Brian Wilson: Biography

• Overview
• Discography
• Biography
• Related Artists

• Lindsey Buckingham
• The Beatles
• Paley Brothers
• High Llamas
• The Wondermints
• XTC
• Randy Newman

• Chuck Berry
• The Four Freshmen
• The Four Preps
• Del Shannon
• Buddy Holly
• The Ronettes
• Ritchie Valens

• Testbild!
• Residents
• Rufus Wainwright
• The Chills
• Pianosaurus
• Auto Interiors
• Paley Brothers

• Hal Blaine
• The Honeys
• Jeffrey Foskett
• Van Dyke Parks
• The Beach Boys
• Alan Jardine
• Mike Love

Born:

Jun 20, 1942 in Hawthorne, CA

Genre:

Rock Music

Decades Active:

1960's|1970's|1980's|1990's|2000's

Artistic Quality

Low

Cultural Impact

Low

Popularity

Low

Ratings Guide

Brian Wilson is arguably the greatest American composer of popular music in the rock era. Born and raised in Hawthorne, CA, Wilson formed the Beach Boys, with his two younger brothers, cousin Mike Love, and school friend Alan Jardine, and they became the most successful American rock band in history by performing his songs, which initially combined the rock urgency of Chuck Berry with the harmonies of the Four Freshmen. Wilson's musical imagination expanded during the '60s to the point of such remarkable works as "Good Vibrations," a charttopping Beach Boys single of 1966. Wilson retreated from his dominance of the Beach Boys after 1967, as their popularity declined. He made sporadic contributions to their records, returning briefly as a songwriter and producer in the mid'70s. Wilson issued a debut solo album in 1988, but his second one, Sweet Insanity, was rejected by Sire Records. In 1995, he reunited with longtime collaborator Van Dyke Parks for Orange Crate Art; that same year, Wilson was the subject of a documentary feature, I Just Wasn't Made for These Times. Imagination followed in 1998.

- William Ruhlmann, All Music Guide