Beach Boys co-founder Brian Wilson has passed away. He was 82.
Wilson’s death was announced by his family in a statement shared to the legendary songwriter’s Instagram account on Wednesday.
“We are heartbroken to announce that our beloved father Brian Wilson has passed away. We are at a loss for words right now,” they wrote. “We realize that we are sharing our grief with the world. Love & Mercy.”
The Beach Boys formed when Wilson brought together his brothers, Dennis and Carl, his cousin, Mike Love and family friend Al Jardine and shaped them into a California surf pop act built around driving melodies and gorgeous vocal harmonies. After years of Top 40 hits, Wilson’s ever-more-meticulous compositions and studio wizardry would result in “Pet Sounds,” a layered masterpiece that knocked their rock music contemporaries for a loop and set the ambitious course that popular music would take throughout the next decade.
Speaking to Salon in 2000, Wilson said he considers himself a “crusader of love.”
“I try to spread love around the world as best I can because I know I have a handle on love,” he said. “I’m trying to spread my love around a little bit. A lot of people need love.”
Wilson’s passing was met with a raft of tributes from musicians who worked with or were inspired by him.
“His cherished music will live forever as he travels through the Universe and beyond. God bless you, sweet Brian,” Nancy Sinatra shared, along with a studio photo shot while Wilson was working on her 2002 album “California Girl.”
“There will never ever be anyone like him again. God truly broke the mold when he created Brian Wilson. Besides being a creative genius, he was one the smartest and funniest people I’ve ever known. His message of love will live on through his music forever,” Wilson’s manager Jean Sievers told Rolling Stone.
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