Mike Love, one of the co-founders of the Beach Boys, paid tribute to his cousin and frontman Brian Wilson, who died on Wednesday at age 82. He joined fellow bandmate Al Jardine in honoring the legendary songwriter’s legacy following news of his death.
“Today, the world lost a genius, and I lost a cousin by blood and my partner in music,” Love began in his robust tribute to Wilson, the group’s frontman and chief songwriter. “Brian Wilson wasn’t just the heart of The Beach Boys—he was the soul of our sound.”
Love said that from the time he and Wilson sang together in his living room, he “knew there was something otherworldly” in Wilson. “His musical gifts were unmatched. The melodies he dreamed up, the emotions he poured into every note—Brian changed the course of music forever.”
Wilson, along with the Beach Boys, was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1988. Upon his entry into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2000, Paul McCartney delivered the induction speech and called Wilson “one of the great American geniuses.”
In his tribute shared on Wednesday, Love acknowledged the “moments of brilliance, heartbreak, laughter, complexity and most of all, LOVE” throughout his journey with Wilson. “Like all families, we had our ups and downs. But through it all, we never stopped loving each other, and I never stopped being in awe of what he could do when he sat at a piano or his spontaneity in the studio,” he wrote.
Love praised Wilson’s “unique artistry” and said that “our collaboration gave the world the American dream of optimism, joy, and a sense of freedom—music that made people feel good, made them believe in an endless summer and endless possibilities.”
“It was our privilege to make the world believe in sunshine, surfing, and teenage dreams,” he continued, adding that his life “was forever changed” by their 1966 album Pet Sounds and hit singles “God Only Knows,” “In My Room,” “Good Vibrations,” “The Warmth of the Sun,” and “a hundred other pieces of his soul wrapped in music.”
Love said that Wilson allowed the Beach Boys to “show the world what vulnerability and brilliance sound like in harmony,” adding, “He was fragile, he was intense, he was funny—and he was one of a kind.”
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Toward the end of his tribute, Love addressed the Beach Boys frontman directly: “Brian, you once asked, ‘Wouldn’t it be nice if we were older?’ Now you are timeless.”
“May you rest in the peace you so deeply deserve, surrounded by the heavenly music you helped create. May your spirit soar as high as your falsetto, may your wings spread in effortless flight,” wrote Love. “Death leaves a heartache no one can heal, Love leaves a memory no one can steal. I’ll miss you forever, my beloved cousin.”
