The Beach Boys singer Brian Wilson passed away on Wednesday at the age of 82. His family announced this. With The Beach Boys, Wilson scored hits in the 1960s such as Good Vibrations, Wouldn’t It Be Nice and God Only Knows.
“It is with heavy hearts that we share that our beloved father, Brian Wilson, has passed away,” the family writes on Wilson’s Instagram. “We are speechless at this time.”
The cause of death of the singer has not been announced. Wilson had been suffering from dementia for some time. As a result, he was no longer able to take care of himself.
Wilson founded the band The Beach Boys in 1961 together with his brothers Dennis and Carl. With hits such as Surfin’ U.S.A. and I Get Around, they were responsible for the so-called ‘California Sound’.
In 1966, The Beach Boys achieved great success with their album Pet Sounds. It is considered one of the most influential albums in pop history, partly because of the special compositions and the recording technique.
In the late 1960s, the band’s popularity declined rapidly. Wilson himself became addicted to alcohol and drugs. In the 1970s, he led a largely withdrawn existence. He only performed sporadically, partly because of continued drug use. That pattern repeated itself in the 1980s and 1990s.
Wilson didn’t go on tour again until 1999, but then as a solo artist. In the twenty years that followed, the singer managed to find his way up. His last performance was on July 26, 2022.
