‘A True Giant’: Artists Pay Tribute to Late Beach Boys Leader Brian Wilson

Brian Wilson, the singer-songwriter and leader of the Beach Boys, a band whose influence continues to resonate more than 60 years after they were formed in California, has died at the age of 82.

The cause of death has not been revealed, although Wilson has been plagued by ill health for decades and, in February 2024, his dementia diagnosis was made public.

“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.”

If pop music in the ‘60s was a sport, the Beatles, the Rolling Stones, and the Beach Boys were on the podium. Wilson’s outfit was America’s top c0mpetition to the British Wave. Many fans will argue that the Beach Boys were, led by Wilson’s mastery of sonics, melody and warm harmonies, as good as any band on the planet.

When Wilson poured his creative vision into music, the beach was always calling.

Wilson was the creator of many hits, including “I Get Around”, “Help Me, Rhonda”, “Wouldn’t It Be Nice”, “California Girls”, and “Good Vibrations”. The band’s 1966 album Pet Sounds, with its lush production, is universally recognised as one of the great collections.

As greatness beckoned, Wilson found himself on the outer. A fallout with his bandmates ensued, and Wilson, battling mental health problems, perhaps expedited by the consumption of substances, fell a long distance from the spotlight.

Wilson’s grand project, Smile was shelved as the music man tinkered in the studio. Sightings of Wilson and his unusual behaviour would spread in the tabloid press. “He was a man so lonely and so abused and maligned, ostracized,” collaborator Van Dyke Parks told Rolling Stone in 2004. “It was an outrage what he suffered.”

Remarkably, astonishingly, Wilson completed Smile in 2004 and toured the album globally. 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 No. 3 on the Billboard 200, their highest-slotting album since 1965. Wilson would tour once more with the Beach Boys, a band that, for decades, had carried on without him.

As news of his passing spreads, legends of the music world pay tribute to Wilson. Elton John reflected on Wilson as “a true giant.” John added: “I grew to love him as a person, and for me, he was the biggest influence on my songwriting ever; he was a musical genius and revolutionary. He changed the goalposts when it came to writing songs and shaped music forever.”

Fleetwood Mac co-founder and drummer Mick Fleetwood wrote, “Anyone with a musical bone in their body must be grateful for Brian Wilson’s genius magical touch!! And greatly saddened of this major worldly loss!!”

Lucian Grainge, chairman and CEO, Universal Music Group, described Wilson as “one of the most talented singer-songwriters in the history of recorded music. Not only did his songs capture the spirit of youth, joy and longing in ways that still inspire millions of fans around the world, his innovative work in the studio transformed the way musicians record even to this day.” Wilson, added Grainge, “made an indelible mark, and our thoughts are with his family in this time of loss.”

A post from the official Beach Boys Instagram account reads: “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.”