BRIAN WILSON, R.I.P.

I have loved Brian Wilson’s music for what seems like my entire life. And then I grew up to meet the icon several times, and liked him as a person almost as much as I admired his talent. He was such a humble guy; if you didn’t know who he was, you never would have guessed he was famous. My heart broke when I read that he passed away last week, even though I had a feeling it was coming sooner than later; I had seen how frail he looked in a photo with the other Beach Boys just a short while before his passing.

Brian Wilson is one of the absolute most important people the music business has ever seen! His classic songs, such as Good Vibrations, California Girls, Wouldn’t It Be Nice, Help Me, Rhonda, and God Only Knows, are a big part of the soundtrack of many of our lives. Brian Wilson means so much to so many, and it will stay that way in perpetuity.

I recently attended a concert where Dean Torrence, of the popular ’60s duo, Jan and Dean, and his band performed several songs that were actually Beach Boys hits, rather than his own, most likely because he rightly knew that the crowd would go nuts for them. And way back in the day, at close to the start of all of their music careers, Dean wrote one of his and Jan’s biggest hits, Surf City, with none other than Brian Wilson! Brian’s work is much more far-reaching than just his own group’s hits.

He actually began composing in his teens! How was such a young guy able to write like that??? It boggles the mind. What a true genius Brian Wilson was.

On a personal level, I can tell you that Brian was such a sweet guy. We’ve lived near each other for the past couple of decades, (which I still find pretty strange.) When I used to go on my neighborhood power walks, (prior to the pandemic lockdown,) I’d see Brian from time to time, and we’d always say a quick hello.  Believe me, I’ve always been in shock about having THE Brian Wilson say hello to little old me!

Actually, one of my shining moments in life came when Brian and I were both guests at a party that Renee Taylor threw way back in the day, (when I was still doing my little TV show,) and Brian asked for a picture with me! (The photographer was kind enough to make me a copy, as well, but, among all my cluttered career memorabilia, I haven’t been able to find it right now.)

I’d also occasionally see him at a popular local eatery that we all frequented. He’d often get their coffee, and sometimes a bit more. I once saw him savoring a bowl of soup there. And nobody bothered him. (I sometimes wish that I had done so a time or two because he might have been happy to see an amiable acquaintance.)

On top of all my Los Angeles sightings of the leader of the Beach Boys, when I was spending the summer of 2008 in Brooklyn with my mother, I had the good fortune to see Brian Wilson perform an outdoor concert in Coney Island. It was a famous series in that part of town, and people came from far and wide to see the shows. But, even though it was just a ten-minute drive away for me, I had never wanted to bother with the beachside crowds in those half dozen summers I had spent at my original home. However, when I learned that Brian was doing a concert, I was very happy to meet my friends for my first experience there.

And I got such a kick out of everything about that performance. First of all, I was getting to see and hear the absolute original and most powerful Beach Boy, which was a treat unto itself. But I also had the added fun of seeing my neighbor perform, which gave it extra importance for me.

I thought of going over to see him afterwards, for myself, of course, but also knowing what he had gone through in life, I thought that perhaps seeing a friendly face from LA would give him a sense of home. But my friends wanted to get going while we were still on the high of the concert, rather than walking sort of far in that sketchy-at-night-area to get to the backstage.  And I also worried that seeing someone so out of context might be a tad weird for Brian. So I thought better of it at the time, a decision which I regret now more than ever.

Brian Wilson was incredibly beloved by everyone. I really hope that he knew in life what he has meant to so many people around the world. And that at least he does now, in heaven.

My heart goes out to his family, friends, and billions of fans. May he finally rest in true peace.

R.I.P., Brian Wilson.