As per People:
Brian Wilson, the pop music genius and singer who co-founded the Beach Boys, has died. He was 82. The musician’s family announced his death on Wednesday, June 11 in an Instagram post featuring a recent photo of the star smiling on a bench. “We are heartbroken to announce that our beloved father Brian Wilson has passed away,” the statement read. “We are at a loss for words right now. Please respect our privacy at this time as our family is grieving. We realize that we are sharing our grief with the world. Love & Mercy.”
Born on June 20, 1942 in Inglewood, Calif., Wilson was the eldest child among his siblings, including Dennis and Carl, who were born in 1944 and 1946, respectively. From an early age, he was said to have an aptitude for music, with two biographies — Inside the Music of Brian Wilson: The Songs, Sounds, and Influences of the Beach Boys’ Founding Genius and Wouldn’t It Be Nice: Brian Wilson and the Making of the Beach Boys’ Pet Sounds — detailing his abilities with pitch and melody.
At age 19, Wilson — along with his brothers, Love and Jardine — formed the Beach Boys, which was initially known as the Pendletones, and co-wrote the group’s first song, “Surfin’.” By 1962, they released their first studio album, Surfin’ Safari. And with the success of their sophomore effort, Surfin’ U.S.A., and two subsequent albums also released in 1963, they helped cultivate — and became synonymous with — the “California sound.”
A few years later, Wilson helped the group expand beyond that surf and beach culture with more mature music, culminating in 1966’s Pet Sounds, 1967’s scrapped effort, Smile, and the single “Good Vibrations.” The first is what eventually cemented Wilson and the Beach Boys’ place in rock ‘n’ roll history, with the album going on to become one of the most influential of all time.
With the help of psychologist Eugene Landy, Wilson eventually made a brief comeback in 1976, helping produce the album, The Beach Boys Love You, before falling back into another years-long depression fueled by drugs and alcohol.
