Overview

• Wilson died on June 11 at the age of 82, prompting worldwide reflections on his transformative impact on pop music.
• As the Beach Boys’ primary songwriter and producer in the 1960s, he fused surf-rock energy with unprecedented studio innovation.
• Pet Sounds employed instruments such as theremin, oboe and sleigh bells to build richly layered arrangements that reshaped the genre.
• His prolonged battles with depression and substance abuse led him to withdraw from touring and delay projects like Smile.
• He finally completed Smile in 2004 and sustained a creative late career that inspired new generations of artists.