He was born in Hawthorne,
California and is the brother of Carl
and Dennis Wilson.He was a founder
member, composer, arranger and producer for The Beach Boys.He has been acknowledged as one of
the most significant musicians and composers of the 20th
Century.He was influenced by
The Four Freshmen and Chuck Berry.He collaborated with Phil Spector although their music was never
officially released except as a public service announcement in later
years.He was known to upset
the other members of the group in his strive for perfection.He suffered from partial deafness
but preferred to work with a "mono" sound as he believed stereo
was not accurate unless you were directly in between the speakers.He produced records for Glen Campbell and The Honeys and
co-wrote many of Jan and Dean's hits.He collaborated with Van Dyke
Parks on the unreleased SMiLE
album which was never released,
although he released it as a solo work in 2004.He was the owner of a health food
shop called "Radiant Radish" in Hollywood
from 1969-1970.He suffered
from depression, drug dependency and obesity which caused him to withdraw
from being in the line-up of the group and he mainly composed and arranged
for them.Following treatment
by Eugene Landy that involved him being fired from the band and isolation
from his family, he gave him what has now been discovered to be an illegal
use of psychotropic drugs.Years later he was diagnosed with suffering from bi-polar and
schizo-affective disorder.He
eventually returned to make a re-appearance with the band for Live Aid in
1984 and record a new Beach Boys album.He launched a solo career in 1988
and in 1998 appeared as a guest artist with Jimmy Buffett in four of
his concerts at venues in Ohio and
California. He amazed the world in 2004 by performing the previously
unreleased SMiLE
live at the Royal Festival Hall in London
in February 2004.He was
married to Marilyn Rovell (who was a singer with The Honeys) and had two
daughters, Carnie and Wendy, who made up two members of the group Wilson
Phillips.He married again to
Melinda Ledbetter and they have adopted three children.He recorded an album in June 2004
with collaborations with Paul McCartney, Elton John, Eric Clapton and material
he had worked on with his brother, Carl Wilson, now deceased. Other
arists he has worked with over the years include Jeff Barry, Curt
Boettcher, Belinda Carlisle, The Gap Band, The Honeys, Julio
Iglesias, Jan & Dean, Johnny Rivers, Ryuichi Sakomoto, Nancy
Sinatra, Styx and Three Dog Night. H e has been named in songs by
Barenaked Ladies, John Cale, Jackie DeShannon, Tears
for Fears and Elton John in his song "Since God Invented
Girls".He sang with his
wife Marilyn Rovell on Jackie DeShannon's "Boat to Sail" and cameoed in the film
Duck Dodgers in the 24 1/2th Century as Daffy Duck's spiritual
surfing advisor. The albums he has worked on as a musician,
singer, arranger and/or producer are countless but a few of
them include his own Gettin' In Over My Head, I Just Wasn't
Made for These Times, Imagination, Live at the Roxy Theatre, Melt
Away, What I Really Want for Christmas and Brian
Wilson, as well as California Girls, Disque D'Or, Friends,
Fun Fun Fun, Hawthorne, CA, Good Vibrations: 30 Years of The Beach
Boys, Perfect Harmony, Pet Sounds, Sunshine Dream, Surfin' Girl,
Surfin' Safari, 20/20 and Wild Honey by The Beach
Boys, Human Conditions by Richard Ashcroft, Too Much
Heaven; Songs of the Brothers Gibb by the Bee Gees,
Essential, Vol. 3 by Glen Campbell, 12 Songs by
Neil Diamond, My Lives by Billy Joel, Best of The
King's Singers by The King's Singers, Cry Like a Rainstorm
- Howl Like the Wind by Linda Ronstadt, Back to Mono
(1958-1969) by Phil Spector, Time Takes Time by Ringo
Starr and the soundtracks of Arctic Tale,Bean:
The Album, Big Chill,Happy Feet,Love
Actually,The Nutty Professor, Orange County,She's Out of Control and That Darn
Cat. He has also been quoted as an "inspiration" on
Wizzard: Greatest Hits and More - The EMI Years
by Roy Wood.He performed in the Live 8 Concert
in Berlin in 2005.He organized a campaign where he
said he would telephone fans if they donated $100 for the victims of
Hurricane Katrina.In 2005
Mike Love sued him for "shamelessly misappropriating" his lyrics and
the SMiLE album and the Beach Boys trademark, the case
continues. In 2007 he performed the song "God Only Knows"
for a special fundraising
production by the English National Ballet in London and
can currently be heard performing and touring with his Brian Wilson Band.
Beach Boy Recordings
Wendy (Brian Wilson)
Livin' With a Heartache (Carl
Wilson/Randy Bachman)
