My Favorite Beach Boy: Let's Remember Brian Wilson

A very sad day to do a blog, but a tribute needs to be done. Brian Wilson, frontman and co-founder of The Beach Boys, has passed away at the age of 82. June 11, 2025: This is a very sad day, but let's pay tribute to a legend. Born June 20, 1942, in Inglewood, California, Brian had a long and lucrative music career, spanning from 1962 until 2022. Brian had 2 daughters, Carnie and Wendy, along with 5 adopted children. Later in life, in the 1990s. Brian would go on to do an album with Carnie and Wendy, of the group Wilson Phillips.
Brian's musical career began in Hawthorne, California. The Beach Boys' debut album came out June 4, 1962, and they had much success for many years. The first number 1 for them would come just 2 years later with the hit. When "I Get Around" was released in May 1964. When the stress of tours and road living took its toll, Brian decided to not go on the road anymore but to remain home at the studio to concentrate solely on songwriting and record production. Now being able to focus more on writing and production, he also learned to use more instruments whenever possible; doubling up on bass and more keyboards made the sound larger and more robust. You would think that being deaf in his right ear would handicap someone in the music business, but it never stopped Brian; he just recorded in mono and kept on producing. The next year, spring 1965, would bring more hits; charting at number 3, "California Girls," and the Summer Days and Summer Nights album would chart at number 2 in the US. This album would also include a reworked song titled "Help Me, Rhonda." It would become their second number one US single. I can easily say that the Beach Boys at that time were the most popular band in America.
As a child, Brian was a self-taught piano player at only 12 years old. The piano seemed to be a comfort for him. Later in years Brian had a collection of songs performed by himself. Brian Wilson's "At My Piano" debuted at number 1 on the Amazon Classical Music Albums Chart, 2021. Multi-talented and spanning the years, a beach boy never goes down in the surf. I encourage you, the reader, to seek out more info on Brian; you will be amazed at his talent. Take some time to play his music in whatever music app you choose, or take yourself back in time and take out the vinyl and blast out some Beach Boys for the summer. RIP Brian, we have had a great ride with you. Hang ten on the big cloud in the sky.
​Take a look at the list I have included so you can see the magnitude of his musical talent.
Songs written by Brian Wilson:
"Wouldn't It Be Nice"
"Surfer Girl"
"In My Room"
"California Girls"
"God Only Knows"
"Good Vibrations"
"Surf's Up"
"Sloop John B"
"Little Surfer Girl"
"I Get Around"
"Help Me Rhonda"
"Fun Fun Fun"
"Don't Worry, Baby"
"The Little Girl I Once Knew"
"Heroes and Villains"
"Caroline, No."
"Baby Let Your Hair Grow Long"
"Back Home"
"The Warmth of the Sun"
"All I Wanna Do"
"All Summer Long"
"All Dressed Up For School"
"Aren't You Glad"
"Dance, Dance, Dance"
"Sail On, Sailor"
"Please Let Me Wonder"
"Break Away"
"No Pier Pressure"
Check out these and more solo and collaborative works on your favorite music app. 
Rock on, Peeps!!🤘
Some info and pictures were taken from Brianwilson.com

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