Brian has passed away!!!!

[Pretty Funky]

Nothing but respect for what you have gone through Billy C. Stay strong. 🙏

Not sure if this has come up, but Mike says he visited Brian just 3 weeks before he passed, sang for him a bit. If this is the case it’s good their last interaction was positive. (about 2:45 in)

https://youtu.be/9BwgYSJF0rs?si=KD3clCs-07OdcrN5

[♩♬🐸 Billy C ♯♫♩🐇]

Nothing but respect for what you have gone through Billy C. Stay strong. 🙏

Not sure if this has come up, but Mike says he visited Brian just 3 weeks before he passed, sang for him a bit. If this is the case it’s good their last interaction was positive. (about 2:45 in)

https://youtu.be/9BwgYSJF0rs?si=KD3clCs-07OdcrN5

I notice that Mike’s take on seeing Brian is very similar to Al’s… I’m wondering if Brian knew on some level this was the last time he’d see them. I’m glad they were able to have one final good moment with him.

[rab2591]

Here’s my tribute. I hope you take a look and enjoy it.

https://kansasreflector.com/2025/06/16/how-beach-boys-mastermind-brian-wilson-changed-this-kansas-journalists-life/

Hi Clay, thanks for writing this - very much captures the essence of what Brian was all about (although I have to admit I have a fondness for Kokomo )

I’m struggling… no way to sugarcoat it. There was a time where I wrote more about Brian in a day than I did anything else in a month, at least . Those who have been around the BW online for the past 30 years know exactly what I mean. Yet I find myself at a loss for words right now . Been wanting to say exactly what Brian meant to me but it’s hard.  I’ve buried both parents and lost two babies and this ranks up there . But I gotta try.

It’s no hyperbole for me to say if it wasn’t for me discovering Brian’s music, I wouldn’t be here right now. That’s putting it mildly. But even more than his music, I was a fan of Brian Wilson as a person. The man was my hero, full stop, and a huge inspiration to me on a personal level. He was a fighter. As he loved to say, he was a Wilson… he had a lot of will. A pure force of nature to be reckoned with, for sure, but also one of kindest, gentle people the world has ever known. I’m so blessed to have lived in this timeline with him in it, and the world is a little darker now without him in it.

I love you Brian, and I will miss the hell out of you .

While the world may seem darker without him for sure, we are blessed to live in a time where Brian could put his music on tape, thus making his heart & soul nearly timeless. I have been listening to Beach Boys music nearly nonstop since last Wednesday, and the one song I keep coming back to is 'That's Why God Made The Radio' - and I can't help but think that God did have a hand in the Boys coming together to bring harmony to the music scene & the world.

The band and the fandom have had fractures, fights - the dark side of our human nature can easily be seen anywhere in that timeline. But what keeps us coming back to the table, what forces us to set aside those differences is this: I think few of us could deny that those voices, those harmonies are a link to the divine. Whatever your version of 'divine' is, there is something in that music that is just more than a kid finding some harmonies on a piano. There is something absolutely soul-stirring about those "wow" moments in his music.

I've been coming to this board since 2009. And one very common theme I've seen in the last nearly 2 decades is that a lot of us are wounded somehow (whether mentally, spiritually, etc), and yet we have all found healing in this music. I 100% believe this music kept me afloat during a very dark time in my life, it helped me tread the stormy water until God pulled me out one day and set me on some dry land.

I guess my point is, that while Brian has left this earthly realm, his music will continue to heal, it will always be there for us on this planet who need a shelter from the storm. Brian is kinda timeless - and his heart of gold, those harmonies, his striving for perfection, will outshine any darkness that this world throws at it. Yes, the world may seem darker without him being here, but he was able to leave us with a seemingly endless collection of harmony that will forever help people find refuge in the darkest of times.

[rab2591]

Also want to add that I totally get what you're saying, Billy. I think I'm just trying to say that I believe Brian left a lot of light for us in the form of his music and his example of being a gold-hearted person, however it definitely does feel dark now that he has passed.

[guitarfool2002]

I just noticed a bittersweet entry on the board, under the "Upcoming Calendar", "Upcoming Birthdays" section just under the messages: The member "BrianWilson2015" and the number (83). With that birthday coming up, it's sad that Brian passed so close to his 83rd birthday, yet joyous in a way that he not only lived to the age of 82 when others since the 70's had counted him out and predicted he wouldn't make it to 40, but also how fortunate we all were as his fans to have been the recipients of so much great new music and live concert experiences when he saw his rebirth as both a regular recording artists and a live performer for all those years.

So if you click on that "BrianWilson2015" member name, you can access his post history here, and read his answers to the Q&A he participated in here back in 2015, which is still one of the all-time highlights. And for the naysayers...if they're still lingering out there...that was 100% Brian answering those questions that day on this board. We'll never forget it. Thank you Brian.

[Zenobi]

Brian liked very much the word "spiritual", he used it as the greatest praise. I think that's because it was not just a word to him, and the same can be said of other common words like "love" and "mercy". He knew and meant them, not just lip service.
I think the unique light radiating from his music, felt by everybody, stems mainly from that.

[Rocker]

Beach Boys co-founder remembers the late Brian Wilson | Today Show Australia


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uE7CaEgq398

[SMiLE-addict]

I’m struggling… no way to sugarcoat it. There was a time where I wrote more about Brian in a day than I did anything else in a month, at least . Those who have been around the BW online for the past 30 years know exactly what I mean. Yet I find myself at a loss for words right now . Been wanting to say exactly what Brian meant to me but it’s hard.  I’ve buried both parents and lost two babies and this ranks up there . But I gotta try.

It’s no hyperbole for me to say if it wasn’t for me discovering Brian’s music, I wouldn’t be here right now. That’s putting it mildly. But even more than his music, I was a fan of Brian Wilson as a person. The man was my hero, full stop, and a huge inspiration to me on a personal level. He was a fighter. As he loved to say, he was a Wilson… he had a lot of will. A pure force of nature to be reckoned with, for sure, but also one of kindest, gentle people the world has ever known. I’m so blessed to have lived in this timeline with him in it, and the world is a little darker now without him in it.

I love you Brian, and I will miss the hell out of you .

Hang in there Billy, all good things must pass, including all good humans must pass. The world is a better place because of Brian, and that's all that's ultimately important.

[Summer_Days]

I’m struggling… no way to sugarcoat it. There was a time where I wrote more about Brian in a day than I did anything else in a month, at least . Those who have been around the BW online for the past 30 years know exactly what I mean. Yet I find myself at a loss for words right now . Been wanting to say exactly what Brian meant to me but it’s hard.  I’ve buried both parents and lost two babies and this ranks up there . But I gotta try.

It’s no hyperbole for me to say if it wasn’t for me discovering Brian’s music, I wouldn’t be here right now. That’s putting it mildly. But even more than his music, I was a fan of Brian Wilson as a person. The man was my hero, full stop, and a huge inspiration to me on a personal level. He was a fighter. As he loved to say, he was a Wilson… he had a lot of will. A pure force of nature to be reckoned with, for sure, but also one of kindest, gentle people the world has ever known. I’m so blessed to have lived in this timeline with him in it, and the world is a little darker now without him in it.

I love you Brian, and I will miss the hell out of you .

I'm right there with you, brother. I've found it extremely hard to really express in mere words what Brian means to me. I've been in a vacant, depressed haze in days since he passed and I'm just getting out of it now. Just... a departure from reality, especially since reality, the world, is so bleak, insane and terrifying lately.  I said to myself today, "snap out of it!" Such foolishness. If anything, thinking on Brian, listening to his music is what can keep me going, actually living, and not trudging around like a zombie. I suppose I've been searching for the words to say how much Brian means to me when it's there only in the feelings that his music summons in me. I've been hesitant to listen because of how much I think it'll hurt to do so, but I wasn't thinking of the healing that only his music provides. How silly of me. I suppose part of me will always mourn him in some capacity, but more than anything, I wish to always celebrate his life and especially his immortal legacy - his beautiful music.

[Dan Lega]

VAN DYKE PARKS on Brian's passing...

https://www.theguardian.com/music/2025/jun/17/his-music-documented-an-america-that-no-longer-exists-brian-wilsons-brilliance-by-key-collaborator-van-dyke-parks



‘His music documented an America that no longer exists’: Brian Wilson’s brilliance, by key collaborator Van Dyke Parks
Wilson bought Parks a Volvo when he’d barely met him – and together they brought sublime poetry to pop. He remembers the making of Smile, Surf’s Up and more

Dave Simpson
As told to Dave Simpson
Tue 17 Jun 2025 09.49 EDT



It was the Beatles’ publicist Derek Taylor – who I met backstage at their first concert at the Hollywood Bowl – who first declared “Brian Wilson is a genius” as part of a [1966] publicity campaign. I knew that word would come back to haunt Brian and it did: from then on he was competing in a world of heightened expectations, but he did that very bravely all his life. He was basically forever competing against a previous version of himself, but as the great American beat poet Lewis MacAdams said: “If it’s not impossible, I’m not interested.” As for lyrics, you can’t beat “I’m a cork on the ocean” [in Til I Die] for a redux of thought from a Beach Boy. I will call that genius and I think the word does apply to Brian.

The things he could do with a piano, bass and a couple of guitars were like him entering a dark room and breathing light and life into it
He had so many gifts. One of them was mutual empowerment. He brought out the best in everyone around him. In the studio, under great tensile strength, the things he could do with a piano, bass, and maybe a couple of guitars were like him entering a dark room and breathing light and life into it. He was a celebratory spirit with a dark coda on his life: the burden of some psychosis. I don’t believe that was caused by drugs. I think it was in his genes, but he had the ability to dig deep. He had a disciplined spiritual force and had sat on church pews and had learned musical lingos, had loved and absorbed everything from barbershop quartets to calypso to composers to Gershwin, was growing up when they coined the expression “Americana” and configured all this into a new kind of pop.


Equally, he was a positive social force while Rome was burning and certainly Vietnam was. People were being hosed down in Selma [Alabama, on civil rights marches] and there was panic and apprehension and assassinations, but against that backdrop we got the tonic of Brian Wilson’s music. I’m glad he didn’t see a state senator shot down to the ground this weekend.

In mid-1960s Laurel Canyon, I was very active and had played on stuff like the Byrds’ Fifth Dimension. David Crosby encouraged me to become a Byrd but I wasn’t strong enough to be that, but they were wonderful people and Roger McGuinn was a great lyricist. I did everything in my power to surround myself with superior talents and really found one in Brian. I can’t remember whether it was David or [Byrds’ producer] Terry Melcher or [talent agent] Loren Schwartz who introduced us, but I went over when they were working on Good Vibrations. I suggested the cello parts with triplets played arco [with a bow] that became part of the song’s signature, like the ruby slippers in The Wizard of Oz. I thought I might get taken on as an arranger or rather a musician trying to become an arranger, but that wasn’t the job Brian had for me at all. Suddenly I was a lyricist.



At that time, I knew nothing about Brian Wilson – I was a Beatles fan – and lyrics weren’t really my background. It’s possible that he’d heard my song High Coin [first recorded in 1965 by Rick Jarrard], which [psychedelic band] the Charlatans had done in San Francisco to very minor impact.

When I rode up to Brian’s poolside mansion in Beverly Hills on a motorcycle I was pulled over by a cop who asked me what I was doing in such a neighborhood. He didn’t believe me so accompanied me to Brian’s front door. When Brian answered it turned out that the cop’s sister went out with Dennis [Wilson]. It was all smoothed over, but Brian asked me what I needed that would draw less attention. At the time, a Volvo was the safest car built. The next day I got a cheque with no conditions for $5,000, to buy myself a Volvo. I hardly knew this man, but sometimes good things happen on trust.

We wrote songs right there in his living room. The first was Heroes and Villains. Brian was the leader and came up with the melody and with it the required number of syllables. I started “I’ve been in this town so long that back in the city / I’ve been taken for lost and gone and unknown for a long long time / Fell in love years ago with an innocent girl from the Spanish and Indian home / home of the heroes and villains …” and never changed a syllable. I envisaged a country and western ballad – a story, kind of. It was a beautiful experience, one of the “eureka” moments of my relationship with Brian Wilson.

We came up with Surf’s Up in one night. We talked about how classical music had died and was being replaced by something else, and there were things to be discovered. I sat there with Brian as we were reinventing the song form. One of the things he did then was record in modular fragments – sections which would then be put together – as opposed to whole songs, a bit like the way people like Robert Altman were making movies.


I don’t know how much Brian consciously was trying to top Pet Sounds [1966] but he wanted out of the box. Placing his piano in a sand-box in his living room wasn’t an example of his craziness. It was both a pop art statement and his fantastic sense of humour. He’d wanted to drop the surfboard and progress so I mischievously suggested the title Surf’s Up. It was naughty … but how could his cousin Mike Love [Beach Boys singer/co-lyricist, who famously wasn’t always receptive to Wilson and Parks’s experimentation] argue with a title like Surf’s Up? I wanted to help Brian have a moment he deserved.


The lyrics were inspired by an artist called Frank Holmes, whose pictures interested me so I tried to adhere to them. “Columnated ruins domino, canvas the town and brush the backdrop / Are you sleeping?” The lyrics are inadvertently about a man who attends a concert and has an epiphany. We did a whole bunch of songs and Frank [who subsequently did the cover art] can testify that I suggested the title Smile for the album.

During the recording sessions Brian dominated the piano. Musicians would come and go, but Carol Kaye [bass] was very important. Elegant and swell, the only female on that set and she played on so much stuff. Dennis [Wilson] was nice to me and Carl [Wilson] knew what Brian was up against so was inclined to promote his brother’s search for freedom, but Brian had to fight to make an album at his own expense and the group felt threatened or diminished, maybe. I walked away. [Wilson pulled Smile, which – although some tracks emerged – became a “legendary lost album”. He withdrew further into drug use.]


A few years later I was in a Warner Brothers meeting about the Beach Boys’ Holland album [1973], which they said was unreleasable without Brian. Mo Ostin [chief executive] said to me: “Can you get Brian?” I went over to his place with my cassette recorder and came up with a few notes, the words “Sail on, sail on sailor” and the title Sail On Sailor. It got him outta bed. We sent the tape to the Beach Boys [who recorded it for Holland]. I take no further credit for the song, which was sweet, desperate and elevating, but it put me in the position of being an effective agitator.


We reunited again for [Parks’s 1995 solo album] Orange Crate Art, which reignited Brian’s recording career. It was my last record for Warners and I was infatuated with the word “orange”, because of its associations with Florida and California. He was sitting in a beach home, looking at a television that wasn’t on, but I so wanted him to sing the word “orange”. He came to the studio and when I got him in front of a microphone he suddenly asked me: “Why aren’t you singing this song?” I said: “Quite frankly Brian, I just don’t like the sound of my own voice,” and quick as a flash he said: “I don’t blame you.” That was Brian: dry as bones. When he became lead vocalist it was different to the 1960s because of whatever had happened to him and he was singing parts that I dictated. It sank without a trace, but it was a step forward – he realised he could get out of the tomb.

Working together again on Brian Wilson Presents Smile [2004, the album as it was originally intended] was more of a long-distance love. I didn’t have the chance to socialise with him at that time, but did some audio intervals, played some parts and so on. I went to the triumphant Royal Festival Hall show [2004] where he performed the Smile songs and my only regret is that my parents weren’t alive to see the joy those songs generated.

Brian and I stayed in touch. My wife Sally and I were close to Brian and both of his wives. Our friendship spanned decades and his various associations and casts of characters. Losing him is so tough and leaves a vacuum, but Brian bloomed where he was planted and his music documented an America that no longer exists. He moved mountains. He changed the language. He treated me kindly when he didn’t need to and when people say his music is astonishing, I agree.

[Zenobi]

Sorry, if already posted, this is pure gold by Darian.

https://variety.com/2025/music/news/brian-wilson-darian-sahanaja-salute-solo-band-beach-boys-1236432399/

[MyDrKnowsItKeepsMeCalm]

Thank you guys, these tributes are just beautiful. Keep 'em coming!

[Amy B.]

Darlene Loves Instagram:
Today I lost a dear friend and the world lost a true musical genius — Brian Wilson. I’ve known Brian since the very beginning of my career through Lou Adler, and over the years, we shared unforgettable memories, both on stage and in the studio.

From singing backup on Beach Boys tracks to sharing moments of laughter and harmony during his solo projects, Brian was more than a collaborator — he was family. His creativity knew no limits, and his heart was just as big as his talent.

One of his favorite Christmas songs was Christmas (Baby Please Come Home), and I was always so touched by how much that meant to him. We shared a deep respect for each other’s gifts, and I always said, “The world always needs to see and hear Brian Wilson.” That’s never been more true than it is today.

Rest easy, Brian. Your music, your spirit, and your soul will live on forever. 🕊️💙🎶

[Don Malcolm]

For those who might not be able to access Darian Sahanaja's lovely tribute to Brian in Variety...here's the text. I think all of us will recognize and resonate with Darian's closing sentence:

"How ironic is it that Brian, the eldest of the three Wilson brothers… the “troubled one” with all the physical and mental health challenges… would end up being the last man standing? I mean, the guy lived twice as long as his brother Dennis, who was the physical ideal of an all-American surfer boy. Then again, he was always defying the odds. From the very first concert I played with him in March of 1999 — when it was predicted that he may not even make it through a song, let alone an entire show — through to him overcoming some serious demons to find closure to the unfinished post-“Pet Sounds” album “SMiLE,” the man could somehow reach deep down and find the will power to get through most any challenge.

The process, however, might not have been a smooth one. In fact, nearly all my favorite Brian stories are a product of him having to “work through the moment.”

His awkward attempts to get past an uncomfortable situation could result in pure comedy gold, or might even be perceived as “genius.” If he wasn’t in the mood to meet visitors backstage before a show, they might say “Hi Brian, it’s an honor to meet you,” and his typical five-word response would be “Thank you … enjoy the catering!” Always sincere and never meant to be hurtful. Like the time I was standing with him post-show when Eric Clapton walked over, immediately gushing about the music. Brian looked at the both of us and said, “Well… rock ‘n’ roll is here to stay. (Pause.) It will never die” — then turned around, walked 10 feet to his dressing room and slammed the door behind him. Eric and I turned to each other with palms up and just had to laugh. Genius? Perhaps. Honest? Absolutely.

I write all of this as we in the Brian Wilson Band are preparing to join Al Jardine for some shows that will highlight songs off of the 1977 album “The Beach Boys Love You.” The album is one of my favorites in the catalog because I find it to be Brian’s most personal effort after “Pet Sounds.” Even though 11 years had gone by, with his voice no longer angelic, the songs were as beautiful and heartbreaking as ever. And unlike the collaborative approach of the 1966 album, this time around he authored the lyrics to 11 out of the 14 tracks on his own. Are the topics complex, the words deeply thought-provoking? With songs like “Johnny Carson,” “Airplane” and “Solar System,” one would be led to believe they are not. But you can’t deny the sincerity, the heartfelt beauty of the chords and melodies.

The other thing about that album is that Brian produced and played nearly everything on it. If there’s anything I know about Brian Wilson’s creative process, it’s that he was always going for immediate gratification. You can even hear throughout the “Pet Sounds” session tapes him getting impatient between takes to get everyone back to playing together again. Not because he was a control freak, but because he was so anxious to hear the parts come together. Even with us in his band, he would quickly feed each of us a part to sing or play and just couldn’t wait to hear it all come together.

By the time of “The Beach Boys Love You” in 1977, he had several keyboard instruments at his disposal that could now mimic a string section, and others that could sound like a fuzz bass or brass. Most all of them were of the newfangled analog synthesizer variety, and so instead of having to get string or brass players, or even having to strap a bass on, he’d simply grab a Minimoog or ARP synth keyboard and lay his ideas down in a quick and raw fashion, getting the immediate gratification he so wanted. Then, just as he did with “Pet Sounds,” he’d have the guys come in and lay down their vocal parts. What we got in the end was a thoroughly unique collection of songs and an album that sounds like no other Beach Boys record. Some folks even cite it as being the first synth-pop record. At times awkward, but mostly gorgeous, catchy and sincere. Genius? Perhaps. Honest? Absolutely.

In this past year, a few of us would visit him on a regular basis, just to sit and sing with him — just wanting to keep his musical gears spinning. Sometimes he’d join in, but mostly he just sat and listened, choosing to immerse himself in the sound of live vocal harmonies and instruments. For me, it was the least I could do. To be able to give back even a fraction of the joy he’d given me. But also for helping to make me the person I am today.

As a pre-teen, I was ridiculed and even physically abused by my so-called friends for favoring Beach Boys music over the heavier FM rock acts of the mid-’70s they deemed as “cool.” Yet even that amount of peer pressure wasn’t enough to sway my opinion — a testament of how good that music was to me. By the time I got to junior high, I was much better equipped to manage criticism and was able to develop a solid understanding of what I did and didn’t like.

I wanted to thank him for that. I wanted to show him how grateful I was for all the opportunities he gave me. To live out the dreams of every musician. To play Carnegie Hall, the Hollywood Bowl, Sydney Opera House, Royal Albert Hall, Madison Square Garden… to share the stage and mingle with the likes of Paul McCartney, Neil Young, Bruce Springsteen, Elton John, Pete Townshend and even the Queen of England after performing for her at Buckingham Palace.

I mean, how does one possibly show gratitude for all of that? By singing a song by the Ronettes and making him smile.

Brian Wilson passed away in his sleep, at home, in his room. Just as he would have wanted it. The news did not upset me. I was saddened, yes, but mainly I felt relief. I was relieved to know that a man who had suffered nearly every day of his life in a struggle to find a little bit of peace and love was suffering no more.

And without getting overly New Testament here, I’ve always felt that it was through his struggle, his yearning, his reaching to find a better place, that we were given such beautiful music. How lucky are we to have been alive while he walked this earth?"

[♩♬🐸 Billy C ♯♫♩🐇]

This is beautiful

https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/articles/brian-wilson-last-playlist-173135772.html

[Angela Jones]

A couple more:

https://www.billboard.com/music/pop/don-was-remembers-brian-wilson-mystical-genius-1236000315/?fbclid=IwY2xjawLAy_1leHRuA2FlbQIxMQBicmlkETBWM1U4Q1BsblRUM0xhbENnAR7lb64ZrAoiTt7EXUHNGTkKLsykG0nKlfaJirCMv-8ww0lBP18NrEVjP67slQ_aem_p448GtYr5Y8wXxZOp7hdpg

https://pitchfork.com/features/afterword/brian-wilson-obituary/?fbclid=IwY2xjawLAy99leHRuA2FlbQIxMQBicmlkETBWM1U4Q1BsblRUM0xhbENnAR7K0sNCenbEnBXfyKG1g95k_NzvltkIbqeOYTscGDyOd6TAXQa8AicZ2ife4g_aem_8NmvY3-JvropW1MLkXXbLA

[Zenobi]

Oh my, aren't all these tributes gorgeous. Brian is getting the best out of everybody, some of the best prose I have read in these years.
Thanks a million for posting them here.  

[rab2591]

This is beautiful

https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/articles/brian-wilson-last-playlist-173135772.html

This and Darian's tribute are incredible. It's so nice to hear about Brian still being a bit active in his last years/months.

[Don Malcolm]

It's more great work from Jason Fine, and that playlist is fascinating enough that it deserves scrutiny from all--and some annotation as well.

Jason does a little of that, but he knew not to go too deep into it in the context of what was called for at this time.

When we are a little further from Brian's passing (can it really be only eight days since it happened?) we might want to create a thread for it, where folks can examine it--either as whole, or in segments--or even individually. I think it's filled with both confirmation of things we know about Brian, but it also contains a number of surprises in terms of what's included (and what's not).

(Of course, it isn't a playlist built via painstaking reflection: it was more spontaneous in nature. But that's also interesting (and pertinent).

To that end, I post the playlist here for ease of access.
The Ronettes, "Be My Baby"
George Harrison, “My Sweet Lord”
The Rolling Stones, “My Obsession”
Bee Gees, “Too Much Heaven”
The Ronettes, “Baby, I Love You”
The Beach Boys, “The Night Was So Young”
Elton John, “Someone Saved My Life Tonight”
The Beatles, “Strawberry Fields Forever”
The Beach Boys, “Please Let Me Wonder”
Chuck Berry, “Johnny B. Goode”
The Beach Boys, “Mt. Vernon & Fairway”
Creedence Clearwater Revival, “Proud Mary”
Bob Dylan, “Mr. Tambourine Man”
Dennis Wilson, “Pacific Ocean Blues”
Buddy Holly, “Rave On”
The Crystals, “Then He Kissed Me”
The Beach Boys, “It’s OK”

[♩♬🐸 Billy C ♯♫♩🐇]

It's more great work from Jason Fine, and that playlist is fascinating enough that it deserves scrutiny from all--and some annotation as well.

Jason does a little of that, but he knew not to go too deep into it in the context of what was called for at this time.

When we are a little further from Brian's passing (can it really be only eight days since it happened?) we might want to create a thread for it, where folks can examine it--either as whole, or in segments--or even individually. I think it's filled with both confirmation of things we know about Brian, but it also contains a number of surprises in terms of what's included (and what's not).

(Of course, it isn't a playlist built via painstaking reflection: it was more spontaneous in nature. But that's also interesting (and pertinent).

To that end, I post the playlist here for ease of access.
The Ronettes, "Be My Baby"
George Harrison, “My Sweet Lord”
The Rolling Stones, “My Obsession”
Bee Gees, “Too Much Heaven”
The Ronettes, “Baby, I Love You”
The Beach Boys, “The Night Was So Young”
Elton John, “Someone Saved My Life Tonight”
The Beatles, “Strawberry Fields Forever”
The Beach Boys, “Please Let Me Wonder”
Chuck Berry, “Johnny B. Goode”
The Beach Boys, “Mt. Vernon & Fairway”
Creedence Clearwater Revival, “Proud Mary”
Bob Dylan, “Mr. Tambourine Man”
Dennis Wilson, “Pacific Ocean Blues”
Buddy Holly, “Rave On”
The Crystals, “Then He Kissed Me”
The Beach Boys, “It’s OK”

I made a duplicate of that playlist in Apple Music!

For what it’s worth I recently found out Brian had actually covered “Someone Saved My Life Tonight “ live which blew my mind. It’s not the best performance of it (it was one of those times where Jeff was doubling Brian and they both were a bit off pitch ) but he sang it with a lot of feeling

[MyDrKnowsItKeepsMeCalm]

The Beach Boys, “Please Let Me Wonder”

This reminds me that Brian and band played Please Let Me Wonder when I saw them in 2015, and it was *spectacular.* It's one of my favorite deeper cuts from that mid-60s era, and it was perfect for Brian's later/mature voice. Every word rung with emotion. I'm sure there are similar clips on YouTube if you dig for them.

[guitarfool2002]

The Beach Boys, “Please Let Me Wonder”

This reminds me that Brian and band played Please Let Me Wonder when I saw them in 2015, and it was *spectacular.* It's one of my favorite deeper cuts from that mid-60s era, and it was perfect for Brian's later/mature voice. Every word rung with emotion. I'm sure there are similar clips on YouTube if you dig for them.

I agree, that song always resonated with me and has been a favorite going back to when my dad got an 8-track cartridge of "Best Of Vol. 2" and I used to play it all the time as a kid. And it resonated with Brian too, I think he was very proud of what he accomplished with that song in particular and how it turned out and enjoyed playing it for the fans.

And that's why I think this clip at the link I'm posting is so damn special, and one of my favorite Brian moments of all time. I was not at this show, but someone thankfully captured it aiming their camera at the video screen to get the close-ups of Brian singing it, and the texture that the lo-fi video creates visually makes it even more of an experience. Besides the band simply nailing it that night, watch as Brian "conducts" the band during that glorious instrumental break, and you can tell how much he's digging hearing them play it and hearing that arrangement come together. And...(for those who get the reference here)...that instrumental break is PERFECT as-is, one of the best things he ever wrote and arranged, and it absolutely DID NOT need lyrics added to it decades later to make it 25% better.

But the most sublime moment in that performance is at the very end, please watch this until the last note! Brian for whatever reason that night - maybe he was just inspired in that moment, maybe with the 50th tour coming to a close he wanted to do something extra - well, he rears back at the end and lets go with a high falsetto note that sounds like 1964 Brian hitting that note. It's amazing for fans who thought that particular voice of Brian's, one of the best and most identifiable sounds in the last 75 years of popular music, would not be heard again. But there it is. And the whole thing came full circle for me with this short clip when it appeared.

Please Let Me Wonder, live from the 50th anniversary tour, September 27, 2012 at Royal Albert Hall. Enjoy.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rsB3s9xDzRI

[♩♬🐸 Billy C ♯♫♩🐇]

The Beach Boys, “Please Let Me Wonder”

This reminds me that Brian and band played Please Let Me Wonder when I saw them in 2015, and it was *spectacular.* It's one of my favorite deeper cuts from that mid-60s era, and it was perfect for Brian's later/mature voice. Every word rung with emotion. I'm sure there are similar clips on YouTube if you dig for them.

I agree, that song always resonated with me and has been a favorite going back to when my dad got an 8-track cartridge of "Best Of Vol. 2" and I used to play it all the time as a kid. And it resonated with Brian too, I think he was very proud of what he accomplished with that song in particular and how it turned out and enjoyed playing it for the fans.

And that's why I think this clip at the link I'm posting is so damn special, and one of my favorite Brian moments of all time. I was not at this show, but someone thankfully captured it aiming their camera at the video screen to get the close-ups of Brian singing it, and the texture that the lo-fi video creates visually makes it even more of an experience. Besides the band simply nailing it that night, watch as Brian "conducts" the band during that glorious instrumental break, and you can tell how much he's digging hearing them play it and hearing that arrangement come together. And...(for those who get the reference here)...that instrumental break is PERFECT as-is, one of the best things he ever wrote and arranged, and it absolutely DID NOT need lyrics added to it decades later to make it 25% better.

But the most sublime moment in that performance is at the very end, please watch this until the last note! Brian for whatever reason that night - maybe he was just inspired in that moment, maybe with the 50th tour coming to a close he wanted to do something extra - well, he rears back at the end and lets go with a high falsetto note that sounds like 1964 Brian hitting that note. It's amazing for fans who thought that particular voice of Brian's, one of the best and most identifiable sounds in the last 75 years of popular music, would not be heard again. But there it is. And the whole thing came full circle for me with this short clip when it appeared.

Please Let Me Wonder, live from the 50th anniversary tour, September 27, 2012 at Royal Albert Hall. Enjoy.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rsB3s9xDzRI

My favorite moment during that tour was at the show I went to at the Woodlands; during I Just Wasn’t Made For These Times, Jeff pretty much sat it out and let Brian absolutely nail the sh*t out of the lead, and when it ended, he held out “times” and had it end on a pretty good falsetto.

Other great live memories…

2004 - during the cigarette lighter joke , my bandmate/friend  Raymond and I yelled out “but we just quit smoking!” … Brian actually heard us and responded back “G*ddamit good for you ! (Slightly quieter voice) Killed my joke but out fucking standing”

During Marcella he left before the end of the song and the mic picked up him saying “I got to peeeeee” as he sprinted off stage faster than I’d ever see him move

When he strapped on the bass during the encore he acted like it was a rifle and “shot” Jeff and Scott, which was so hilariously random that I’m making it a point to do that myself if I ever do a live show again

2015- before “One Kind Of Love” - “This next song was in a movie . Can you believe it? A movie l! (Pause) AND it was about me”

[HeyJude]

The 2000 show I saw in Saratoga, CA (one of the few non-symphonic full "Pet Sounds" shows, which I always thought sounded better than the orchestral shows) was the most "on" I've ever seen Brian during his solo years, either in person or just in general. And an excellent recording of it actually exists.

He was talking a bunch between songs. If this had been the 70s, I'd swear he had snorted a line or two. He was *that* energetic.

At one point he came in late at the beginning of "That's Not Me", and told the band to stop so he could do "Take 2."

He told everybody at one point to "get off your fat asses" for one song, and during his "how loud can you yell?" bit he took it to the point of blurting out "I said how loud can you fu*kin' yell?"

It was also the first gig ever where he did "Let It Shine", which I and like 9 other people in the audience seemed to be excited about.

[Peadar 'Big Dinner' O'Driscoll]

I think it was around 2005 when Brian started doing the "walking down the path of life" song towards the end of his sets. He was really on top form then IMO. Saw him in Dublin and then Cork a day later. Great times!

There was also a Q&A, I think on the night before the Dublin gig. Brian trying hopelessly to decipher what Irish accents were saying was quite funny