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Irish Daily Mirror
15-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Irish Daily Mirror
God Only Knows what modern music would be without Beach Boy Brian Wilson
I remember the first time I heard Brian Wilson, the classical composer of our time who died last week. I was about five and the Beach Boys were on TV, their headphones on, singing Barbara Ann around a mic. The harmonies were exquisite, unique. If I could sing around a mic like that for the rest of my life, I thought, I'd be happy forever. Beach Boy Brian meant the world to me, so it was a hard blow to hear of his death on Wednesday, especially so soon after another musical titan, Sly Stone. What he leaves behind is the legacy of his work, the heart and soul he put into it, songs that 'make people feel something inside', as Wilson said himself. That Barbara Ann moment was just the beginning of a lifelong musical love affair with Wilson. I got into the Beach Boys big time - I loved the early California surf stuff like Help Me Rhonda and Little Deuce Coupe, and I Get Around is the prototype punk song. In My Room is a swirly ballad, loved by Kurt Cobain. Yet it wasn't until I discovered Pet Sounds that I fully realised the depth of Wilson's genius. I credit Lewis Clohessy for introducing me to it. He's my friend Helen's dad and one of the nation's great culture vultures. Lewis knew I loved the Pixies and the Beatles and he said to me: 'Well, if you like both of those, you must listen to Pet Sounds.' When Paul McCartney said it inspired Sergeant Peppers Lonely Hearts Club, everyone took notice. God Only Knows is on it, which Macca called "the best song ever written". While much is made of Wilson's early influences such as Bach, Mozart, Gershwin and Bernstein, it was the Phil Spector production sound that was the most influential of all. Musically, it's obviously a triumph with its heavy-reverb combination of sound and layered vocals, inspired by Brian's favourite song Be My Baby by the Ronettes, which he used to listen to every day. Or: 'EVERY. DAY.' as his daughter Carnie pointedly recalled, in the documentary of his life I Just Wasn't Made For These Times, named after the track that sums up Brian more than any other. But it's the lyrics that get me: Brian Wilson is still the songwriter I most relate to, which sometimes feels like a strange thing to say, considering serious mental health conditions such as bipolar and schizo-affective disorder. He speaks to me like no-one else. I loved Brian's obsessions; the involved way he discussed music; his vulnerability; the funny way he had of talking out of the side of his mouth. He is the greatest influence on modern music today, inspiring bands such as the Ramones, The Pixies, the B52s, Weezer, Nirvana, even Fontaines DC. My favourite song is actually one of Brian's favourites too - Do It Again, from their 1969 album 20/20. I haven't even got to discussing their brilliant 1970's era, such as the brilliant Holland (music guru Dave Fanning's top choice) and Surf's Up. It was a dream come true when I interviewed Brian in 2018. He had cognitive issues, yet he was a fine conversationalist once the topic stayed on music. I still relish how he described I Get Around as "a rock n'roll salad". The last word will go to the great Tom Petty, who said of him: 'I think I would put Brian Wilson up there with any composer. I don't think you'd be out of line comparing him to Beethoven. His music is probably as good as any you could make.'
Los Angeles Times
12-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Los Angeles Times
The Beach Boys' Al Jardine remembers Brian Wilson: ‘I'm still learning from him after all these years'
The death of Beach Boys founder Brian Wilson is an immeasurable loss for music and for California, both the place and the dream of it that Wilson conjured with his regal and tender compositions. Wilson was the visionary of the defining American rock band, one who competed with the Beatles to move pop music into new realms of sophistication and invention, while writing songs capturing the longing of an ascendant youth culture. His death leaves only two surviving members of the original lineup — Mike Love and Al Jardine, Wilson's high school friend who sang lead on early hits like 'Help Me Rhonda' and wrote songs for beloved later-period albums like 'Surf's Up' and 'Sunflower.' On the day the world learned of Wilson's death, Jardine briefly spoke to The Times to remember his lifelong friend and bandmate. The guitarist, vocalist and songwriter — now on tour with his Pet Sounds Band playing Beach Boys hits with a focus on their 1970s output — looked back on six decades of writing and performing with one of the greatest minds of popular music. Jardine's conversation was edited for length and clarity. I just lost my best friend and mentor. It's not a good feeling, but I'm going to carry on and continue to play our music and perform with the Pet Sounds Band. Brian was a great friend. We grew up together, we went to high school together. We were both dropouts, which is not a bad thing as long as you have a vision of the future. His and mine was to make music. We were very good friends and very successful in part because of his great talent. He had an amazing ability to compose, very simple things and very complex things, all at the same time. He was a visionary. We all grew up together musically, but he grew exponentially. He became a leader, and formed new ways of chord construction, things no one had heard before, and we rose to the challenge with him. It's been said that Brian invented the state of California, the state of mind. That's a cute way of saying it, but he really invented a new form of music in the '60s and '70s. It was very sophisticated, but went way beyond that. He was a humble giant, a great American composer. I don't think anyone else could walk in his shoes, given all that he went through. I did write some songs he liked, and did help him get through treacherous times. It must be so frightening to be left in the wilderness by yourself and not know how to get home. He said one song I wrote helped him get through that, which is quite a compliment from the great Brian Wilson, who had his own demons to deal with. Brian Wilson's band was a reawakening of his professional life. He never enjoyed touring, so this band was a whole new life for him, to experience his own music and an adulation that he never had before. His legacy is of course in the music, and any interpreter of that legacy has to be sharp and devoted to it. We have the most devoted people that could be there to do that, so many original members of his band. My son Matthew, he's Brian's voice, and the DNA is there. With his arranger, Darian, arranging all vocals, we have all the muscle and genius to pull it off. When Carl Wilson and I were singing those parts back then, we'd abbreviate things — you can't do everything you did in the studio with only five of us. Now we've got 10 people onstage and I just heard some background parts yesterday that sounded just like we used to — you can hear Carl and Dennis in there. When we take the band out, I have a little white piano onstage, like the one he played in the past. It's a symbolic moment, the empty piano. While the Beach Boys tour was a hit-based performance, with this iteration, we're more introspective, deeper cuts, performing much of the 1970s catalog. There's quite a few numbers the public hasn't heard, exploring the heart and soul of those albums. I was hoping Brian would have been able to join us. But it's wonderful, we're hoping this music should last forever, and be felt at the deep levels that Brian experienced it. It sure is a great responsibility to play it, but it just feels natural to me. I've been doing it for so long, It doesn't feel weighty. I'm confident, especially with this band being so remarkable. I'm still learning from Brian after all these years.
Yahoo
11-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Brian Wilson, Beach Boys Singer and Master Composer of Seminal Albums Like ‘Pet Sounds' and ‘Smile,' Dies at 82
Brian Wilson, the driving force behind the Beach Boys whose sprawling compositions and studio prowess influenced rock musicians from the Beatles to Radiohead and points between, has died, his family announced Wednesday. He was 82. 'We are heartbroken to announced that our beloved father Brian Wilson has passed away,' the family wrote on his X account, Instagram and website. 'We are at a loss for words right now. Please respect our privacy at this time as our family grieving. We realize that we are sharing our grief with the world. Love & Mercy.' A cause of death was not immediately given. Wilson's imaginative use of the recording studio shifted the paradigm of pop music, as his novel use of effects, string sections, complex harmonies and expansive themes justified the word by which he was universally described: genius. All of it was predicated on Wilson's wizard-level songwriting, which propelled the Beach Boys to worldwide superstardom and cemented their surf- and car-themed songs into enduring history. But beyond sweet high harmonies and summer anthems, Wilson was a pop-culture figure whose influence spanned decades. He credited his well-documented struggles with mental illness as a creative ally, describing how he could hear songs develop in his head as clearly as one might hear them come through the speakers. We are heartbroken to announced that our beloved father Brian Wilson has passed are at a loss for words right respect our privacy at this time as our family realize that we are sharing our grief with the & Mercy — Brian Wilson (@BrianWilsonLive) June 11, 2025 Wilson launched the Beach Boys in 1961 – as the band's songwriter, co-lead vocalist, bassist, keyboardist and producer – and within a few years had written more than two dozen Top 40 hits including 'Surf City,' 'I Get Around,' 'Help Me Rhonda' and 'Good Vibrations.' He suffered a nervous breakdown in 1964 and was forced to drop out of regular concert touring – a turn of events that would give birth to some of the most influential recorded music in history. Turning his full attention to songwriting and studio production, Wilson produced 'Pet Sounds,' among the most celebrated albums in any genre of music history. Desiring to transcend the surf- and car-themed songs that made The Beach Boys famous, Wilson sought to create a cohesive complete work, packing his 1966 vision with unforgettable hits 'Wouldn't it be nice,' 'God Only Knows,' 'Sloop John B' and 'Caroline, No.' The 'concept album' was born, giving inspiration to the Beatles to create 'Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band' and dozens of similar efforts in the decades to come. More to come … The post Brian Wilson, Beach Boys Singer and Master Composer of Seminal Albums Like 'Pet Sounds' and 'Smile,' Dies at 82 appeared first on TheWrap.
