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Brian Wilson music biography continued...

California, to a family that valued music, Wilson formed The Beach Boys in the early 1960s with his brothers Carl and Dennis, his cousin Mike Love, and school friend Al Jardine. Together with Love, Wilson penned a series of hit singles in the 1960s including "Surfin' USA", "Fun, Fun, Fun"," God Only Knows ","I Get Around", "Help Me Rhonda", "California Girls", "Wouldn't It Be Nice", and "Good Vibrations". These songs and their accompanying albums were internationally popular, making the Beach Boys one of the biggest acts of their time.



Wilson retreated from his dominance of the Beach Boys after 1967, as their popularity declined. He made sporadic contributions to their records, returning only briefly as a songwriter and producer in the mid-'70s. During this time, Wilson suffered from a mental illness later diagnosed as schizoaffective disorder and became a virtual recluse. Righting himself for a1988 solo debut, Wilson demonstrated that his songwriting talents had not abandoned him completely with such tunes as "Love and Mercy," "Baby Let Your Hair Grow Long," and "Melt Away" harkening back to his mid-'60s heyday. But these tunes failed to make the pop charts. Subsequent solo albums likewise had less than impressive sales, but reissues of CDs first recorded back in the sixties, earned Wilson a Grammy nomination and introduced a whole new generation of music lovers to his classic tunes. Wilson also revisited an album project he had first worked on while with the Beach Boys-- SMiLE—and released live and studio versions in 2004.



Throughout the years, not only fans, but Wilson's peers have recognized and applauded his greatness. Wilson was celebrated in 2001 at "An All Star Tribute" at Radio City Music Hall, where Sir Elton John, Billy Joel, Paul Simon, Carly Simon, and David Crosby were some of the greats who assembled to honor him. The following year, Wilson was the only American rocker at the Queen's Jubilee, sharing the backyard stage at Buckingham Palace with, among many others, Sir Paul McCartney and Eric Clapton. To be sure, Brian Wilson has left an indelible mark on music history, and one that is sure to endure well into the new millennium.