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Brian Wilson, Beach Boys Co-Founder and Architect of Pop, Dead at 82
Brian Wilson, the Beach Boys co-founder and one of pop music's greatest songwriters, has died at 82.
Brian Wilson, who as leader of the Beach Boys and a founder of California rock invented a massively successful pop sound full of harmonies and sunshine, has died at the age of 82. And on albums such as Pet Sounds, Wilson’s lavish, orchestral production techniques dramatically expanded the sonic palette of rock ‘n’ roll and showed how the recording studio could be an instrument by itself. Signed to Capitol Records and named the Beach Boys, they started to roll out hits like convertible Thunderbirds coming off an assembly line: “Surfin’ U.S.A.” (with music borrowed from Chuck Berry’s “Sweet Little Sixteen”), “Surfer Girl,” “Be True to Your School,” “Fun, Fun, Fun.” Those Brian Wilson compositions all sounded like insanely catchy jingles for the California teenage lifestyle–surfboards, hamburger stands, pep rallies–but on the flip side of the good times was a real sense of melancholy.
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