“Our American Mozart”: Tributes pour in for Brian Wilson, the Beach Boys visionary who died this week aged 82
Tributes have been pouring in from far and wide for Brian Wilson, the Beach Boys creative leader and pop visionary who died this week aged 82.
Wilson’s family shared news of his passing on Wednesday (11 June), writing: “We are heartbroken to announce that our beloved father Brian Wilson has passed away. We are at a loss for words right now.”
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Wilson’s influence on pop music – and indeed the wider music world in general – cannot be understated. His keen ear for melody and creative vision shaped the sound of the pop music world in the decades following the formation of the Beach Boys in 1961.
He was the creative brains behind many of the band’s most notable works, including Pet Sounds, the landmark 1966 album which featured God Only Knows and Wouldn’t It Be Nice.
Leading tributes are the likes of Bob Dylan and Paul McCartney, while many other musicians have taken to social media to express their adoration for Wilson and how he influenced their music.
McCartney notes Wilson’s “mysterious sense of musical genius that made his songs so achingly special”, adding: “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.”
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Paying tribute to the Beach Boys legend on X, Bob Dylan writes: “Heard the sad news about Brian today and thought about all the years I’ve been listening to him and admiring his genius. Rest in peace dear Brian.”
Heard the sad news about Brian today and thought about all the years I’ve been listening to him and admiring his genius. Rest in peace dear Brian.
— Bob Dylan (@bobdylan) June 11, 2025
Fleetwood Mac’s Mick Fleetwood says “anyone with a musical bone in their body must be grateful for Brian Wilson’s genius magical touch, and greatly saddened [at] this major worldly loss.”
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Also from the Beatles world, Sean Ono Lennon – son of John Lennon and Yoko Ono – explains how “not many people influenced me as much as he did”, calling Wilson “our American Mozart”, and “a one-of-a-kind genius from another world”.
Anyone who really knows me knows how heart broken I am about Brian Wilson passing. Not many people influenced me as much as he did. I feel very lucky that I was able to meet him and spend some time with him. He was always very kind and generous. He was our American Mozart. A one… pic.twitter.com/UODb9NdqOl
— Seán Ono Lennon (@seanonolennon) June 11, 2025
Randy Bachman also likens Wilson to legendary classical composers, telling BBC Radio 5 Live, “He was Beethoven, he was Tchaikovsky.”
“There are some bands that are so monumental that no-one could ever come close, and the Beach Boys are one of those bands,” he went on.
“Even their sad songs were happy. There was some joy in their high voices when they were singing and in the chord progressions. Some of the greatest chord progressions of all time came from Brian Wilson.”
Elsewhere, singer-songwriter Carole King remembered Brian Wilson, “my friend and my brother in songwriting”.
“We shared a similar sensibility, as evidenced by his four over five chord under ‘Aaaah!’ in Good Vibrations and mine under I’m Into Something Good. We once discussed who used it first, and in the end we decided it didn’t matter. The world will miss Brian, but we are so lucky to have his music.”
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Ronnie Wood of The Rolling Stones also paid tribute, noting that the “world is in mourning” after the deaths of both Wilson and Sly Stone this week.
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Kiss bassist Gene Simmons labels Wilson a “visionary”, and thanks him for the “lifetime of wonderful melodies that spanned decades”.
Sadly, Brian Wilson has passed away. Songwriter, visionary. Thank you for a lifetime of wonderful melodies that spanned decades. I’m going to spend the day listening to the Beach Boys and reminiscing.
— Gene Simmons (@genesimmons) June 11, 2025
Brian Wilson had his share of health struggles over the years; he was diagnosed as paranoid schizophrenic in 1984 – which doctors believed to be, in part, due to his previous use of psychedelic drugs, and was diagnosed with dementia in 2024.
Wilson’s musicality with the Beach Boys was matched by his ability to write chart-topping hits; the band have sold over 100 million albums over the course of their 60-plus year career, making them one of the most commercially successful music artists of all time.
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