played his white baby grand while other 'Beachies' handled the rest.

He's made some good 'art pop/rock' solo CDs, as well as 'Smile!'. I have a few of them and they truly reflect the creative musical genius that he had, and the other Boys don't.

Alzheimer's has taken another entertainer away from us. This is a sad day for rock'n'roll, music and culture. Brian Wilson IS California. May he RIP, and he can jam with the funkmeister Sly Stone in Rock'n'Roll Heaven - who just entered there the other day.

The Beach Boys reshaped music and made the world believe it was summer, all the time.

My favorite memory of Brian Wilson was his quiet stroke of genius: handing Full House's John Stamos a pair of bongos and letting him absolutely cook on Kokomo. In anyone else’s hands, that moment might’ve been kitsch - but Brian saw something more. He saw rhythm where others saw cheese, vibe where others saw fluff. And somehow, it worked. It worked BEAUTIFULLY.

RIP Brian.

I saw him play live around 10 years ago. The band was carrying him through his long list of hits, and he shuffled off stage after every song. Had slip on Vans on too. But it was an unbelievable treat to see him, definitely one of my musical heroes.

Good Vibrations.

And you know what? I'm going to go ahead ahead and say it:

The Beach Boys The Beatles.

Think about it - if you beamed down someone from another planet and played them, say, Pet Sounds followed by Sgt. Pepper’s and asked which sounded better, they wouldn’t hesitate. The Beach Boys win - every time.

Why? Because Brian Wilson wasn’t just writing songs - he was crafting sonic masterpieces. The harmonies were untouchable. The arrangements were miles ahead.

Sorry, Liverpudlians, but The Beatles were just alright. Yeah, they made you tap your foot from time to time. But The Beach Boys made you feel the entire coastline, all at once. There’s a warmth, a vulnerability, and an oceanic DEPTH in The Beach Boys that even the Beatles’ most acclaimed tracks never came close to.

*↑ The Beach Boys are better than **The Beatles.

Records sold by the Beatles: 600 million.

Records sold by the Beach Boys: 100 million.

The Beatles have had 20 number one hits on the Billboard Hot 100, the most of any artist in history. They also have 34 top 10 hits on the chart. They achieved 10 top-five hits in 1964 alone

This is a sad, sad day for music lovers. Pet Sounds is one of my desert island records. I listen to it all the way through a couple of times a year. Such a treat. Good Vibrations is something all musicians should aspire to. It is such a shame he could never get the music that was in his head for Smile out into our world. And, yes, I am also one for Beach Boys over Beatles.

Sly Stone and Brian Wilson in the same week. This is getting close to 2015-16 when we lost Prince, Tom Petty and David Bowie.

That sucks. Two highly talented musicians dying at 82 years old with barely a day between them (Sly Stone yesterday or the day before and now Brian Wilson).

At least he leaves behind a legendary legacy.

wallaceToday  08:40 am JST

Records sold by the Beatles: 600 million.

Records sold by the Beach Boys: 100 million.

It's not a pissing contest though. Like the saying goes, the Velvet Underground's debut album only sold 30,000 copies, but every single person who bought it went on to form a band.

I'd rather hear "Good Vibrations" than anything by the Beatles.

A great talent. Made beautiful music.

RIP.

It's not a pissing contest though. Like the saying goes, the Velvet Underground's debut album only sold 30,000 copies, but every single person who bought it went on to form a band

Not necessarily a good thing.

It’s like the idea that there is a novel inside everyone, but in the vast majority of cases, that’s where it should stay.

Anyway, maybe at this time it’s best to just pay respects to a great musician rather than having sixth form debates about who’s better.

I would have loved drinking with the Beach Boys. First I get a round then he'd get a round and he'd get a round and on and on.

It’s like the idea that there is a novel inside everyone, but in the vast majority of cases, that’s where it should stay.

Yes, but if even one or two of those novels turns out to be prizeworthy, then that's a good thing.

Anyway, maybe at this time it’s best to just pay respects to a great musician rather than having sixth form debates about who’s better.

Oh, definitely. I've just noticed that Beatles fans are incredibly thin skinned, and if you even hint that you think there have been equally talented people in the world of popular music, they start pulling statistics out and basically getting extremely defensive. It's mainly boomers. Also, I'm from the UK and grew up basically being told that the Beatles were the national religion.

JayToday  08:22 am JST

And you know what? I'm going to go ahead ahead and say it:

*The Beach Boys **The Beatles.*

Think about it - if you beamed down someone from another planet and played them, say, Pet Sounds followed by Sgt. Pepper’s and asked which sounded better, they wouldn’t hesitate. The Beach Boys win - every time.

Why? Because Brian Wilson wasn’t just writing songs - he was crafting sonic masterpieces. The harmonies were untouchable. The arrangements were miles ahead.

Sorry, Liverpudlians, but The Beatles were just alright. Yeah, they made you tap your foot from time to time. But The Beach Boys made you feel the entire coastline, all at once. There’s a warmth, a vulnerability, and an oceanic DEPTH in The Beach Boys that even the Beatles’ most acclaimed tracks never came close to.

I would largely agree with this, but for a different reason. As I mentioned in a previous post, I grew up being told that the Beatles were like these four demigods who were the most important thing to ever happen to British culture and blah blah blah. I mean, they do have some phenomenal songs, and their influence on modern music is immense. But I just got so sick of the hagiographic stuff. Whereas I didn't have people telling me that the Beach Boys the same way. So there's a cultural element involved too.

It's mainly boomers. Also, I'm from the UK and grew up basically being told that the Beatles were the national religion.

I don’t think so.

I’m from Liverpool and met a lot of people who didn’t like the Beatles even there.

Mostly prog rock or heavy rock fans who couldn’t play a note or the more talented ones could play the intro to Smoke on the Water or Aqualung..

They sometime used ‘People who know music…’

I tend to see sales, influence on other musicians and the lasting appeal of music as useful metrics of greatness.

Brian Wilson and The Beach Boys can claim those.

Respect to him.

Respect to other musicians who can claim that.

I’m from Liverpool and met a lot of people who didn’t like the Beatles even there.

Then I cede the point to someone with a more direct connection to the matter than myself!

The joy music genius, Brian Wilson, brought to many, was paid for by personal suffering as a survivor of a dysfunctional family. The California of the Beach Boys is long gone, now just a memory, a nostalgic whiff of summer lost in today's L.A.'s tear-gas-filled streets of the Trump era, but Brian Wilson's contribution will be remembered in the annals of American popular music. While he was inspired by the music of others, he, in turn, inspired many others with his own. RIP

For Americans the Beach Boys were clearly number one, and understandably so. Their place in history is assured and their great legacy will continue to be heard across the world for MANY generations to come, RIP!

The Smile Sessions is the best “album” I’ve ever heard. He was a true genius

Records sold by the Beatles: 600 million.

Records sold by the Beach Boys: 100 million.

So if commercial success equals greatness, then by that metric, Taylor Swift is the apparently the greatest artist of all time.

Would you agree with that conclusion Wall?

I'd rather hear "Good Vibrations" than anything by the Beatles.

What's with all this comparison going on?

I'd rather live in a world where I can listen to the Beach Boys AND the Beatles. Because both of them give me good vibrations.

RIP Brian Wilson.

My dad had that Pet Sounds album when I was little. He played records in the living room every day. It interesting to me as a child as it was so different from the other stuff he played like Chuck Berry and Elvis.

Well, many memorable and influential tracks were made by them in the 60’s. Saw a documentary about how they made Good Vibrations in the studio once was rather interesting, they had started to use new techniques such as George Martin done with The Beatles.

I'd rather hear "Good Vibrations" than anything by the Beatles.

What's with all this comparison going on?

I'd rather live in a world where I can listen to the Beach Boys AND the Beatles. Because both of them give me good vibrations.

RIP Brian Wilson.

Spot on.

Reminds me of when Charlie Watts died and some ‘Who know music’ ( they like the old Fleetwood Mac ) were telling us how limited he was.

Schoolchild stuff.

The Beach Boys and Status Quo: 'Fun Fun Fun' (Official Video). An interesting version.

I remember listening to the Beach Boys from my mother’s records and I discovered Pet Sounds which was and still is one of my favourite albums.

The loss of Brian Wilson is sad and his musical genius will be remembered forever.

May God give his soul peace and give him a reunion with his beloved brothers.

So overrated band..

Sorry for tell the truth..

RIP, Brian Wilson. I played and sang this song in honor of you all day today. Thanks for creating the dreamy and melodius background music of my youth while growing up in Southern California～～

Ahhhhhh oooooo

This is the way

I always dreamed it would be

The way that it is, oh oh

When you are holding me

I never had a love of my own

Maybe that's why when we're all alone

[Chorus]

I can hear music

I can hear music

The sound of the city, baby, seems to disappear

I can hear music

Sweet, sweet music

Whenever you touch me, baby

Whenever you're near...

TokyoLiving Are you sure from the looks of this article and the things written about Mr. Wilson it seems he was a very talented guy. Looking at the real truth it appears you got some thumbs down bud!!

So overrated band..Sorry for tell the truth..

collegepark30349June 12  08:45 am JST

This is a sad, sad day for music lovers. Pet Sounds is one of my desert island records. I listen to it all the way through a couple of times a year. Such a treat. Good Vibrations is something all musicians should aspire to. It is such a shame he could never get the music that was in his head for Smile out into our world. And, yes, I am also one for Beach Boys over Beatles.

Sly Stone and Brian Wilson in the same week. This is getting close to 2015-16 when we lost Prince, Tom Petty and David Bowie.

I think it was 2014 when Tom Petty passed away. But in 2015-16 in a 5-month period three great innovators and influencers in rock'n'roll history were gone - Motorhead (invented thrash and inspired scads of subgenres), David Bowie and Prince. Even more passed away during 2016, incl. George Michael. 2016 also saw the deaths of the pioneering astronaut John Glenn and American democracy. Sad year.

Some influences and genres in rock'n'roll can't really be placed on just one artist or band but there are some that are too obvious.

And there's the silly 'rivalry' comparisons, I've heard it all:

'Beatles or Stones'?

'Beatles or Beach Boys'?

and even when I saw and met Glen Matlock of the Sex Pistols, we had a (mild and gentlemanly) 'debate' about where punk rock began and who were the first (he's a huge Faces fan, I've seen the Ramones four times). Did punk spring from NYC or London? I say the former but then there's the nebulous issue of what 'protopunk' is.

And the Ramones definitely took inspiration from the Beach Boys. They said they did. At the same time Kraftwerk has stated admiration and influence from them too, and Kraftwerk themselves changed the world in another radical manner.

It's been a terrible week for rock'n'roll. I know Sly Stone mostly for his classic hit 'I am Everyday People' and it's even worse that he died when nobody seems to know (or even want to) what love, respect, tolerance, brotherhood, etc. is. Look at the egotistical crap parade in DC today, that'll tell you everything. Sad.