God Only Knows Brian Wilson was a humble music fan, just like the rest of us

Australia Broadcast Center

13-06-2025

The troubled and sometimes estranged daughter of the musical genius Brian Wilson famously described her young life waking each morning to the same song being played by her father at full volume. Every single day.
Carnie Wilson, herself an accomplished musician, said she would wake to the first heartbeat-like thumps of the song echoing through the house: DUM. Da-da da DUM. A familiar wall of sound would roll through the drumbeat, then the percussion would hit, and then the yearning lyrics to the Ronettes' smash hit, Be My Baby, would soar once again.
The night we met I knew I/needed you so
Brian Wilson, the founder of the Beach Boys, often described the 1963 classic as the greatest song he knew. "I felt like I wanted to try to do something as good as that record, and I never did. I've never stopped trying. It's the greatest record ever produced, no doubt."
Listening to one great musician stand in awe of another's piece of music, sounding humble and joyous just like any other fan, is a wonderfully intimate thing. When you realise that Bruce Springsteen or Florence Welch are buying the same records you buy and are also standing in their living room with the volume up wondering, how do they do that, you understand how connected you all are as music fans. How you all attend the same church and sing the same hymns.
It is a remarkable leveller when a great musician declares themselves simply another fan. Brian Wilson's enduring love of that gorgeous piece of pop makes him a kid singing at the top of his voice in the car, just like us.
In the wake of Brian Wilson's death this week at the age of 82, generations of musicians have spoken about how much they loved his songs too, about how meaningful they have been in their lives as fans and musicians, and there is one song in particular that they keep coming back to.
Shall I try to list them all, the artists who say that the Beach Boys, the album Pet Sounds, and that one song have been some of the most important songs in their lives? Patti Smith, Bruno Mars, Iggy Pop, Elton John, Paul Simon, Janelle Monae, Carole King, Leonard Bernstein, Smokey Robinson, the Gibb brothers, The Eagles… I'll have to stop there, but will finish of course with John Lennon and Paul McCartney, who were unabashed fans.
The two bands inspired each other and competed with each other in their early days. The Beatles' Rubber Soul spurred Brian to write Pet Sounds, which in turn sparked Sergeant Peppers: the best kind of rivalry when fans get the benefits.
But what of this one song — the one song that all these musicians and others reference when they say it's one of the greatest ever written?
The night Brian died, the singer-songwriter Sting was on tour in Germany, and this is how he commemorated him.
The simple purity of God Only Knows, and the glorious harmonies of its recorded version have become a touchstone of modern music, and a shared password of musical passion: if someone you like likes this song too, then you're going to be just fine.
Paul McCartney wrote on Instagram this week: "Brian had that mysterious sense of musical genius that made his songs so achingly special. The notes he heard in his head and passed to us were simple and brilliant at the same time."
I've written before about how our most beloved musicians close a door on our early, formative lives as music fans when they die. We get to keep their music, but our connection to that thrilled, younger self gets ever more distant, and they seem to take an understanding of us with them. They have the secret of us because of our love for them.
For many this week Brian was that idol, and I know when another goes, we all privately review the list of those who remain and dread the inevitable news of their loss one day.
I've checked my list. For now, they are all here, although so many are missing. But I can still play their songs to keep them close.
This weekend, read about the Melbourne eccentric who kept the people and faces of his city alive with a photo booth that nobody thought was anything more than an amusement. The persistence of memory, again.
Have a safe and happy weekend, and here is just a handful of great artists who revere that Brian Wilson song, all in perfect harmony, to celebrate the BBC's enduring love of music, just like ours. Go well.
Virginia Trioli is presenter of Creative Types and a former co-host of ABC News Breakfast and Mornings on ABC Radio Melbourne.