Beach Boys co-founder Brian Wilson has died

"It is with sadness that we announce the passing of our beloved father, Brian Wilson. (...) We know we share our grief with the whole world."

With these words, his family announced in a press release on Wednesday the death of Brian Wilson, at the age of 82.

The brilliant co-founder of the Beach Boys, of which he was singer and composer, Wilson invented the soundtrack of the Californian myth of the sixties . From 1962 to 1966, this pop prodigy composed the happiest music in rock with more than 200 anthems to the sun and surf ( Surfin' USA , I get around , Fun Fun Fun ) and made the Beach Boys the American group that sold the most records in the world.

From the ages of 19 to 24, the bassist and singer was the equal of the Beatles. John Lennon considered Pet Sounds (1966) one of the greatest albums of all time.

After the innocence of his early compositions, the singer brooded over the loss of youth and led his band toward a more psychedelic rock style with roots in hippie culture. But in 1967, his mental health, degraded by drugs, caused him to explode in mid-flight.

The Fall and the Rebirth

Born on June 20, 1942, in California, Brian Wilson found refuge and joy in music. Around the Hammond organ in his living room, he taught his brothers the harmonies of jazz and gospel.

In 1961, in Hawthorne, a suburb of Los Angeles, he formed a band with his two brothers Dennis and Carl, his cousin Mike Love and a neighbor, Al Jardine.

After their first title, Surfin' (1961), combining the rock of Chuck Berry and Little Richard with the vocal harmonies of the Four Freshmen , the five youngsters devoted themselves to surf music . By the end of 1962, with Surfin' USA , every teenager knew the Beach Boys.

Introverted, Brian Wilson has trouble being on stage.

In 1964, he suffered a panic attack on a plane, stopping touring and hiding in his studio. Glued to his piano, he consumed LSD and acid and composed all of the band's melodies.

Others just had to add their voices. In 1966, he released "Good Vibrations ." The single sold a million copies in the United States.

With Van Dyke Parks, a musician close to the Beat Generation, he joined Smile . They recorded themes (grunts, drill, hysterical laughter) to create an echo system close to Phil Spector's wall of sound.

Stoned, he believes he's being spied on by this East Coast producer and the Beatles. His bandmates are frightened. Diagnosed with schizophrenia, Brian Wilson gives up. He's only 25 years old and his career is practically over.

The Beach Boys, on the other hand, live off their reputation.

But in 2002, remarried and a father, "the Mozart of pop" returned to Smile . First in concert and then on record, Brian Wilson gave a coherent form to this album, which had since become the myth of his rediscovered youth.

Suffering from dementia at the end of his life, he was placed under guardianship in May 2024. With AFP