As a child, I had a Beach Boys greatest hits record. Over and over I’d play that thing until practically wearing out the grooves. Songs like ‘409’, ‘Barbara Ann’, ‘California Girls’, and more helped spark a creative bug in me at a very young age.
Brian Wilson raised the simple pop song format to an otherworldly level of unassuming genius. With their rich catalog, The Beach Boys became the most charted American band of all time. The groundbreaking album ‘Pet Sounds’ would go on to become one of the most celebrated and influential recordings in modern history. Not just for the songs, but for the production techniques.
However, Wilson was a fragile character. Much of his life was wrought with mental illness and drug addiction that would lead him into a world of isolation, but his genius can never be denied. Later in life, he began to come out of his cocoon to perform, record, and find peace with his family and bandmates.
Rest easy Mr. Wilson. Yours was a uniquely troubled and gifted life.
More:
Subscribe to My Substack
