Though Life Would Still Go On, Believe Me: Brian Wilson, 1942-2025

Lyin’ in bed just like Brian Wilson did

—The Barenaked Ladies

For a lot of mentally ill people, our first reaction when we hear of the death of a mentally ill celebrity is to check their age. If they’re older than about fifty, the reaction tends to be, “Well, that was a good run.” Which, given how close my own fiftieth birthday is, I’m a little concerned about. Brian Wilson was 82, nearly 83, and that’s a very good run indeed. Especially given the absolutely horrific malpractice of his primary mental health provider during a lengthy stretch of his life.

Brian was one of three sons of Murry and Audree Wilson. Together with their cousin, Mike Love, and their friend, Al Jardine, they formed the Beach Boys under Murry’s direction. (Murry’s abuse is established but the level of it is unclear.) Brian at sixteen was already the musical genius at the time, working out things like overdubbing and harmonization. They recorded “Surfin’ Safari” in 1961, and by 1963, they were stars. Only Dennis Wilson surfed, but they became synonymous with surfing.

Brian wanted more. He produced other performers, and of course his fascination with Phil Spector and the developing sound of The Beatles would lead to Pet Sounds, generally considered to be one of the greatest records of the twentieth century. It included probably my own favourite Beach Boys song, “God Only Knows.” It’s a deeply lovely song that is musically complex. I’m fond of it, and it was written by Brian and Tony Asher. Pet Sounds would be followed by an attempt at Smile, essentially the only published result of which is “Good Vibrations.”

He pulled away from the group at that point in no small part because of his deteriorating mental health. He was being treated by Eugene Landy, who misdiagnosed him and overmedicated him to the point that he may have actually suffered organic brain damage because of it. Brian defended Landy even in later years, but it’s hard to go along with his defense if you have studied mental health in general and Brian Wilson’s history in particular even a little. It was only in the ‘90s that he was touring and recording on a regular basis again.

And, yes, he was in a Disney movie. He and the others backed Annette Funicello on the title track of The Monkey’s Uncle. Also he wrote a song for The Monkees. Also there is a fantastic biopic about him and his mental health called Love & Mercy that’s the best thing John Cusack has done possibly since the ‘90s. Also, of course, there’s always the Barenaked Ladies song, which is wistful and only barely touches on the musical genius that came naturally to Brian.