RIP: Brian Wilson, co-founder of the Beach Boys, aged 82

[thewayne]

Brian was the last of the three Wilson brothers, Brian played bass, Carl lead guitar and Dennis drums. The other two members of the Beach Boys, Mike Love - a cousin - and Al Jardine, are still alive.

Brian has been in a medical conservatorship for the last year. Trouble with alcohol and drugs probably accelerated things. He met his last wife at a car dealership where she was working, which began a chapter where it was found that Wilson's psychiatrist was exploiting him and his finances, eventually resulting in a restraining order. When his wife died, Wilson entered into a decline, finally culminating in the conservatorship.

There's so much that can be said about The Beach Boys and their influence on music and various groups and musicians, and their being a core for surf/beach music in the '60s. I spent a few hours tonight revising a bunch of my Beach Boys music for my band in Lord of the Rings Online and adding some more songs to my catalog, I think I'll be performing them tomorrow night in an impromptu concert as I need to do some testing on my band as I've been having some system problems.

https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/brian-wilson-beach-boys-dead-1234810073/

https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/articles/brian-wilson-beach-boys-visionary-165711806.html

Comments

[ranunculus]

I saw the Beach Boys, perhaps 10 or 12 years ago, doing a few songs for a corporate event that I was working. They all looked beat to crap from years of touring, drugs and who knows what. The music they produced was, for the most part, exactly like the records we have all heard, though, if I remember right, they did fall apart on one number. I thought it sad that they were still churning out the same old sounds from my youth. Back in the day they were one of my all time favorite bands, and Edit: {their songs} remain favorites to this day.

[thewayne]

While I like the idea of being able to see the bands of my youth - my wife and I got to see Ian Anderson of Jethro Tull about 10 years back - I find it kind of sad that they're still touring year after year.  The system is so screwed up that they can't just record studio albums, they have to tour to really make money.