Paul McCartney says ‘musical genius' Brian Wilson was ‘bright shining light'
The 82-year-old Beatles bass player has previously cited Wilson's work as an inspiration for his own, and collaborated with him on Wilson's 2014 solo album Gettin' In Over My Head.
Advertisement
He also took part in his induction into the Songwriters Hall Of Fame in 2000.
View this post on Instagram
A post shared by Paul McCartney (@paulmccartney)
'The notes he heard in his head and passed to us were simple and brilliant at the same time.
In a post on Instagram, Sir Paul said: 'Brian had that mysterious sense of musical genius that made his songs so achingly special.
'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.'
His tribute comes after the surviving original members of The Beach Boys honoured the 'genius' of Wilson.
Advertisement
His cousin Mike Love, 84, said Wilson's 'musical gifts were unmatched' while Al Jardine described his bandmate as 'my brother in spirit'.
Wilson was the eldest and last surviving of the three brothers who formed the American rock band with Love and school friend Jardine in 1961.
'The melodies he dreamed up, the emotions he poured into every note – Brian changed the course of music forever,' Love wrote in a lengthy post on Facebook, saying there was 'something otherworldly' about Wilson.
'Like all families, we had our ups and downs. But through it all, we never stopped loving each other, and I never stopped being in awe of what he could do when he sat at a piano or his spontaneity in the studio.'
Advertisement
Describing Wilson as 'fragile, intense, funny' and 'one of a kind', he said his music 'allowed us to show the world what vulnerability and brilliance sound like in harmony'.
'Brian, you once asked 'Wouldn't it be nice if we were older?'. Now you are timeless,' he wrote.
Posting a picture of himself with Wilson on Facebook, Jardine, 82, said: 'I will always feel blessed that you were in our lives as long as you were.'
'You were a humble giant who always made me laugh and we will celebrate your music forever.'
Advertisement
On Wednesday, Wilson's family said in a statement to his website: 'We are heartbroken to announce that our beloved father Brian Wilson has passed away. We are at a loss for words right now. Please respect our privacy at this time as our family is grieving.'
Sir Elton John posted on Instagram, saying Wilson was 'always so kind to me' and 'the biggest influence on my songwriting ever'.
'He was a musical genius and revolutionary,' he wrote.
'He changed the goalposts when it came to writing songs and changed music forever. A true giant.'
Bob Dylan was among other musical stars to pay tribute, with the 84-year-old posting on X that he was thinking 'about all the years I've been listening to him and admiring his genius'.
Advertisement
Fellow singer-songwriter Carole King, 83, described Wilson as 'my friend and my brother in songwriting' while former Velvet Underground member John Cale said on X he was 'a true musical genius toiling away at melding POP into startling sophistication'.
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
Rolling Stones guitarist Ronnie Wood, 78, paid tribute to Wilson and US musician Sly Stone, who died earlier this week, in a social media post, saying: 'Oh no Brian Wilson and Sly Stone in one week – my world is in mourning, so sad.'
His bandmate Keith Richards, 81, posted an extract of his 2010 memoir, Life, on Instagram recalling hearing The Beach Boys for the first time on the radio and his reaction to their 1966 album Pet Sounds.
The extract reads: 'When we first got to American and to LA, there was a lot of Beach Boys on the radio, which was pretty funny to us – it was before Pet Sounds – it was hot rod songs and surfing songs, pretty lousily played, familiar Chuck Berry licks going on…
'It was later on, listening to Pet Sounds, well, it's a little bit overproduced for me, but Brian Wilson had something.'
Sean Ono Lennon, the son of John Lennon and Yoko Ono, described Wilson as 'our American Mozart' in a post on X while The Monkees drummer Micky Dolenz said 'his melodies shaped generations, and his soul resonated in every note'.
We are heartbroken to announced that our beloved father Brian Wilson has passed away.
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
— Brian Wilson (@BrianWilsonLive)
June 11, 2025
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 with Wilson playing bass alongside his brothers Dennis as the drummer and Carl on lead guitar.
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 well known songs Wouldn't It Be Nice and God Only Knows.
Wilson married singer Marilyn Rovell in 1964 and the couple welcomed daughters Carnie and Wendy, whom he became estranged from following their divorce.
The Beach Boys' Carl Wilson, Al Jardine, Dennis Wilson, Brian Wilson and Mike Love (PA)
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 break-up 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'.
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.
Wilson's brother Dennis died in 1983 while Carl died in 1998.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Daily Mail
13 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
David Schwimmer looks somber as 'Ketamine Queen' drug dealer pleads guilty to supplying Matthew Perry's fatal dose
looked downcast as he attended the opening night for Broadway show Take A Banana For The Ride in NYC on Tuesday. The actor, 58, made his red carpet appearance as his former co-star Matthew Perry's 'Ketamine Queen' drug dealer took a plea deal for supplying the star's fatal dose. Jasveen Sangha made a guilty plea deal in connection with the October 2023 drug overdose death of Matthew at 54. A source close to the case exclusively told The Daily Mail that prior to the deal Sangha was initially facing a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years in federal prison. Under the plea agreement, that mandatory minimum has been lifted, allowing Sangha to potentially receive a sentence of less than 10 years. David and Matthew worked together for ten years on hit sitcom Friends. Matthew was found dead face down in his jacuzzi on October 29, 2023, leaving Hollywood shaken to its core after he bravely shared details of his addiction struggles with the public to dissuade others from following a similar path. Months later, a medical examiner determined that the actor - who had battled substance abuse issues throughout his life - had died of the 'acute effects of ketamine.' Legal analyst and federal criminal defense attorney Lou Shapiro told the Daily Mail he wasn't surprised Sangha decided to take the plea deal, especially since her co-defendants had done so earlier. The attorney said: 'When you look at the overwhelming evidence against her and what they found at her place alone - the drugs, the manufacturing equipment and the money - and tons of it, she was basically toast. 'There was nowhere for her to go. It wasn't if she was going to take the deal, it was a matter of just when.' Shapiro added: 'Even if you don't intentionally try to harm somebody or cause them great bodily injury or death, the mere fact that you are engaging in a conduct that is very likely going to result in death, you're going to be held accountable for it.' Shapiro argued that any arguments presented would have quickly crumbled under legal scrutiny and added: 'You can't look the other way and say, "I was just selling it. I was doing him a favor," That is not going to fly. 'This also sends a big message to the medical industry that doctors will be held fully accountable for death to bodily injury that results in their patients when they are merely prescribing drugs. 'These doctors knew what was going on and they fully participated in supplying Matthew Perry with as much ketamine as he wanted.' Shapiro cited court records in which the doctors themselves marveled at the extent of Perry's addiction and lengths he was willing to go to in his quest to get his next fix. He said: 'They even called him an 'idiot' at one point in their text messages,' Shapiro said. 'I think the medical community also will look at this as a tragedy for the loss of life but also, they are people who worked hard to become medical professionals. 'Instead, these doctors threw all of that away for greed.'
Daily Mail
13 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
Heartbreaking moment Rich Eisen fights back tears in SportsCenter return remembering late colleague
Legendary sports broadcaster Rich Eisen made his return to SportsCenter on Monday night and fought back tears at the end of the broadcast while paying tribute to his late colleague and friend Stuart Scott. Eisen made an appearance anchoring ESPN's flagship program for the first time in 22 years, with his return possible due to the NFL Network merger. Eisen, 56, left ESPN in 2003 as an original on-air talent for NFL Network, where he has been employed since, still as one of the most recognizable faces in sports broadcasting. During his seven years at ESPN, Scott and Eisen were nearly inseparable, hosting several editions of SportsCenter together every week. Eisen could not have made his return without honoring Scott, who passed in January 2015 at age 49 from appendix cancer, with memories of what could have been between the duo coming to the surface on live television. ESPN aired a package showing the best moments between the two, with cameras focusing back on Eisen solo behind the anchor desk, choking up before delivering his closing monologue remembering Scott. 'It's been a blast being here tonight. But listen, we all know there should be someone else right here, in this chair next to me, right there, as he was for my seven years in the role he referred to as my TV wife,' Eisen said with tears in his eyes. 'And that's my dear late friend, Stuart Scott, who is indeed looking over my shoulder tonight.' 'I frequently think of Stuart a lot and what he might think of the sports headlines of the day, like, say, Bill Belichick being the head football coach at his beloved school. We used to host SportsCenters after LeBron's high school games. So what would Stuart think of James still playing at age 40, with 40,000 points?' 'And with all these new crossing of sports TV streams like say ESPN buying NFL Network and partnering up with my daily show, what would it look like if Stuart sat in with say Ernie (Johnson), (Shaquille O'Neal), Kenny (Smith) and Charles (Barkley) when Inside the NBA comes here to ESPN this fall?' 'I could go on and on because I miss Stuart so very much. He should be in that chair with me, with us tonight.' Fans showed their support for Eisen being vulnerable and sharing memories of his friend, more than a decade after his passing. 'You can tell that man loved/still loves, his old co-host and friend,' one YouTube commenter said. 'There is a reason that was the golden era of sports television and highlights.'
Daily Mail
16 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
Taylor Swift's favourite red lipstick is currently in stock - and you can get £10 off
Daily Mail journalists select and curate the products that feature on our site. If you make a purchase via links on this page we will earn commission - learn more If there's one thing for certain about Taylor Swift, it's that her make-up is always flawless. Whether she's just finished a three-hour rain show or she's sipping a vodka cranberry while cheering on her boyfriend Travis Kelce and the Kansas City Chiefs, her lipstick never budges an inch. Tay-voodoo, or what? Of course, she's best known for that whole 'red lip, classic' look, à la the Blank Space and Look What You Made Me Do music videos. It's a shade she's naturally opted for again on the newly released (and very glamorous) covers of her 12th studio album, The Life of a Showgirl, in which a moody-looking, jewel-adorned Swift rocks a pillar-box red pout. Taylor Swift stuns for 'The Life of a Showgirl.' — Pop Crave (@PopCrave) August 13, 2025 According to her long-time make-up artist Lottie Turk, there are a few trusty crimson hues the popstar wears on rotation to nail her signature look. As with everything related to Swift, her huge fanbase means most of her go-to products are usually out of stock – but we've done some hunting and found not only are some of her signature shades currently available to buy, they're also heavily discounted. From a Pat McGrath product with immense staying power to a cult-favourite M.A.C. lipstick that was near impossible to get ahold of for years, here are the shades approved by the queen of the red lip. Shop them quickly: Swifties move fast, and if past restocks are anything to go buy, these sure won't stick around for long.
