Beach Boys’ Brian Wilson Passed Away, Aged 82

Photo Credit: Brian Wilson’s family

Brian Wilson, legendary singer and co-founder of the Beach Boys, has passed away at age 82.

“We are heartbroken to announce that our beloved father Brian Wilson has passed away,” his family posted on Wilson’s social media accounts. “We are at a loss for words right now. Please respect our privacy at this time as our family is grieving. We realize that we are sharing our grief with the world.”

Described in the ‘70s as the “genius of the group,” Wilson was the Beach Boys’ songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and co-lead vocalist. He played bass guitar and keyboard alongside his brothers, Dennis and Carl, cousin Mike Love, and friend Al Jardine. All were part of the original group’s lineup.

Brian Wilson was the eldest child among his siblings, born on June 20, 1942, in Inglewood, California. His bandmate brothers, Dennis and Carl, were born in 1944 and 1946, respectively. Brian was said to have an aptitude for music at an early age; multiple biographies have noted his abilities with pitch and melody.

The Beach Boys formed when Wilson was 19, though the group was originally known as the Pendletones. He co-wrote their first song, “Surfin’,” and by 1962, they had released their first studio album, Surfin’ Safari. Thanks to the success of their second album, Surfin’ USA, the Beach Boys quickly became synonymous with the “California sound,” focused on surfing and beach life.

Wilson also helped the group expand beyond surf culture with decidedly more mature music, culminating in 1966’s Pet Sounds. That album went on to become one of the most influential of all time, cementing the Beach Boys’ place in rock history.

Despite the group’s ongoing success, Wilson began to succumb to various maladies brought on by depression over deafness in his right ear, the relentless nature of touring, and an unofficial music rivalry with the Beatles. After years of increasingly self-destructive behavior and mental decline, Wilson all but became a recluse after his father’s death in 1973. He was widely described by news outlets as a “victim of his own genius.”

“I’ve been through a great deal of mental anguish,” Wilson once told People. “I felt like a fat slob. It was very embarrassing. I used to go onstage, and it was scary. Now I’m getting used to it. I feel a little more confidence in myself.” Wilson noted that, thanks to therapy, “I had to learn to get off a lot of bad stuff.”

The 1990s saw him return to the studio and begin performing again regularly. He released several solo albums during this period, such as 2004’s Brian Wilson Presents Smile, which was his version of a previously uncompleted Beach Boys project.

Wilson received numerous accolades throughout his career. He earned nine Grammy nominations, most for his work with the Beach Boys—but his two wins were for his solo work in 2005 and 2013.

He was inducted into the Rock n’ Roll Hall of Fame as a member of the Beach Boys in 1988. Wilson was also recognized by the Kennedy Center Honors in 2007, and earned a Golden Globe nomination in 2016.

In 2024, his family filed for a conservatorship in a Los Angeles court, stating that he had “major neurocognitive disorder, such as dementia.” They noted that he had become “unable to properly provide for his […] personal needs for physical health, food, clothing, or shelter.”

Wilson was married twice, and had two daughters—Carnie and Wendy—with his first wife, Marilyn Rovell. With his second wife, Melinda Kae Ledbetter, Wilson adopted five children: Daria, Delanie, Dylan, Dash, and Dakota Rose. He is survived by his children.

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