The Beach Boys singer Brian Wilson has died at the age of 82, his family said.
Wilson was the eldest and last surviving of the three musical brothers who formed the American rock band in 1961, alongside their cousin Mike Love and school friend Al Jardine.
“We are heartbroken to announce that our beloved father Brian Wilson has passed away”, his family said in a statement on his website.
We are heartbroken to announced that our beloved father Brian Wilson has passed away.
— Brian Wilson (@BrianWilsonLive) June 11, 2025
We are at a loss for words right now.
Please respect our privacy at this time as our family grieving.
We realize that we are sharing our grief with the world.
Love & Mercy pic.twitter.com/sIe7TUUdOm
“We are at a loss for words right now. Please respect our privacy at this time as our family is grieving.
“We realise that we are sharing our grief with the world.”
The statement finished “Love & Mercy”, a reference to one of Wilson’s songs, as well as the name of a film about his life starring John Cusack.
His band, known for their vocal harmonies, signed with Capitol Records in 1962 and released their first album, Surfin’ Safari, that same year.
Wilson was born on June 20 1942, and began to play the piano and teach his brothers to sing harmony as a young boy.
The Beach Boys started as a neighbourhood act, rehearsing in Wilson’s bedroom and in the garage of their house in suburban Hawthorne, California.
In the group Wilson played bass while his brother Dennis was the drummer and Carl played lead guitar.
Their debut single, Surfin’, became a minor hit upon its release in 1961, but was nothing compared with the success that followed from their second studio album, Surfin’ USA, released in 1963.
The band were managed by the trio’s father, Murry Wilson, but by mid-decade he had been displaced and Brian, who had been running the band’s recording sessions almost from the start, was in charge.
They released their most recognised album, Pet Sounds, in May 1966 which included the popular songs Wouldn’t It Be Nice and God Only Knows.
Other studio albums including The Beach Boys Today! and Summer Days (Summer Nights!!), both released in 1965, also performed well in the charts.
In the later half of the 1960s and into the 1970s they had success upon releasing greatest hits albums including 20 Golden Greats, which peaked at number one in the UK albums chart in 1976.
Wilson had married singer Marilyn Rovell in 1964 and the couple welcomed daughters Carnie and Wendy, whom he became estranged from following their divorce.
He later reconciled with them and they sang together on the 1997 album The Wilsons, which was also the name of a music group formed by Carnie and Wendy following the breakup of pop vocal group Wilson Phillips.
Wilson, who had dealt with mental health and drug problems, got his life back on track in the 1990s and married talent manager Melinda Ledbetter.
When Ledbetter died last year Wilson said their five children, Daria, Delanie, Dylan, Dash and Dakota, were “in tears”.
“She (Ledbetter) was my saviour. She gave me the emotional security I needed to have a career. She encouraged me to make the music that was closest to my heart. She was my anchor,” he said in a statement.
Wilson was also embroiled in multiple lawsuits some of which followed from the release of his 1991 autobiography, Wouldn’t It Be Nice: My Own Story.
The Beach Boys were inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall of Fame in 1988 and received a Lifetime Achievement Grammy Award in 2001.
Their biggest hits included California Girls, Surfin’ USA and Good Vibrations, the latter of which topped the UK’s singles chart.
Wilson’s brother Dennis died in 1983 while Carl died in 1998.
