Brian Wilson

Brian Wilson bio-
"I would have the musicians keep playing over and o
ver again till the sound
made sense. I worked overtime on that; I worked hou
rs to get it right. If the
sound didn't make any sense, then I wouldn't know w
hat to do — I'd be lost!
It's instinct that tells me. I have an instinct for
music, or a feeling about it,
and I'll have my feelings guide my hands."
He is one of popular music's most deeply revered figures, the main
creative force behind some of the
most cherished recordings in rock history. Indeed, it is no exaggera
tion to call Brian Wilson one of
the most influential composers of the last century. Wilson's rem
arkable journey began in a modest
Hawthorne, California home that was filled with music. His mom and dad b
oth played piano, and as
a young "boy soprano," Brian's vocal gift was immediately evident
. He had also started singing
harmonies...literally "in their room"...with his two younger brothe
rs (Dennis and Carl). As a teen in
the 1950s, he became obsessed with the harmonic blend of groups like the Four
Freshmen, and then,
in the early 1960s, inspired to combine multi-part vocal harmony
with the rock rhythms of Chuck
Berry, Brian found his place in the musical sun. He was barely o
ut of his teens when he began to
create some of the most beloved records ever... nine consecutive "gol
d" albums that featured such
classics as "Surfer Girl," "In My Room," "I Get Around," "Don't Worry
Baby," "Fun, Fun, Fun,"
"Help Me Rhonda" and "California Girls"...just to name a handful of t
he more than two dozen Top
40 hits Brian co-wrote, arranged, produced and performed on with his family ba
nd, the Beach Boys.
By 1966, though, glorious harmonies, ingenious hooks and four years of virtual
ly uninterrupted
creative growth and commercial success was no longer enough to sa
tisfy Wilson, and as his artistic
horizons expanded dramatically, he produced three records in that l
andmark year that forever
changed the course of popular music.
The first was Pet Sounds; the emotional autobiography of its 23-ye
ar old "auteur," it is considered by
many to be one of the greatest albums ever made. In the process of bringi
ng it to life, its composer,
arranger and producer (that is, Mr. Wilson) rewrote all the rules of w
hat a record could be; as one
observer noted, its release was "Independence Day" for rock 'n'
roll. Primarily working with a new
collaborator (lyricist and songwriter Tony Asher), the album feature
d a dozen originals (including
two astounding instrumentals); Pet Sounds was a musical canvas
as boundless as Brian's heart.
(Ironically, when you hear the lost innocence in the wail of "
Caroline No," you realize that Pet
Sounds not only heals our broken heart but Brian's too.)
On the charts in America, the album reached #10 and featured four hit sing
les (including two Top 10
hits, a reworking of the folk standard "Sloop John B" [#3] and "Wouldn't It Be
Nice" [#8] as well as
two others that cracked the Top 40---"God Only Knows" and "Caroline No"). Th
e former is
considered by many, including Sir Paul McCartney, to be one of the mos
t beautiful songs ever
recorded; the latter was released as a solo single under the name
"Brian Wilson". (NOTE: It would
be twenty years before there would be another Brian Wilson solo sin
gle.)
Brian's second studio masterpiece in 1966 was a track that he firs
t cut during the Pet Sounds session,
but it wasn't included on the album because it was not only unfinished but des
tined for a different
kind of greatness. As spring turned to summer, as Brian repeatedly "trac
ked" different arrangements
and pieces of it, he began to close in on completing what he once
called "the biggest production of
our lives."
Over more than a dozen sessions, the Pet Sounds outtake began to take
shape as the next Beach Boys
single, and when it was unleashed on the world forty years ago i
n the fall of '66, it stunned
everybody. It was not just the Beach Boys' first million-sel
ling, worldwide #1 but an absolute
milestone in recording history. "Good Vibrations" was a record tha
t the legendary publicist Derek
Taylor called a "pocket symphony"; given its kaleidoscopic moveme
nts, it was an apt description, as
Wilson demonstrated the breadth of his musical vision as well a
s how the recording studio could be
both an artist's garret and a key instrument in creating his art
.
Everybody in the industry was asking "How did he do it?" and "Wha
t is he going to do next?" The
answer would take shape through a new collaboration, this time wit
h an inspired poet, a young studio
musician and burgeoning songwriter, Van Dyke Parks.
And so as "Good Vibrations" headed from final mix to master to pres
sing plant, Brian and Van Dyke
began work on his third major production of '66, an album Brian believed would be
"a teenage
symphony to God." Smile was to feature such Wilson/Parks songs as "Her
oes & Villains," "Surf's
Up," "Wonderful," "Cabin Essence" and the wordless a cappella marve
l, "Our Prayer." Those who
heard the "work in progress" were hailing it as the cutting edge of a
"new" sound. A suite of songs
that combined classical composition, multi-part harmonies, rock rhyt
hms, wondrous wordplay and an
avant-garde sensibility, it was somehow going to be both ahead of its t
ime and timeless. Smile
quickly became one of the most anticipated works of the rock era.
In the meantime, the 1966 combination of Pet Sounds [which reached #2 on
the UK chart] and
"Good Vibrations" [#1 both stateside and in England] was so potent that w
hen the Beach Boys
arrived in London for a fall tour, they were greeted with a mania wort
hy of England's most famous
musical export. And from London to Los Angeles, those two records...one
a "long-player" that
lasted less than 40 minutes, the other a single that at the time of
its release was one of the longest #1
hits ever...set the stage for what was seen by Brian as "the next ste
p."
In late 1966, the music world and such iconic figures as Leonard Bernstein
(who featured Brian
playing "Surf's Up" on a 1967 CBS news special about the musical revolution that B
rian was
leading) believed that Wilson was, for the third time in one year
, again rewriting the "rulebook" on
what a pop record could be.
Having just succeeded with "Good Vibrations," Smile was to be an entir
e album written and recorded
in that same style...what might be called "modular" music. Brian was nea
rly done with Smile when a
combination of circumstances (record industry pressure, technical c
hallenges, personal issues,
internal group dynamics, etc.) forced him to shelve it.
Everybody, especially the Beatles, had been watching and waiting to h
ear how Brian would follow-
up "Good Vibrations." As their producer Sir George Martin regretfully not
ed, "We waited in vain."
During the subsequent 37 years, Smile became the most famous unfinished, unr
eleased album ever.
Yet, throughout the years, even as Wilson battled his personal demons a
nd rode the roller coaster of
professional ups and downs, he continued to produce intimate musical gems, contin
ued to make
beautiful music. There were entire albums (1968's jazzy Friends, 1977's cul
t favorite Love You) and
tracks ("Time To Get Alone", "This Whole World", "Add Some Music To
Your Day", "'Til I Die",
"Marcella" and "Sail On Sailor") that let us know that his composit
ional and arranging magic was
still intact. Extended pieces such as 1973's "Mt. Vernon & Fairway" indi
cated that the quirky
brilliance that had been at the hallmark of SMiLE was still in p
lay.
Sadly, for a long while the music took a back seat as Wilson struggled, in
the words of the Pet
Sounds song "I Just Wasn't Made For These Times," to find a place to f
it in, to survive. His journey
back to music took place in fits and starts.
In 1988, Wilson finally released his first solo album, which featured "L
ove and Mercy," the beautiful
"message" song that often ends his concerts, vintage compositions (e
.g. "Melt Away," "There's So
Many," "Baby Let Your Hair Grow Long") as well as his first extended p
iece since the SMiLE era, a
"modular" suite called "Rio Grande".
In 1990, the reissue of Wilson's glorious 1960s Beach Boys productions was highli
ghted by the
debut of Pet Sounds on CD, earning that album the recognition that had often
eluded it, bringing a
new generation to the music and pushing it to gold and then platinum status
. 1993's "Good
Vibrations" 5-CD collection (which included the first official rele
ase of outtakes from the SMiLE
sessions) was a stunning career overview and 1997's The Pet Sounds Session
s box set earned Wilson
a Grammy nomination, his first since "Good Vibrations." Those retrospe
ctives fueled a major
reassessment of Wilson's artistic contribution.
In 1995, after Brian married Melinda Ledbetter, he at last had what he ca
lled "emotional security,"
which gave him the confidence to return full-time to music. Reuniting w
ith his old friend, SMiLE
collaborator Van Dyke Parks, Brian sang the lead vocals and multi-pa
rt background harmonies for
the acclaimed Orange Crate Art. Next, in 1998, came his second solo album, Ima
gination. Filled with
solid Wilson originals and extraordinary layered harmonies, Wilson
's shockingly strong vocals were,
for many, the highlight of Imagination.
As the 20th century came to a close, one of its most beloved composers bega
n one of the most
improbable artistic reinventions ever---Brian became a concert
performer. Conquering his legendary
stage-fright, Wilson went on his first solo tour in 1999, taking center s
tage at a series of concerts
which finally gave his fans the opportunity to return the love they'
d received from his music.
In the summer of 2000, Wilson began a series of "dreams come true" events wh
en he kicked off his
acclaimed Pet Sounds symphonic tour, taking that studio creation to concer
t halls around the world
(from the Hollywood Bowl to London's Royal Festival Hall to the Sydney
Opera House), giving
audiences the opportunity to experience Wilson's production masterpi
ece as a living, breathing work
of art. Those shows received more than a few reviews calling it "th
e best concert ever". With good
reason. Few had believed that Pet Sounds would ever be performed live, let
alone with its creator
infusing compositions like "Don't Talk" and "Caroline No" with
the kind of passionate performances
that on some nights actually exceeded the record.
Welcomed back to the world of music (through such honors as induction int
o the "Songwriters Hall
of Fame"), Wilson was feted in 2001 at "An All Star Tribute" at Radio C
ity Music Hall. Sir Elton
John, Billy Joel, Paul Simon, Carly Simon, David Crosby, Vince Gill, Jimmy W
ebb and Sir George
Martin were some of the greats who assembled to honor Brian on that
rainy March night. In addition
to a generous sampling of Wilson's Beach Boys song catalogue, the evening
included a start-to-finish
performance of the entire Pet Sounds album by the assembled cast
.
The following year, Wilson was the only American rocker at the Queen
's Jubilee, sharing the
backyard stage at Buckingham Palace with, among so many others, Sir Paul
McCartney and Eric
Clapton. These events led to a series of appearances at charity concer
ts (Brian joined Sir Paul for a
landmine benefit; Mr. Clapton took to the stage with Brian at a concert tha
t raised money for cancer
research) and studio collaborations that were featured on Wilson's t
hird solo album, 2004's Gettin'
In Over My Head.
Yet, throughout all of this, Brian never lost sight of the music t
hat had become "the holy grail" of
pop---SMiLE. Inspired by the Radio City tribute, where he performed "Her
oes & Villains" for the
first time in decades, Wilson began to add SMiLE songs to his live sets. T
hen, in 2003, the day after
receiving the UK's prestigious Ivor Novello Award for Lifetime Achi
evement, Wilson announced
the impossible. Against all odds and in the face of enormous expect
ation, Wilson and Van Dyke
Parks reunited and with the able assistance of key band member Daria
n Sahanaja, set out do a
version of SMiLE.
Adding a new layer of surprise to the SMiLE story, SMiLE, which had be
en conceived as a
revolutionary studio record, would come to life "live on stage." In Febr
uary 2004, Brian Wilson's
version of SMiLE was revealed to the world in a week of dramatic
"dream-fulfilling" SRO concerts
at London's Royal Festival Hall, where it was greeted with ecstatic
response from fans, rock royalty
and assembled music media from around the globe.
After an extended tour of the UK and Europe, Brian and his band recorded an a
ll-new studio version
of SMiLE, and completed an acclaimed U.S. tour (which included two-night sta
nds at America's
twin peaks of concert stages, Carnegie Hall in New York and Disney Ha
ll in Los Angeles). BRIAN
WILSON presents SMiLE was released in September, 2004. Like the concert
s, the album exceeded
expectations and was received with unbridled joy and thrilling reviews. It
topped many "Album of
The Year" lists, went "gold" in the UK and earned Wilson his first Gr
ammy Award. A two-disc
Brian Wilson Presents SMiLE DVD set, released in 2005, garnered Wil
son yet another Grammy
nomination.
In the midst of all the Brian Wilson Presents SMiLE success, Wil
son was honored by his peers in
2005 at a NARAS' "MusiCares Person of the Year" tribute featuring Barena
ked Ladies, Jeff Beck,
Red Hot Chili Peppers, John Legend, Darlene Love, Michael McDonald, Billy Pre
ston and Neil
Young. Later that year, Brian and his band were among the headliners a
t the legendary Glastonbury
Festival and also played at "Live Eight," making Brian one of the
very few artists to appear at both
that event and "Live Aid."
In the fall of 2005, What I Really Want For Christmas, Brian's fir
st solo album of holiday music, was
released by Clive Davis' Arista label. And in the fall of 2006, Wilson t
ook time out from his
composing work to celebrate the 40th Anniversary of Pet Sounds with
complete performances of the
album at a handful of concerts. Then, it was back to the piano, to put the f
inishing touches on his first
all-new full-length work in years. "That Lucky Old' Sun," his musi
cal tribute to California,
premiered in London last September at a series of sold-out concerts at
Royal Festival Hall, the venue
that had commissioned the piece as part of the celebration of its gr
and re-opening.
At the same time London critics and audiences were being thrilled b
y these new sounds, Wilson was
receiving word that he was going to receive America's highest artist
ic tribute---The Kennedy Center
Honor. In December, 2007, Wilson, his family and friends gathered in Washi
ngton, D.C. where he
joined fellow honorees including Martin Scorcese and Diana Ross at a ga
la event at the Kennedy
Center.
Wilson, the father of seven, including daughters Carnie and Wendy from
a previous marriage and
Daria, Delanie, Dylan, Dash and Dakota Rose spends his time juggling ac
tivities with his kids while
jumping back into the studio. In 2008 Wilson returned to Capitol Records an
d released the critically
acclaimed "That Lucky Old' Sun" that Rolling Stone Magazine praised as "B
rian's strongest new
work in years." Brian and his band toured the album of what many are pro
claiming his latest...and
perhaps most joyous...masterpiece.
In 2009 Wilson announced his next project, a groundbreaking collaboration with one of
his musical
heroes George Gershwin. With the blessing of the Gershwin estate
he was able to complete 2
unfinished fragments of music by the late composer. This histori
cal moment in music history will be
released in 2010 on Walt Disney Records. The album will also include Wil
son's versions of his all
time favorite Gershwin tunes.
If you've seen Brian in concert, you've already witnessed the magi
c and the celebration. If you've
heard his records, you know why he's been called the Mozart of Rock, the
Gershwin of his
generation. In a culture where trends change overnight, Wilson ha
s gone the distance. It's been said
that if music is math, then Wilson just might be Einstein. But no com
parisons are really necessary;
he's Brian Wilson, an American composer, arranger and producer whose
work has proved to be as
powerful as faith, as timeless as love and as heartfelt as mer
cy.