RIP Melinda Kay Ledbetter Wilson (1946-2024)

[Chris Brown]

This is just gut-wrenching news.  I was shocked when I saw it on Brian's Facebook.  As others have said, I honestly never considered the possibility that Brian would outlive Melinda.

My heart goes out to Brian and his family.  The poor guy has been through hell and back so many times, and survived the loss of so many loved ones in his life.  The thought of him having to suffer through this, even with all the love and support he has, is so terribly sad.

[SBN (South Bay Native)]

Also shocked and saddened. We got to see Brian and Melissa at the Love and Mercy panel presentation in Westwood years ago.  It was wonderful, and their story was so moving.  I didn't become a BB (Brian Wilson) fan until 2005, and had a lot of catching up to do. My heart and prayers go out to Brian and his family in a million different ways. Love and Mercy for them all.

[Sound of Free]

How horrible. My heart goes out to Brian and their children.

[Robbie Mac]

I’m very saddened to hear of Melinda’s passing. My favorite memory of her was at a Brian show in 2001 where I was seated a few rows behind Melinda.  She had a guest with her and they were both laughing, dancing, singing along, and just generally enjoying themselves. After Brian’s set, when he was signing at the merch stand, I saw Melinda and commented “you looked you were having a blast.” She responded “of course! This music makes you feel young!”  Her role in Brian’s comeback can not be overstated. But for that summer night in 2001, she was one of us.

Godspeed, Melinda

[SMiLE Brian]

Love & Mercy

[absinthe_boy]

I was shocked to read this last night on Brian's official facebook page. And have logged in here for the first time in years as a result.

I think Brian's personal message sums it up....Melinda gave Brian the loving support and emotional stability he needed to have a career again. And he must feel bereft without her.

I sincerely wish Brian, the kids, all the extended family and friends my heartfelt condolences. I hope Brian in particular has the support he needs. It really is heartbreaking.

[NOLA BB Fan]

Heartfelt post on FB by Mike. Very moving.

[Swamp Pirate]

Stunned at the news.  Condolences to Brian and his family. 

[HeyJude]

Both Al and Mike have posted on the various social media outlets. Al referred to it as "unexpected".

Possibly strangely, in another forum, someone mentioned that a New York Times article had a quote from Jean Sievers that she "had died suddenly", yet at some point that verbiage was removed from the article.

To be clear, I'm not one of those people inclined to fixate on needing to know all those details in the immediate aftermath. On so many levels, it doesn't matter.

But I think fans (and I'd say Al and Mike as well) are justifiably concerned for Brian, and knowing how sudden or expected this was might help at least a tiny bit to understand how Brian might be coping.

[The LEGENDARY OSD]

 
Waited a day so I could collect thoughts about this sad time for Brian. I hope he finds the strength to deal with Melinda's passing in a positive way. I'm sure Brian does have a strong network of friends who will be at his side and willing to do anything for him. He also has his fans who together can provide their support. We all need to lend ourselves and feelings for Brian. Melinda was a warm wonderful woman who I had the pleasure of meeting. She was very gracious and I walked away feeling that this was a very genuine person indeed. Try to keep your spirits as high as you can, Brian. We're all here for you!  


Oldsurferdude

[Sam_BFC]

Possibly strangely, in another forum, someone mentioned that a New York Times article had a quote from Jean Sievers that she "had died suddenly", yet at some point that verbiage was removed from the article.

To be clear, I'm not one of those people inclined to fixate on needing to know all those details in the immediate aftermath. On so many levels, it doesn't matter.

Hi. Not sure if it was my or another post you saw. This LA Times article still states: A spokesperson for Wilson, Jean Sievers, said the cause of death was unknown.

https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/story/2024-01-30/melinda-wilson-wife-and-emotional-savior-of-musician-brian-wilson-dies-at-77

You are right we should not fixate too much on such details.

To paraphrase what I wrote at Endless Harmony, this is profoundly sad and quite shocking news. Melinda truly did impact us all. From a fan's perspective, it certainly feels like we are in a totally new era. I wasn't around for the loss of Dennis nor Carl, and things really seemed more or less the same for so many years until the pandemic era. Now so many familiar and key figures are leaving us. Knowing what we know about Brian's story I think we all empathize with the sadness and can only hope that he draws strength from the love that is undoubtedly immediately surrounding him and beyond.

[HeyJude]

On another board someone mentioned that Mike's statement, while very kind, is written almost entirely through the prism of Brian. And well, yeah I think that's true. And yes, that does stick out a bit for this attuned to such things. There will be plenty of time to parse all these words later.

But I think one has to be realistic about things. That statement from Mike, who always posts very eloquent statements in these situations, is really the most kind, compassionate thing I think we could ever expect from him concerning anything to do with Melinda. And I don't mean that as any sort of back-handed compliment. I think Mike obviously had a very complicated relationship with Melinda, and he cares about Brian obviously, so he leaned mainly on compassion for Brian in his statement. I'm not sure what else he could have done. I don't begrudge him skipping any sort of "While Melinda and I didn't always see eye to eye...." stuff in the moment.

I have to think Mike and Al are in a very similar position as fans in that I think a lot of us haven't been this worried for Brian since the 1991/92 Landy era. But even that is a difficult topic to lean too heavily on, because it can tend to take away the strength that Brian has also exhibited over all these years. I honestly don't know what someone in his position thinks. Do these things make him feel life is more fragile, or does he feel like's destined (or doomed a cynical person might say) to outlive *everybody* at this point?

[JakeH]

I apologize in advance for a long post, but I have some thoughts I'd like to share.

Most of us really don’t know anything about Melinda as an actual, real-life person. I certainly don’t; what I know is what I’ve observed through looking at and studying Brian’s life, and through that you can infer what she provided. When I heard the news, a few things immediately entered into my mind:

-   Brian’s lyrics on “One Kind of Love” – especially the verse with about “sometimes, from out of the blue /an angel comes to you / but you’ve got to have an open heart.” (I assume on this song Brian did the words and Scott Bennett was more involved in the music – the words sound like Brian).  This is Brian basically describing what happened for him, on both her side of it, and his side of it. Not only that she provided love, but that Brian realized that he had to be willing to trust another human being—a woman—and accept love, or grace. This can and does happen for people, if they’re lucky, and Brian was fortunate to have crossed paths with Melinda, but also he should credit himself for not pushing her away (and in a way, he does, on “One Kind of Love”) Anyway, that’s how it looks to me from a distance. The song is both about Brian and Melinda, but it’s also about everybody.

-   On the same issue, another thing that I immediately came to mind is one of the most memorable scenes in the 2015 movie, when the Brian-character tells Melinda to leave his house in Malibu because Landy is coming, and he’s saying “leave… leave… but don’t leave me.” (yes I know that’s only movie, but I do believe that the events in the movie occurred as Melinda and Brian remembered them.) It’s what that scene represents which is really significant. It’s the part of the movie which communicates that Brian wants to do the right thing and knows that it’s the right thing, but he’s in a situation in which he’s trapped. This is the story of his life.

-   It was only after seeing that scene in the movie and how the movie was trying to communicate this problem that you start thinking back to the Gershwin album and Brian’s cover of “I Loves You Porgy.” In that story, that’s Bess singing to Porgy; the meaning of the song in the context of Porgy & Bess is that Bess’s life is basically out of control, she has a lot of problems (in her case it's drugs, prostitution, her attachment to an abusive, exploitative man she can't break free from) and she’s telling Porgy she hasn’t the strength to do the right thing for herself, but if Porgy can “keep her” she wants to stay with him. I have to assume Brian knew what he was singing when he covered that, and I think he covered it well because he understood the song and had lived it.

-   The last thing that popped into my mind was again from the 2015 movie: the image of Melinda standing in the doorway of her office, staring down Landy. This was the climactic moment in the film, the end of the movie basically, and that image sums up what the movie was about. I think we have to understand, whether we like it or not, that this is what Brian had been missing in his life since early childhood. And the movie is saying, that finally, the abuse and exploitation stops here, at this symbolic moment.

[Robbie Mac]

I apologize in advance for a long post, but I have some thoughts I'd like to share.

Most of us really don’t know anything about Melinda as an actual, real-life person. I certainly don’t; what I know is what I’ve observed through looking at and studying Brian’s life, and through that you can infer what she provided. When I heard the news, a few things immediately entered into my mind:

-   Brian’s lyrics on “One Kind of Love” – especially the verse with about “sometimes, from out of the blue /an angel comes to you / but you’ve got to have an open heart.” (I assume on this song Brian did the words and Scott Bennett was more involved in the music – the words sound like Brian).  This is Brian basically describing what happened for him, on both her side of it, and his side of it. Not only that she provided love, but that Brian realized that he had to be willing to trust another human being—a woman—and accept love, or grace. This can and does happen for people, if they’re lucky, and Brian was fortunate to have crossed paths with Melinda, but also he should credit himself for not pushing her away (and in a way, he does, on “One Kind of Love”) Anyway, that’s how it looks to me from a distance. The song is both about Brian and Melinda, but it’s also about everybody.

-   On the same issue, another thing that I immediately came to mind is one of the most memorable scenes in the 2015 movie, when the Brian-character tells Melinda to leave his house in Malibu because Landy is coming, and he’s saying “leave… leave… but don’t leave me.” (yes I know that’s only movie, but I do believe that the events in the movie occurred as Melinda and Brian remembered them.) It’s what that scene represents which is really significant. It’s the part of the movie which communicates that Brian wants to do the right thing and knows that it’s the right thing, but he’s in a situation in which he’s trapped. This is the story of his life.

-   It was only after seeing that scene in the movie and how the movie was trying to communicate this problem that you start thinking back to the Gershwin album and Brian’s cover of “I Loves You Porgy.” In that story, that’s Bess singing to Porgy; the meaning of the song in the context of Porgy & Bess is that Bess’s life is basically out of control, she has a lot of problems (in her case it's drugs, prostitution, her attachment to an abusive, exploitative man she can't break free from) and she’s telling Porgy she hasn’t the strength to do the right thing for herself, but if Porgy can “keep her” she wants to stay with him. I have to assume Brian knew what he was singing when he covered that, and I think he covered it well because he understood the song and had lived it.

-   The last thing that popped into my mind was again from the 2015 movie: the image of Melinda standing in the doorway of her office, staring down Landy. This was the climactic moment in the film, the end of the movie basically, and that image sums up what the movie was about. I think we have to understand, whether we like it or not, that this is what Brian had been missing in his life since early childhood. And the movie is saying, that finally, the abuse and exploitation stops here, at this symbolic moment.

That scene is my favorite in the movie. The way Melinda takes the verbal abuse from Landy and then flips the tables on him by opening her office door and staring daggers at him, it’s so brilliant. And then when he leaves, she takes a second to collect herself, dusts herself off, and says “OK, let’s sell some cars.”  I adored that character ever since.  And, I have to say, I also admired and respect the actual woman.

[♩♬🐸 Billy C ♯♫♩🐇]

I apologize in advance for a long post, but I have some thoughts I'd like to share.

Most of us really don’t know anything about Melinda as an actual, real-life person. I certainly don’t; what I know is what I’ve observed through looking at and studying Brian’s life, and through that you can infer what she provided. When I heard the news, a few things immediately entered into my mind:

-   Brian’s lyrics on “One Kind of Love” – especially the verse with about “sometimes, from out of the blue /an angel comes to you / but you’ve got to have an open heart.” (I assume on this song Brian did the words and Scott Bennett was more involved in the music – the words sound like Brian).  This is Brian basically describing what happened for him, on both her side of it, and his side of it. Not only that she provided love, but that Brian realized that he had to be willing to trust another human being—a woman—and accept love, or grace. This can and does happen for people, if they’re lucky, and Brian was fortunate to have crossed paths with Melinda, but also he should credit himself for not pushing her away (and in a way, he does, on “One Kind of Love”) Anyway, that’s how it looks to me from a distance. The song is both about Brian and Melinda, but it’s also about everybody.

-   On the same issue, another thing that I immediately came to mind is one of the most memorable scenes in the 2015 movie, when the Brian-character tells Melinda to leave his house in Malibu because Landy is coming, and he’s saying “leave… leave… but don’t leave me.” (yes I know that’s only movie, but I do believe that the events in the movie occurred as Melinda and Brian remembered them.) It’s what that scene represents which is really significant. It’s the part of the movie which communicates that Brian wants to do the right thing and knows that it’s the right thing, but he’s in a situation in which he’s trapped. This is the story of his life.

-   It was only after seeing that scene in the movie and how the movie was trying to communicate this problem that you start thinking back to the Gershwin album and Brian’s cover of “I Loves You Porgy.” In that story, that’s Bess singing to Porgy; the meaning of the song in the context of Porgy & Bess is that Bess’s life is basically out of control, she has a lot of problems (in her case it's drugs, prostitution, her attachment to an abusive, exploitative man she can't break free from) and she’s telling Porgy she hasn’t the strength to do the right thing for herself, but if Porgy can “keep her” she wants to stay with him. I have to assume Brian knew what he was singing when he covered that, and I think he covered it well because he understood the song and had lived it.

-   The last thing that popped into my mind was again from the 2015 movie: the image of Melinda standing in the doorway of her office, staring down Landy. This was the climactic moment in the film, the end of the movie basically, and that image sums up what the movie was about. I think we have to understand, whether we like it or not, that this is what Brian had been missing in his life since early childhood. And the movie is saying, that finally, the abuse and exploitation stops here, at this symbolic moment.

That scene is my favorite in the movie. The way Melinda takes the verbal abuse from Landy and then flips the tables on him by opening her office door and staring daggers at him, it’s so brilliant. And then when he leaves, she takes a second to collect herself, dusts herself off, and says “OK, let’s sell some cars.”  I adored that character ever since.  And, I have to say, I also admired and respect the actual woman.

Same… I was thinking about that scene earlier today, and it hit me all over again. I can’t believe she’s gone… I’ve been praying for Brian and the family since learning the terrible news. My heart goes out to them

[juggler]

I'm probably not alone among BW fans to have just rewatched "Love & Mercy" in memory of Melinda.  As super fans, we can nitpick details but in the grand scheme of things L&M was a great, great film that very much seems to have gotten "the big picture" right.

The aforementioned car-dealership scene in which Paul Giamatti's Gene Landy beats on Melinda's office door spewing insults is indeed one of the most powerful moments in the film.  It was the ultimate cinematic depiction of standing up to a bully.  And credit where credit is due to Giamatti for playing his part so well... shifting gears in the scene from unhinged maniac screaming "slut!"... to deflated coward slinking away.

On a total side note, Melinda's mid 80s Cadillac Allante was pretty damned nice looking ride.

[Lonely Summer]

On another board someone mentioned that Mike's statement, while very kind, is written almost entirely through the prism of Brian. And well, yeah I think that's true. And yes, that does stick out a bit for this attuned to such things. There will be plenty of time to parse all these words later.

But I think one has to be realistic about things. That statement from Mike, who always posts very eloquent statements in these situations, is really the most kind, compassionate thing I think we could ever expect from him concerning anything to do with Melinda. And I don't mean that as any sort of back-handed compliment. I think Mike obviously had a very complicated relationship with Melinda, and he cares about Brian obviously, so he leaned mainly on compassion for Brian in his statement. I'm not sure what else he could have done. I don't begrudge him skipping any sort of "While Melinda and I didn't always see eye to eye...." stuff in the moment.

I have to think Mike and Al are in a very similar position as fans in that I think a lot of us haven't been this worried for Brian since the 1991/92 Landy era. But even that is a difficult topic to lean too heavily on, because it can tend to take away the strength that Brian has also exhibited over all these years. I honestly don't know what someone in his position thinks. Do these things make him feel life is more fragile, or does he feel like's destined (or doomed a cynical person might say) to outlive *everybody* at this point?

Is it true that fans were worried about Brian in 1991/92? I was a fan, but an outsider. I had no insight into what fans were feeling at that time. I was concerned, for sure.  I was worried that without Landy, Brian would fall back into his old habits - smoking, drinking, drugging, hiding away from the world. I had no idea what was happening with him throughout 1992/93/94. There was a spate of publicity surrounding his book in 1991, and then nothing after that. When he started turning up in media again in 1995 (Time Life's History of Rock and Roll, Entertainment Tonight with Mike, IJWMFTT), it was obviously he'd gained a lot of weight, and he still had kind of a spacey-ness about him, but there were also times when he spoke very eloquently, and when I heard the new music he was part of, I breathed a sigh of relief. I didn't know the whole back story at the time, other than Carl and Audree had taken the legat steps to have Landy removed. Didn't know how he had met Melinda or any of that. It's amazing that he is still with us.

[Pretty Funky]

This was all before the internet of course, but my memory initially ‘Great!’, Landy is back on the case and will get Brian on track. Of course (I can’t remember the timeline), stories started to appear about him taking advantage. The one that I remember was Landy moving into Brian’s house and Brian living in a rental. That was before reports of the drugs Landy was giving him. Mike also appeared on A Current Affair breaking down over the situation. https://youtu.be/XGY9TV6N3RI?si=MEtn3qW5HStJ-wn-
 It is so long ago now but they are some of the basics I remember.

[juggler]

Is it true that fans were worried about Brian in 1991/92? I was a fan, but an outsider. I had no insight into what fans were feeling at that time. I was concerned, for sure.  I was worried that without Landy, Brian would fall back into his old habits - smoking, drinking, drugging, hiding away from the world. I had no idea what was happening with him throughout 1992/93/94.

If you want to know how thing were in 1991, this Diane Sawyer report offers probably the single best insight into that period:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dVP7pNjJd30&t=64

[Lonely Summer]

Is it true that fans were worried about Brian in 1991/92? I was a fan, but an outsider. I had no insight into what fans were feeling at that time. I was concerned, for sure.  I was worried that without Landy, Brian would fall back into his old habits - smoking, drinking, drugging, hiding away from the world. I had no idea what was happening with him throughout 1992/93/94.

If you want to know how thing were in 1991, this Diane Sawyer report offers probably the single best insight into that period:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dVP7pNjJd30&t=64

I remember watching that when it aired, I also remember a verbal back and forth between Timothy White and Bill Holdship in the pages of Billboard.

[♩♬🐸 Billy C ♯♫♩🐇]

Is it true that fans were worried about Brian in 1991/92? I was a fan, but an outsider. I had no insight into what fans were feeling at that time. I was concerned, for sure.  I was worried that without Landy, Brian would fall back into his old habits - smoking, drinking, drugging, hiding away from the world. I had no idea what was happening with him throughout 1992/93/94.

If you want to know how thing were in 1991, this Diane Sawyer report offers probably the single best insight into that period:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dVP7pNjJd30&t=64

I remember seeing that prior to becoming a fan a few years later and being quite disturbed. I was a kid of 13 but something seemed off as hell to me

[Angela Jones]

This address was posted for those who wish to send cards to the family.

The Wilson Family c/o
Beachwood Entertainment
2271 Cheremoya Ave
Los Angeles CA  90068

[♩♬🐸 Billy C ♯♫♩🐇]

This address was posted for those who wish to send cards to the family.

The Wilson Family c/o
Beachwood Entertainment
2271 Cheremoya Ave
Los Angeles CA  90068

Thank you for posting that!

[Angela Jones]

Billy C - You're most welcome. Someone posted on Brian's MB - I think David Leaf helped.

[Robbie Mac]

Is it true that fans were worried about Brian in 1991/92? I was a fan, but an outsider. I had no insight into what fans were feeling at that time. I was concerned, for sure.  I was worried that without Landy, Brian would fall back into his old habits - smoking, drinking, drugging, hiding away from the world. I had no idea what was happening with him throughout 1992/93/94.

If you want to know how thing were in 1991, this Diane Sawyer report offers probably the single best insight into that period:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dVP7pNjJd30&t=64

I remember watching that when it aired, I also remember a verbal back and forth between Timothy White and Bill Holdship in the pages of Billboard.

Bill Holdship, to this day, is a massive Landy apologist even when confronted with the facts.