Brian Wilson: Shadows Behind The Smile

Brian Wilson, the iconic singer-songwriter and co-founder of The Beach Boys has died, aged 82.

Family members confirmed in a statement that Brian Wilson had died on Wednesday 11 June US time.

“We are heartbroken to announce that our beloved father Brian Wilson has passed away,” the statement read.

“We are at a loss for words right now. Please respect our privacy at this time as our family is grieving. We realise that we are sharing our grief with the world.”

No cause of death has been provided yet.

Brian had been living with a degenerative disorder similar to dementia, which left him unable to care for himself properly and affected his speech making him difficult to understand. It was on these grounds his family sought conservatorship for him in 2024 after his wife and healthcare proxy Melinda Ledbetter passed away, aged 77.

Brian Wilson and his incredible musical legacy is survived by his seven children – daughters Carnie and Wendy with his first wife Marilyn Rovell, as well as Daria, Delanie, Dylan, Dash and Dakota Rose, who were adopted by Wilson and Ledbetter.

The Beach Boys were founded by Wilson in 1961 along with brothers Dennis and Carl, as well as cousin, Mike Love and friend Al Jardine. With crystalline harmonies and joyous melodies, the fresh-faced youngsters dominated as royalty presiding over the domain of California surf rock in the ‘60s.

One of the most popular and successful bands of all time, The Beach Boys have sold over 100 million records worldwide and boast ten top 10 charting in the top 40. But behind the success, carefree songs about surfing, cars and girls hid growing turmoil within the group.

The band had largely been formed by Wilson’s father Murry as a vehicle for Brian’s songwriting. Murry was also the band’s first manager and helped them establish their early success. But Murry was a domineering man who had been raised in a volatile household himself and passed that dark inheritance onto his own children. He was accused of being verbally and physically with his family, which he denied.

Murry and Brian founded their own publishing company Sea Of Tunes in 1962. In 1964, Murry was dismissed as the band’s manager and Brian reportedly allowed him to retain sole ownership of The Beach Boys’ catalogue, leading to decades of legal disputes. Murry died of a heart attack in 1973 at the age of 55.

The ‘60s in America was also the ‘Age Of Aquarius’, the great awakening of the country through a counter-cultural revolution. The Civil Rights Movement, protests against the Vietnam War, sexual liberation, rock and roll. Peace, love and drugs – lots of drugs.

The Beach Boys weren’t shy about enjoying the libertine indulgences afforded by the changing times, especially Wilson who famously experimented with LSD. His experiences tripping laid the foundation for profound creative breakthroughs as well as severe psychological damage from which he may have never truly recovered. In 1964, Brian retired from touring to focus on writing and recording.

Meanwhile, in the late ‘60s Dennis Wilson had struck up a strange and brief acquaintance with the notorious Charles Manson, who instructed his ‘family’ cult to commit a series of vicious murders, including the slaying of actress Sharon Tate. In 1968, a year before the murders, The Beach Boys recorded an altered version of Manson’s song ‘Cease To Exist’, renaming it ‘Never Learn Not To Love’.

As the swinging Sixties rolled over into the more solemn Seventies, The Beach Boys momentum faltered as Brian receded from the world and the band. Carl took over as leader and The Beach Boys rebranded as an ‘oldies’ act to capitalise on newfound public attention from the release of their greatest hits collections.

Throughout the ‘70s and ‘80s, The Beach Boys recorded a series of albums and toured extensively, though creative differences and personality clashes were tearing at the seams. In 1977, Mike attacked Brian with a piano bench in front of 15, 000 people during a performance at Wembley Stadium.

By 1983, things at come to a head for Dennis Wilson and Mike Love, who had filed restraining orders against each other. Dennis had also succumbed to heavy substance abuse and tragically drowned later that year.

The Beach Boys maintained cultural relevance from the 1980s and the ‘90s until now through contributing to film and television scores as well as continued touring, largely under the steam of Mike Love who was allowed to perform using The Beach Boys’ moniker. There have also been a number of reunions with various members over the years, most notably in 2012 for their 50^th anniversary tour.

Of the original founding Wilson brothers, Brian was the last to go, following Carl’s death from lung cancer in 1998 at the age of 51. The music world has responded to the news of Brian’s passing with an outpouring of tributes from figures such as Bob Dylan, former bandmate Al Jardine, Sean Ono Lennon, Bachman-Turner Overdrive’s Randy Bachman, actor John Cusack (who portrayed Wilson in biopic ‘Love & Mercy’) and Brian’s cousin Mike Love.

Brian Wilson’s songwriting genius masked the scars inflicted during a lifelong battle with his inner demons. A true creative visionary, he opened himself to the good vibrations of the Universe and elevated pop music to an art form. Brian’s immense catalogue of music isn’t just legacy; it’s his parting gift to the world.

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