Brian Wilson

For a guy who never surfed nor liked hanging out at the beach, Brian Wilson not only captured California youth culture but also created what is still today America’s most successful rock band. Born in 1942 in Hawthorne, California, Wilson loved the sound of harmony from an early age. Although he hears out of only one ear (supposedly as the result of a blow from his father), Wilson is able to pick up any variance to perfect pitch and the individual sounds within harmony. He founded the Beach Boys with his two brothers, Carl and Dennis, cousin Mike Love, and school friend Al Jardine. Between 1962 and 1967, Wilson wrote, produced, and arranged all of their music, including the massive hits, "Surfin", "Surfin’ USA", "Fun, Fun, Fun", "I Get Around", "Help Me Rhonda", "California Girls", "Wouldn’t It Be Nice", "Heroes and Villains", "God Only Knows", and "Warmth of the Sun", to name just a few. His song "Good Vibrations" was voted by fellow musicians as the greatest pop song ever written. Paul McCartney has said that the Beach Boys album Pet Sounds was the competitive inspiration for Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band. Wilson helped the careers of Three Dog Night, Jan and Dean, Glen Campbell, and still inspires new generations of song writers. Wilson’s solo albums, Brian Wilson, Orange Crate Art, and Imagination, continued to explore his love of harmonizing. The issue of SMiLE in 2004, with a new backup band, finally brought out the album as planned back in 1967. Wilson has also reunited with Al Jardine for live performances to celebrate the 40th anniversary of Pet Sounds. Brian Wilson certainly is the man of Endless Harmony.