Brian Wilson musical genius behind The Beach Boys, dies at 82

Brian Wilson, the Beach Boys' visionary and fragile leader who helped compose and arrange “Good Vibrations,” “California Girls” and dozens of other summertime anthems and became one of the world's most influential and admired musicians, has died at 82. Wilson's family posted news of his death to his website Wednesday. Further details weren't immediately available.

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Since May 2024, Wilson had been under a court conservatorship to oversee his personal and medical affairs, with Wilson's longtime representatives in charge.

The eldest and last surviving of three musical brothers — Brian played bass, Carl lead guitar and Dennis drums — he and his fellow Beach Boys rose from local act to national hitmakers to international ambassadors of the American dream. Wilson himself was celebrated for his beautiful music and pitied for his demons. He was one of rock's great Romantics, a tortured soul who in his peak years embarked on an ever-steeper quest for aural perfection.

The Beach Boys rank among the most popular acts of the rock era, with more than 30 singles in the Top 40 and worldwide sales of more than 100 million. 1966's “Pet Sounds” was voted No. 2 in a 2003 Rolling Stone list of the best 500 albums, losing out, as Wilson did from the start, to the Beatles’ “Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band.” The Beach Boys, who also featured Wilson cousin Mike Love and family friend Al Jardine, were voted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 1988.