Brian Wilson, the Beach Boys musician responsible for some of the greatest songs in pop history, has died aged 82.
Wilson was a visionary creative musical force in the 1960s, just as pop music was becoming the dominant cultural medium we know it as today. Through his work with the Beach Boys, and later solo, he wrote some of the defining songs of the summer, a magical mix of rich orchestration, vocal harmony and Californian surfer spirit.
An Instagram post shared by the Wilson family following his passing read: “We are heartbroken to announce that our beloved father Brian Wilson has passed away. 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. Love & Mercy.”
His music, shot through with beauty and melancholy, is best summed up in the 1966 album Pet Sounds, written and produced almost in whole by Wilson. Not only the Beach Boys' greatest album and the greatest album of the 1960s, it’s often considered the greatest album of all time.
There’s no better way to celebrate the life of Brian Wilson than by enveloping yourself in the songs that defined his life. Get some good vibrations and dive in with these essential Brian Wilson tracks.
1. Good Vibrations
Is there a better song to sum up the 60s than Good Vibrations? A wild, progressive, and also beautiful piece of psychedelic pop, its exploration of extrasensory experimentation sounds like nothing else ever written, even to this day. And that theremin riff? Only Wilson could pull off throwing that in there.
2. Wouldn't It Be Nice
Teenage angst and sexual longing, via timpani, glockenspiel, trumpet, saxophones, accordions and probably the kitchen sink, too. A grand celebration of coming of age, and the hope, trepidation and excitement that comes with being on the brink of adulthood.
3. God Only Knows
We could write essays about what makes God Only Knows so sophisticated, so special, but to dissect it in words will never do it justice. Put simply, the greatest love song ever written.
4. California Girls
Written on Wilson’s first acid trip — if only being stoned could be as creatively fruitful for everyone. Its do-wop shuffle and four-to-the-floor chorus is full of cheek and sun-kissed flirtation — a whistlestop tour of state-to-state teenage lust.
5. I Get Around
One of the most exciting openings in all 60s pop, I Get Around basically invents the idea of the teenager single handedly. Underneath those cascading falsetto harmonies is the story of bored kids, rivalries, awkward relationships and showing off in your first car.
6. Surfin' USA
From that banging opening double-stop riff to that constant bass drum beat, this is sun, sea, sand and summer epitomised in two minutes and 30 seconds. Surfboard manufacturers the world over should have been paying Wilson a commission.
7. Hang Onto Your Ego / I Know There's An Answer
The story behind this song is almost as interesting as the tune itself — there's effectively two versions knocking around, an original lyric singing the praises of LSD and its mind-opening qualities, and another about helping uptight people find their way. We know which we prefer, but either version has the same fantastic, euphoric chorus.
8. Don't Worry Baby
Wilson's answer to The Ronnette's 'Be My Baby', Don't Worry Baby is every bit that song's equal. The story of wayward youth tamed and reassured by young love, it's another classic heart-string-tugger from Wilson.
9. Help Me, Rhonda
Knocking The Beatles 'Ticket to Ride' off the US charts top spot, this off-beat rabble-rouser is another heart-breaker, enlisting poor old Rhonda to ease the pain of losing a love interest to a pig-headed rival. From a recording point of view, it's a pivotal moment in Wilson's growth as an artist — physically wrestling the studio control from the hands of the Beach Boys' controlling manager, Wilson's father.
10. In My Room
Wilson at his elegiac best, In My Room is an ode to the peace and solitude of a safe space you can call your own. A tribute to self empowerment, you can almost picture the brother's Wilson practicing these very harmonies in their own bedrooms of youth. A short, sweet masterpiece.
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