Tributes Pour in for Beach Boys Founder Brian Wilson, Dead at 82

Brian Wilson, the co-founder and songwriter of The Beach Boys, has died at age 82. His family announced that Wilson had passed away on Wednesday, June 11. Though the official cause of death was not disclosed, Wilson has been living with a neurocognitive disorder similar to dementia since at least 2024, and was under a conservatorship.

“We realize that we are sharing our grief with the world,” his family wrote in a statement on Wilson’s Instagram.

The Beach Boys, formed in Wilson’s native Inglewood, California, when the bandmates were teenagers, exported an idyllic version of 1960s Southern California, where sun, surf, cars, and young love reigned supreme. Hits like “Surfin’ U.S.A.,” “California Girls,” and “I Get Around” became part of the iconic soundtrack of that particular clean-cut, post-war time in the American imagination. Wilson, however, soon pushed the band beyond its sunny pop hits. The band’s 1966 album Pet Sounds is considered a landmark in music production and has been recognized by numerous publications as the greatest album of all time. Bands as varied as Kraftwerk, The Velvet Underground, Animal Collective, and Lana Del Rey have cited Wilson as a major influence.

In addition to spearheading the early and immediate success of The Beach Boys, Wilson worked as a producer for other musicians, using his talent for crystalline vocal arrangement and the burgeoning psychedelic sound of the era to make his mark.

Wilson also struggled with substance abuse and mental health issues that included auditory hallucinations (he would later be diagnosed with schizoaffective disorder). He got into a close relationship with controversial and controlling psychotherapist Eugene Landy, who eventually surrendered his license and was blocked by a court from contacting Wilson.

Wilson is survived by seven children, including his daughters Carnie and Wendy, who are members of Wilson Phillips.

After his death was announced, tributes from Wilson’s fans, friends and former collaborators were shared on social media. Nancy Sinatra, 85, took to Instagram, writing, "His cherished music will live forever as he travels through the Universe and beyond. God bless you, sweet Brian."

Questlove shared a long message on Instagram, writing, “if there was a human being who made art out of inexpressible sadness….damn it was Brian Wilson. I hate he went thru what he went thru to create this album (also: Smile Outakes [is] my North Star) but man——without him I dunno how so many that came after felt safe to express a feeling of sadness that most humans would be otherwise ridiculed/punished for.”

On X, John Cusack reacted to the news, writing: “The maestro has passed - the man was a open heart with two legs - with an ear that heard the angels. Quite literally. Love and Mercy for you and yours tonight. RIP Brian.”

The Rolling Stones’ Keith Richards posted on Instagram: “Rest in Peace!” next to an excerpt from his 2010 memoir, Life, in which he reflects on what he thought of the Beach Boys when they first came out:

Sean Ono Lennon, whose father was also a contemporary of the band, wrote on Instagram: “Anyone who really knows me knows how heart broken I am about Brian Wilson passing. Not many people influenced me as much as he did. I feel very lucky that I was able to meet him and spend some time with him. He was always very kind and generous. He was our American Mozart. A one of a kind genius from another world.”

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

The Velvet Underground’s Jon Cale wrote on X: “To me, Brian Wilson was not merely about surf music, rather a true musical genius toiling away at melding POP into startling sophistication. He will he be missed mightily.”