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Beach Boys Leader, Songwriter Brian Wilson Passes Away
Image Credit: Decca
Brian Wilson, the legendary musician who was the leader and chief songwriter for the Beach Boys, has passed away. Wilson’s family announced on Instagram that the influential pop musician had passed. No word as of yet on the details. He was 82 years old.
As part of the Beach Boys, Wilson helped popularize the “California sound” that popularized the mythology around the Western state in the 1960s and was inspired by its beach culture. The band’s musical style made them among the most influential acts of the era, leading to their nearly unparalleled success with over over 100 million records worldwide. The band were positioned as American rivals to the Beach Boys in media and Wilson long considered that the case; the rivalry has been argued as helping push both bands to innovate and improve themselves to become one of the most critically and commercially successful music rivals of all-time.
Wilson innovated production and recording techniques to make new approaches to the composition of pop songs, with albums like Pet Sounds and Smile heralded as all-time greats. The latter album was intended to be the follow-up to the former, which was released as a Beach Boys album in 1966, but it was shelved as a Beach Boys album. Wilson’s struggles with mental health issues that caused productivity issues, and he retreated from the band and the public eye particularly after his father’s death in June 1973.
Wilson would continue to struggle with his mental health over the years as he made several comebacks. Smile was eventually re-recorded by Wilson on his own and released as Brian Wilson Presents Smile, which in turn prompted The Smile Sessions with the Beach Boys. Both albums were critically acclaimed and are considered all-time great pop albums.
On behalf of 411, our condolences to the family, friends and fans of Mr. Wilson. Popular music would not be the same without him.
