Overview

• The Los Angeles County Department of Health’s death certificate names respiratory arrest as the immediate cause of Brian Wilson’s passing at age 82.
• Sepsis and cystitis appear on the certificate as contributing factors, with neurodegenerative disorder, obstructive sleep apnea, chronic respiratory failure and chronic kidney disease noted as associated conditions.
• Wilson had been placed under a conservatorship in early 2024 after his wife’s death, following a family filing that cited a dementia-like major neurocognitive disorder.
• His death prompted an outpouring of grief and tributes from fellow musicians and the Beach Boys, who called him the “soul” of their sound.
• As a Beach Boys co-founder and pioneering songwriter of hits such as “Good Vibrations” and “God Only Knows,” Wilson reshaped popular music with his innovative studio work.