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The Beach Boys icon Brian Wilson has died, age 82: “Love and mercy”

By Andrew Trendell Jun 11, 2025 | 11:53 AM

The Beach Boys icon and pop music pioneer Brian Wilson has died, age 82.

The news of the innovator’s passing was shared his family on social media today (Wednesday June 11).

“We are heartbroken to announce that our beloved father Brian Wilson has passed away,” wrote his children. “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.”

Last year saw Wilson placed in conservatorship when his family and close friends cited that the icon could no longer care for himself following a dementia diagnosis. This came after the death of Wilson’s wife and longtime manager Melinda Ledbetter Wilson, who had been acting as the music legend’s care-giver and taking care of his needs after a decline in his health. He suffered a lifelong battle with mental illness, including a nervous breakdown in 1964 that saw him resign from regular touring with The Beach Boys to focus on writing and production.

In a statement to Rolling Stone, Wilson’s longtime manager Jean Sievers said: “Brian gave so much to the world through his music, his spirit and his strength. He was a sweet, gentle soul as well as fierce competitor. 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 was known as one of the true geniuses of contemporary for shifting the parameters of what pop could achieve with his experimental approach and dazzling ability for composition, production and textures. Born June 20, 1942 in Inglewood, California, he would grow up under an abusive father. Writing in his 1991 autobiography Wouldn’t It Be Nice: My Own Story, Wilson said of his childhood: “Although he saw himself as a loving father who guided his brood with a firm hand, he abused us psychologically and physically, creating wounds that never healed”.

He would go on to form the hugely influential Beach Boys with his brothers Dennis and Carl Wilson, their cousin Mike Love, and their friend Al Jardine, in 1961.Setting themselves apart with their layered vocal harmonies, they scored US Number One singles with the classics ‘Surf City’, ‘I Get Around’, ‘Help Me, Rhonda’ and ‘Good Vibrations’, and reached their creative zenith with 1966 seminal concept album ‘Pet Sounds’ – famously inspiring The Beatles to up their game on ‘Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band’, with Paul McCartney often hailing it as his favourite album of all time.

Wilson was just 23-years-old when he wrote and produced the album, which included the untouchable ‘God Only Knows’.

Wilson’s passing also follows the sad loss of fellow legend Sly Stone earlier this week.

A number of figures have since taken to social media to pay tribute to Wilson, with The Rolling Stones’ Ronnie Wood saying that his “world is in mourning” and Heaven 17’s Martin Ware hailing him as “a genius”.

Friend and fellow legend Nancy Sinatra wrote that “his cherished music will live forever as he travels through the Universe and beyond”,

The Walkmen frontman turned solo star Hamilton Leithauser simply wrote “Rest in Peace Brian Wilson, you were a god” while Doves said of the “pioneer”: “Your music will forever live on.”

Former Menswear drummer turned music journalist Matt Everitt shared a touching story of one of his several interviews with Wilson, calling him “the greatest composer of America popular music ever”, while actor and musician Paddy Considine wrote: “Thank you for the most beautiful music. One of the highlights of our lives was seeing you in Boston in 2000. We will remember it forever. Your music and compositions affected us in the most profound way.”

 

Speaking at the time of Melinda’s death in 2024, Wilson told fans: “My heart is broken”, before paying  tribute to his late partner, esteeming her as a “savior” and “anchor”.

“Melinda was more than my wife,” he continued. “She was my savior. She gave me the emotional security I needed to have a career. She encouraged me to make the music that was closest to my heart. She was my anchor. She was everything for us. Please say a prayer for her.”

In 2014, Bill Pohlad’s biographical film on Wilson’s life, Love & Mercy, was oriented around Wilson’s and Ledbetter’s relationship, as depicted by Paul Dano and Elizabeth Banks respectively, with The Holdovers’ Paul Giamatti playing Eugene Landy. In an interview with ABC Nightline in 2015, Banks recalled a conversation she had with Ledbetter before shooting the film, who understood music to ultimately be Wilson’s “first love”.

“She said to me, ‘Music is his first love’,” said Banks of her conversation with Ledbetter. “Nothing can replace it. It’s his being, it’s his essence, it’s his everything, So I’m settling for second, but it’s a pretty good– it’s a pretty good second’.”

A long-lost country album recorded by Wilson in the early 1970s was also finally been scheduled for release, with ‘Cows In The Pasture’ expected sometime in 2025.

 

This is a developing story. Check back at NME for more information and tributes. 

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