Kings of California

The late Brian Wilson and Sly Stone embodied the different places in the Golden State's musical geography and history.

- GRAHAM REID

As news helicopters swirled overhead, demonstrators and troops faced off and smoke rose over Los Angeles, California became the focus of world attention last week.

It seemed bleakly ironic that two musicians who helped define the promise and dream of the Golden State should die within days of each other.

In very different ways, Brian Wilson and Sly Stone, both 82, had shaped popular culture's view of California through the lens of sun, surf, psychedelia and unity.

Wilson's world was initially one of blonde surfer girls and hot rods: his music on songs like Surfin' USA a clever amalgamation of Chuck Berry's storytelling rock'n'roll, doo-wop and close harmony groups such as the Four Freshmen. I Get Around and California Girls distilled teenage sentiments and dreams into little more than two minutes.

Although the Beach Boys' first three albums had "surf" in their titles (their fourth celebrated hot rods on Little Deuce Coup), Wilson's writing also offered evocative, inward-looking miniatures with sophisticated arrangements like the slow Surfer Girl and especially the prescient In My Room: "There's a world I can go and tell my secrets to."

Within a few years he would write I Wasn't Made For These Times and the sublime God Only Knows (one of Paul McCartney's favourite songs) for the Pet Sounds album (1966). He brought a musical intelligence to pop arrangements and writing that hadn't been heard before.

Wilson painted in delicate colours of sound and Good Vibrations - still a remarkable piece of work - evoked a mystical state of promise, summer breezes and the warmth of the sun.

Wilson's music - described as "baroque pop" or "cosmic" - could only have come from California.