The music world is mourning the loss of Brian Wilson, the Beach Boys’ principal songwriter and producer who died Wednesday at 82.
Wilson’s family posted news of his death to his website and social media accounts. Further details weren’t immediately available.
The Associated Press reports that since May 2024 Wilson had been under a court conservatorship to oversee his personal and medical affairs, with Wilson’s longtime representatives, publicist Jean Sievers and manager LeeAnn Hard, in charge.
Wilson was the eldest and last surviving of three musical brothers — Brian played bass, Carl lead guitar and Dennis drums. The band also featured their cousin, Mike Love, on vocals and family friend Al Jardine on guitar in its original classic lineup.
The Beach Boys were synonymous with California and its imagery of surfing and hot rods, but Arizona holds a distinction of sorts in the band’s history.
The website becomingthebeachboys.com is an archive of the band’s personal appearances, and while the band formed in 1961, their first-ever appearance outside of California was in Arizona.
On Jan. 26, 1963, the Beach Boys performed at a frat house party at the University of Arizona in Tucson. Four days later the young group performed at the Navajo Nation Fairgrounds at Window Rock High School.
In total, the Beach Boys have played 87 concerts in Arizona, according to the online concert archive setlist.fm, including as recently as this past month in Chandler and Tucson.
The Beach Boys were part of a thrilling time at Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Phoenix in 1968 when Albert King, Diana Ross & The Supremes, the Byrds, Donovan, Jimi Hendrix, Simon & Garfunkel, the Beach Boys, Jefferson Airplane, and the Doors all played there in a six-month span.
Wilson himself played Phoenix as a solo artist seven times and once in Tucson, including when he kicked off his 2022 summer tour in Tucson in what was his last appearance in Arizona.
The Beach Boys’ current incarnation is on tour and scheduled to play Town Hall in New York City this Friday.
Steve Stockmar
News Editor | Sun Life Magazine & Arts & Entertainment
YourValley.net
sstockmar@iniusa.org
Meet Steve
Steve Stockmar joined Independent Newsmedia, Inc., USA, in 2017, and has been an Arizona journalist for almost 30 years. He serves as editor of Sun Life Magazine and contributes to West Valley communities where he focuses mostly on arts & culture, education, and profiles of neighbors making a difference.
Community: Every season Steve serves as a “buddy” with the Miracle League of Arizona in Scottsdale, has volunteered his time with Family Promise in Glendale, and previously served on the Ghostlight Theatre board in Sun City West.
Education: Graduated from Northern Arizona University in Flagstaff with a Journalism major and English minor.
Random Fact: Steve once won a 50-player live Texas Hold ’Em poker tournament.
Hobbies: Anguishing over his beloved Chicago Cubs and Bears; listening to Beatles and Grateful Dead music.
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