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Posting on Instagram, Sir Elton said Wilson was ‘always so kind to me’ and ‘the biggest influence on my songwriting ever’

The late Brian Wilson on carrying the legend of the Beach Boys, Macca’s tears, and how soft drinks messed him up for years

Keith Richard and Ronnie Wood are among the stars who have praised the singer, bass player, songwriter and producer after his death at 82.

Considered one of the most transformative figures in pop music worldwide, and one of the first celebrities to open up about his mental illness, Brian Wilson leaves behind a legacy that goes beyond his work with the iconic Beach Boys. His family announced his death at the age of 82.

Wilson’s genius for melody and arrangements inspired the songs Good Vibrations and California Girls.

The musician was the eldest and last surviving of the three musical Wilson brothers.

Having gone from writing surf-rock to remarkably complex and intricate masterpieces in just a few years as the Beach Boys' principal songwriter and musical director, Wilson in many ways defined the development of popular music in the 1960s

California-born musician was one of the most revered and pioneering figures in contemporary music, helping to make The Beach Boys one of the most successful pop groups of all time

Musician, who suffered from mental health problems, wrote and produced the 1966 album Pet Sounds – seen by many as the greatest album of all time

His cautious career approach has given him the chance to play Jeff Beck’s rig, avoid taking a doomed TV gig, bring Pet Sounds back to the stage – and help Wilson revive the Smile project he’d run away from in 1967

In 2012, I watched as the remaining members of the Beach Boys played together for their 50th anniversary. As they launched into When I Grow Up (to be a Man), I reflected on the experience of listening to elderly men sing about what they’ll be when they “grow up”, in…