Brian Wilson facts for kids

This page is about the musician. For the ballplayer, see Brian Wilson (baseball).

Brian Douglas Wilson (born June 20, 1942) is an American musician, songwriter and singer. He was born in Inglewood, California.

He is a founding member of The Beach Boys, although he was largely separate from the band from the 1970s until 2011. He played bass, sang, and wrote songs for them. In the 1970s and 80s, Wilson struggled with drug problems and eating too much. In the 1980s and 90s, he began a solo career.

He was a Kennedy Center honoree in 2007. In 2011, Wilson reunited with The Beach Boys.

Wilson has bipolar disorder and schizoaffective disorder.

Images for kids

Wilson's senior yearbook photo, 1960
Wilson (second-left) performing with the Beach Boys in Pendleton outfits at a local high school in late 1962
Wilson performing on electric bass with the Beach Boys, 1964
Wilson in 1966
The Beach Boys performing in the early 1970s without Wilson
Wilson at a 15 Big Ones session, circa 1976
Wilson performing with the Beach Boys in 1983
Brian Wilson Presents Smile at Royal Festival Hall in London on February 21, 2004
Wilson performing with the Beach Boys during their brief 2012 reunion
A visual representation of the melody and chord structure of "God Only Knows"
Wilson performing "Good Vibrations" in Washington D.C. in 2017
Formal and harmonic structure of "Good Vibrations". The song is regarded by virtually all popular music critics as one of the most important compositions and recordings of the rock era.
Monument on the site of the Wilsons' childhood home, now deemed a historic landmark by the state of California