By DONNA BALANCIA
Feature Photo by ANGELICA SMITH-PASCUAL
Brian Wilson, the founder of one of the world’s most beloved musical groups, The Beach Boys, passed away at 82, it was announced Wednesday.
The musical savant was admired, imitated and honored over the years by colleagues ranging from The Beatles and John Cale, to Linda Ronstadt, the late David Crosby, and Don Was.
Tributes came in from around the world for Wilson, long considered one of history’s most gifted music creators and performers. The trademark sound of The Beach Boys has been loved since 1961 and the Southern California brothers, friends and family had long-lasting impact beyond their remarkable harmonies and melodies.
The Beach Boys and the music of Wilson gave hope and sense of fearless adventure to those who pursued the promise of the California dream. In an adolescent’s mind, that dream was synonymous with summer sun and surf, fast revving cars, and of course, the beach and bikinis.
The music world took note of The Beach Boys’ unique sound and many tried to duplicate the beachy, carefree tone, but this was a more complicated pursuit than it appeared on the surface. Through the 1960s, The Beach Boys gave America musical ammunition against The British Invasion, which was getting a stronghold on the record-buying public.
From their first album, “Surfin’ Safari” (1962) through the much-heralded “Pet Sounds” (1966) and beyond, The Beach Boys created music that covered a range of teen emotions. They contrasted the upbeat and catchy tracks like “Little Deuce Coupe,” “Surfin USA,” and “Be True to Your School,” with the deep longing reflected in “God Only Knows,” “Surfer Girl,” and “In My Room.”
“I Just Wasn’t Made For These Times” was directed and produced by well-known music producer and musician Don Was, and the documentary was released in 1995. It tells the story of Brian Wilson poignantly through interviews with family, including his mother, Audree Wilson, former wife, Marilyn Wilson and friends and fellow musicians.
“In this culture, this 1960s American culture there are these icons that a teenage boy would yearn for with all the kind of self absorbtion an adolescent is supposed to have,” said Ronstadt in “I Just Wasn’t Made For These Times.” “It’s such a singular focus of this completely cool car you’re gonna ride in, and establish your power. You’re gonna make yourself look cool among the other guys and you’re gonna get some maiden’s heart to go pitter pat because she’s gonna see you in this cool car and she’s gonna fall in love with you that’s what the whole thing is about anyway. That’s what he wrote about and the music helped. Because the music helps you identify your feelings, artists are there to help you identify your feelings and the music helped.”
Also in “I Just Wasn’t Made For This Time” was the late David Crosby.
“He was the most highly regarded pop musician in America, hands down,” he said. “Everybody by that time had figured out who was writing it all and who was arranging it all. What year did ‘In My Room’ come out?” Crosby asks Graham Nash in the film. “That was like the defining point for me. I heard ‘In My Room,’ and I went, ‘OK I give up,’ I can’t do that, I’ll never be able to do that.”
The songs written by Wilson were profound and impacted people all over the world.
“I wrote a song that was fairly straightforward, it was a fan song,” said John Cale in the film. “I heard him in first in Wales he was a thousand miles away in California and how it was difficult for me to not believe everything he said. There was something genuine in every lyric he wrote.”
Wilson had been battling illness for many years but continued to make appearances and perform with various members of The Beach Boys. His family asked for privacy but acknowledged Wilson’s fans are also grieving his passing.
Angelica Smith-Pascual has fond memories of Wilson, as Wilson and her father Frank Smith, a union jazz session drummer, were close friends.
“Brian was brave,” Smith said. “I remember we went over to see Brian after he drove off a burglar at his family’s house. I don’t know why my father brought us along. That was a long time ago, but I’ve been going to Brian’s concerts all my life. Growing up as a teen I talked about The Beach Boys to my friends constantly. Back in the days there was an amusement park, they called it The Pike and they always played The Beach Boys music there. I never knew how famous The Beach Boys were, they were just my Dad’s best friends.”
“Brian had that mysterious sense of musical genius that made his songs so achingly special,” Paul McCartney wrote on social media. “The notes he heard in his head and passed to us were simple and brilliant at the same time. I loved him, and was privileged to be around his bright shining light for a little while. How we will continue without Brian Wilson, ‘God Only Knows’. Thank you, Brian. – Paul”
Listen to the music of The Beach Boys here:
