BRIAN WILSON ROCK'S TORTURED GENIUS

AFTER WEATHERING DIFFICULT STORMS, THE BEACH BOYS ROCKER EVENTUALLY FOUND THE SUN-AND A NEW GENERATION OF FANS

- RACHEL DESANTIS

He was a hero to Paul McCartney and had an ear for music that was so sharp Bob Dylan once quipped it should be willed to the Smithsonian. And to his dedicated fans, Brian Wilson was the genius who channeled the sun-kissed California of his youth into feel-good pop that’s kept the good vibrations going for more than 60 years. When the Beach Boys cofounder died on June 11 at age 82 after being diagnosed with an unspecified neurocognitive disorder, he left behind a larger-than-life legacy that saw both highs (his otherworldly knack for crafting lush harmonies and arrangements) and lows, including the years he spent as a recluse struggling with mental illness. “Anyone who came in contact with Brian was highly influenced by him because he took the same notes that everybody else has and made a new musical language out of them,” says his bandmate Al Jardine. “He was funny, savvy—and very humble.”