Special Tribute - Brian Wilson: The Musical Genius Who Heard Tomorrow's Songs Today

Welcome to another special commemorative episode of Hitmaker Chronicles. I'm your host, Garrett Fisher. In what has been a devastating week for music, we gather again to honor another towering figure we've lost. Brian Wilson, the visionary co-founder and primary songwriter of The Beach Boys, passed away at age 82 after living with a neurocognitive disorder. From teenage surf anthems to the revolutionary studio masterpiece "Pet Sounds," Wilson pioneered the studio-as-instrument and influenced generations of musicians across pop, rock, and beyond. Join us as we celebrate a true musical genius who saw the future of music in his dreams and spent his life trying to share those celestial sounds with the world.

To become a premium subscriber (no ads and no feed drops) visit caloroga.com/plus.   For Apple users, hit the banner on your Apple podcasts app which seays UNINTERRUPTED LISTENING. For Spotify or other players, visit caloroga.com/plus. You also get 25+ other shows on the network ad-free!  

Unlock an ad-free podcast experience with Caloroga Shark Media! Get all our shows on any player you love, hassle free! For Apple users, hit the banner on your Apple podcasts app. For Spotify or other players, visit caloroga.com/plus. No plug-ins needed!

Subscribe now for exclusive shows like 'Palace Intrigue,' and get bonus content from Deep Crown (our exclusive Palace Insider!) Or get 'Daily Comedy News,' and '5 Good News Stories’ with no commercials! Plans start at $4.99 per month, or save 20% with a yearly plan at $49.99. Join today and help support the show!

We now have Merch!  FREE SHIPPING! Check out all the products like T-shirts, mugs, bags, jackets and more with logos and slogans from your favorite shows! Did we mention there’s free shipping? Get 10% off with code NewMerch10 Go to Caloroga.com

Get more info from Caloroga Shark Media and if you have any comments, suggestions, or just want to get in touch our email is [e-mail]

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:03):
Caalaroga Shark Media. It's with profound sadness that I'm here again,
just days after honoring sly Stone to commemorate another irreplaceable loss.
I'm Garrett Fisher, and the music world is reeling from

(00:25):
what can only be described as a heartbreaking week. Today
we celebrate the life and revolutionary artistry of Brian Wilson,
who passed away at eighty two after a courageous battle
with a neurocognitive disorder. As his family so beautifully put
it in their statement, we realize that we are sharing
our grief with the world love and mercy, and indeed

(00:47):
we are because Brian Wilson didn't just belong to his family.
He belonged to anyone who's ever been moved by a
perfect melody, anyone who's marveled at how sound can be
sculpted into something transcendent, anyone who's understood that music at
its highest level is nothing short of spiritual. Brian Douglas
Wilson was born on June twentieth, nineteen forty two, in Inglewood, California,

(01:11):
into a family where music was both refuge and battleground.
His father, Murray Wilson, was a sometimes songwriter and always
complicated figure who would play complex roles as both supporter
and antagonist in Brian's musical journey. But it was the
harmony that Brian created with his younger brothers, Dennis and
Carl that would change popular music forever. As teenagers in

(01:35):
suburban Hawthorne, California, Brian formed a band with his brothers,
their cousin Mike Love, and high school friend Al Jardine.
They called themselves the Pendletones initially, but Candick's Records renamed
them the Beach Boys without their permission when they released
their first single, Surfin in nineteen sixty one. It was
a fitting name for a group that would become synonymous

(01:57):
with California's endless summer, but it would also become something
of a creative prison as Brian's artistic vision expanded far
beyond Surf and Cars. That first single's regional success led
to a contract with Capitol Records, and nineteen sixty two's
Surf and Safari established the template that would make them superstars.
Tight harmonies, catchy melodies, and lyrics celebrating an idealized California lifestyle.

(02:23):
But even in these early hits, you could hear something
different in Brian's arrangements, sophistication and attention to detail that
set them apart from other surf music. The early years
were a whirlwind of success. Surfin Usa became their first
top ten hit in nineteen sixty three, followed by a
remarkable burst of creativity that saw them release three albums

(02:46):
that year alone, Surfin Usa, Surfer Girl, and Little Deuce Coup.
Brian was writing, arranging, and producing at a pace that
would burn out lesser talents, but he was just getting started.
Even as The Beach Boys were becoming America's answer to
the Beatles, Brian was already hearing something else entirely. The

(03:08):
turning point came in December nineteen sixty four, when Brian
suffered a panic attack on a plane and decided to
stop touring with the band. This decision, controversial at the time,
would prove to be one of the most important moments
in popular music history. Freed from the grind of constant touring,
Brian could focus entirely on what he did best, creating

(03:30):
music in the studio. What happened next was nothing short
of revolutionary. Working with the legendary session musicians known as
the Wrecking Crew, Brian began crafting Pet Sounds, an album
that would redefine what popular music could be and do.
Released in May nineteen sixty six, Pet Sounds was initially

(03:51):
met with commercial disappointment and critical confusion in America, though
it was immediately recognized as a masterpiece by Brian's peers,
particularly Paul McCartney, who called it the album of all time.
Pet Sounds wasn't just an album. It was a philosophical
statement about the possibilities of recorded music. Brian had realized

(04:11):
that the studio itself could be an instrument, that sounds
could be layered and manipulated to create entirely new emotional landscapes.
Songs like Wouldn't It Be Nice? God Only Knows and
Caroline No featured unprecedented arrangements combining traditional rock instruments with
timpany French horns, bells, and whatever else Brian could imagine.

(04:33):
But the true genius of Pet Sounds lay not just
in its sonic innovations, but in its emotional maturity. These
weren't songs about surfing and hot rods. They were complex
explorations of love, loss, faith, and the bittersweet nature of
growing up. Brian had evolved from a talented songwriter into

(04:54):
something approaching a musical philosopher, using melody and harmony to
explore the deepest questions of human existence. The album's influence
cannot be overstated. It directly inspired the Beatles Sergeant Pepper's
Lonely Hearts Club Band, which Paul McCartney explicitly conceived as
an attempt to match Pet Sounds. More broadly, it established

(05:16):
the template for album oriented rock, showing that LPs could
be complete artistic statements rather than just collections of singles.
Every ambitious pop album since, from Abbey Road to Okay
Computer to Blonde Owes something to Brian's vision. Even as
Pet Sounds was being recognized as a masterpiece, Brian was

(05:38):
already working on something even more ambitious. Smile, conceived as
a teenage symphony to God, was planned as the Beach
Boys follow up to Pet Sounds. Working with lyricist Van
Dyke Parks, Brian created music of unprecedented complexity and beauty,
incorporating elements of classical music, avant garde composition, and a

(05:59):
mayor and folk traditions. But Smile proved too ambitious, too strange,
too far ahead of its time. The sessions, which stretched
through nineteen sixty six and into nineteen sixty seven, became
increasingly chaotic as Brian's mental health deteriorated under the pressure
of his own perfectionism and the expectations placed upon him

(06:19):
as the genius of pop music. The album was shelved,
becoming one of music's great what if stories. The failure
to complete Smile marked the beginning of a long difficult
period in Brian's life. His role in the Beach Boys
diminished as his brothers and bandmates took on more creative control.
He struggled with mental illness, drug abuse, and the weight

(06:43):
of his own reputation as a musical genius. The man
who had been hailed as the Mozart of pop became
increasingly reclusive, appearing only sporadically on Beach Boys albums and
rarely performing live. The nineteen seventies were particularly difficult years.
Brian's struggles with his mental health led to his family
seeking help from doctor Eugene Landy, a controversial psychologist who

(07:07):
would exercise extraordinary control over Brian's life for nearly two decades.
This period, marked by both treatment and manipulation, became the
subject of the biographical film Love and Mercy, which took
its title from one of Brian's most personal songs. But
even during his darkest periods, Brian's musical genius never completely dimmed.

(07:27):
Albums like nineteen seventy seven's The Beach Boys Love You
showed flashes of his old brilliance, while his nineteen eighty
eight solo debut hinted at the possibility of artistic redemption.
The gradual removal of Doctor Landy's influence in the early
nineteen nineties allowed Brian to begin reclaiming his creative autonomy.
The real renaissance came in the two thousands, when Brian

(07:49):
finally returned to Smile. Working with his longtime collaborator Darien Sahanaja,
he reconstructed the legendary lost album, first as a live
concert experience and then as the critically acclaimed two thousand
and four release Brian Wilson Presents Smile. Hearing these songs
finally completed was an emotional experience for music fans who

(08:10):
had waited nearly four decades to experience Brian's lost masterpiece
in full. This period also saw Brian touring regularly for
the first time in decades, often performing pet sounds in
its entirety to audiences who finally understood its historical importance.
These concerts were celebrations not just of the music, but
of survival, resilience, and the enduring power of artistic vision.

(08:35):
Brian's influence on popular music extends far beyond the Beach
Boys catalog. His approach to studio production influence everyone from
the Beatles to Pink Floyd to Radiohead. His harmonic sophistication
can be heard in artists as diverse as Fleet Fox's
Animal Collective and Vampire Weekend. Hip hop producers from Doctor

(08:56):
Dre to Kanye West have sampled his work, recognizing the
timeless quality of his melodies and arrangements. Perhaps most importantly,
Brian demonstrated that popular music could be both accessible and profound,
that commercial success and artistic ambition weren't mutually exclusive. He
showed that rock and pop could address the same emotional
territories as classical music or jazz, while remaining fundamentally connected

(09:20):
to their roots in rhythm and blues and rock and roll.
The accolades accumulated over the decades tell only part of
the story. Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction in
nineteen eighty eight two Grammy Awards, a Lifetime Achievement Award,
induction into the Songwriter's Hall of Fame by Paul McCartney
Kennedy Center Honors. These recognitions acknowledged what musicians had known

(09:43):
for decades that Brian Wilson was one of American music's
true geniuses more in a moment. But perhaps the most
meaningful recognition came from his peers. Paul McCartney's description of

(10:06):
him as one of the great American geniuses wasn't hyperbole,
it was simple recognition of the truth. When asked by
Charlie Rose in two thousand and five if he considered
himself a musical genius, Brian replied with characteristic humility and
wonder I say, am I genius? Maybe so? And laughed.

(10:27):
But then he said something that captures the essence of
his artistry. I saw the future a vision of music
in a dream I had one night, and I foresaw
the future. I heard all kinds of celestial, heavenly sounds.
It just blew my mind. I think eventually we're headed
to that heaven. That quote perfectly encapsulates what made Brian
Wilson special. He wasn't just writing songs, he was trying

(10:50):
to share visions of musical paradise. Every arrangement, every harmony,
every unexpected instrumental choice was an attempt to recreate those
selec celestial heavenly sounds he heard in his dreams, and
remarkably he often succeeded. The three documentaries made about his life,
I Just Wasn't Made for These Times nineteen ninety five,

(11:14):
Beautiful Dreamer two thousand and four, and Long Promised Road
twenty twenty one each captured different aspects of his genius
and his humanity. They show an artist who changed music
forever while remaining fundamentally humble about his achievements, someone who
suffered greatly but never lost his sense of wonder about

(11:36):
music's possibilities. His final creative period was marked by both
reflection and continued innovation. Albums like twenty fifteen's No Peer
Pressure and twenty twenty one's at My Piano showed that
even in his seventies, Brian remained capable of creating music
of beauty and emotional depth. His twenty sixteen memoir provided

(11:58):
insight into his creative process and personal struggles, while late
releases like Some Sweet Day reminded fans that his archives
likely contained additional treasures. But beyond the awards and accolades,
beyond the influence and innovation, what we'll remember most about
Brian Wilson is the pure beauty of his music. Songs

(12:18):
like God only Knows Good vibrations, surfs up, and love
and mercy don't just entertain, They heal, They inspire. They
remind us of music's power to touch the deepest parts
of our humanity. His approach to melody was unmatched. He
could write hooks that were immediately catchy, yet revealed new

(12:39):
depths with each listening. His harmonic sophistication brought jazz and
classical influences into pop music without ever making it feel
academic or cold. His production innovations created new ways of
hearing familiar sounds while always serving the emotional content of
the songs. Perhaps most importantly, Brian's music was fundamentally hopeful.

(13:01):
Even his saddest songs contained elements of transcendence, suggestions that
beauty could emerge from pain, that love could triumph over loss.
This spiritual dimension of his work, what he called those celestial,
heavenly sounds, is what separated him from talented craftsman and
placed him among the true artists. As we say goodbye

(13:23):
to Brian Wilson today, we're not just mourning the loss
of a great musician. We're acknowledging the passing of someone
who fundamentally changed how we think about music's possibilities. He
showed us that pop songs could be as emotionally complex
as symphonies, that the recording studio could be a paintbrush
for creating sonic landscapes, that commercial music could aspire to

(13:45):
the condition of art without losing its essential humanity. The
fact that we've lost both Slyestone and Brian Wilson in
the same week feels almost unbearable. These were two artists who,
in very different ways, revolutionized American music and showed us
new possibilities for what popular songs could express and accomplish.
Their combined legacy slies, rhythmic innovations, and social consciousness, Brian's

(14:10):
harmonic sophistication and studio wizardry helped create the foundation upon
which all contemporary music rests. But as we grieve, we
can also celebrate the extraordinary gifts these artists shared with
the world. Brian Wilson's music will continue to inspire, to heal,
and to remind us of beauty's power to transcend suffering.

(14:31):
Those celestial, heavenly sounds he dreamed of hearing are now
part of our shared musical heritage, available to anyone who
needs to remember that this world, despite all its difficulties,
still contains magic. His family asked that we remember Love
and Mercy, the title of one of his most personal
songs and a perfect summary of his artistic philosophy. In

(14:54):
a world that often seems short on both love and mercy,
Brian Wilson's music remains a sour of both, a reminder
that beauty and hope can emerge from the most unlikely circumstances.
So today we say thank you to Brian Wilson for
the songs, for the visions, for showing us that music
really can touch heaven. Your harmonies will echo forever, your

(15:16):
melodies will continue to move hearts, and your vision of
music's transcendent possibilities will inspire artists for generations to come.
This is Garrett Fischer for hit Maker Chronicles, honoring Brian
Wilson and trying to process an incredibly difficult week for
music lovers everywhere. We'll return to our countdown soon, but
for now, we simply hold space for grief and gratitude,

(15:40):
grief for what we've lost, and gratitude for the extraordinary
music that will live forever. Love and mercy indeed,