Labeled by the press as a musical genius while still in his 20s, Brian Wilson produced more than two dozen Top 40 hits as a member of the original Beach Boys. Yet substance abuse and mental health issues eventually forced the singer-songwriter-composer to withdraw from the world just as his professional star was reaching new heights.
As the Beach Boys began to skyrocket, Wilson suffered a nervous breakdown
Raised in the Los Angeles area by an abusive father, Brian found refuge in music. In 1961, the teenager started a garage band with his two younger brothers, Carl and Dennis, their cousin Mike Love, and high school friend Al Jardine. They didn’t know it at the time, but their group would become one of America’s greatest rock bands, the Beach Boys.
Murry Wilson, father of the Wilson boys, acted as manager, while Brian—almost completely deaf in his right ear following a physical head trauma as a child—took on the role of songwriter, producer, and frontman. The Beach Boys’ first album, Surfin’ Safari (1962), introduced the band’s early sound. Their blended harmonies, sophisticated arrangements, and innovative recording techniques propelled their music to the top of the charts and provided impetus to the growing youth culture that was embracing the look and sounds of Southern California surf life.
Subsequent albums Surfin’ USA, Surfer Girl, and Little Deuce Coupe—all from 1963—their seminal 1966 album Pet Sounds, and the chart-topping platinum single “Good Vibrations” turned them into international music celebrities. But by 1967, Brian had suffered a nervous breakdown and had become so uncomfortable appearing on stage he quit touring, retreating to a more background, creative role.
He turned to drugs to battle his depression
As the Beach Boys success continued to skyrocket in the late 1960s and early 1970s, Brian sank further into seclusion, turning to heavier and heavier drug use—particularly cocaine and hallucinogens such as LSD—in an effort to combat the worsening depression that could render him unable to get out of bed for days. In rare public appearances, he was photographed while dressed only in his bathrobe as alcohol abuse and overeating pushed his weight past 300 pounds.
Eventually, Brian was diagnosed with schizoaffective disorder, a mental health disease resulting in ongoing hallucinations, depression, paranoia, and sometimes mania. “Well, for the past 40 years I’ve had auditory hallucinations in my head, all day every day, and I can’t get them out,” Brian told Ability magazine in 2006 of his symptoms. “Every few minutes the voices say something derogatory to me, which discourages me a little bit, but I have to be strong enough to say to them, ‘Hey, would you quit stalking me? F–– off! Don’t talk to me—leave me alone!” I have to say these types of things all day long. It’s like a fight.”
A psychologist helped Wilson take charge of his health and became very involved in his life
His family had become so worried that by the mid-1970s Brian’s then-wife employed psychologist Dr. Eugene Landy in an effort to help the musician control his drug dependency and take charge of his overall health. Landy and a team of assistants monitored the singer-songwriter 24 hours a day, allowing the psychologist to help Brian gain some control over his physical and mental health.
However, Landy was also accused of exploiting his control over his patient during the almost 15 on-again, off-again years Brian was in his care. Landy became so involved in every aspect of Brian’s life he was be listed as a collaborator on the singer’s 1988 solo album, had Brian’s memoir dedicated to him, and was named a beneficiary in his will.
In 1991, the Wilson family sued Landy and obtained a restraining order against the doctor. Landy eventually lost his license to practice psychology in California but remained close to Brian throughout the rest of the former psychologist’s life. Brian credited Landy with helping his recovery through medication and forced abstinence, resulting in his return to performing and producing new music. Their relationship was the subject of the 2014 biopic Love & Mercy, starring John Cusack as Wilson and Paul Giamatti as Landy.
Wilson continued to struggle but was “able to live a wonderful, healthy and productive life”
Friends credit Brian’s wellbeing in his later years to his second wife, Melinda, whom he married in 1995 and adopted five children with. “She got him to see the right doctors,” longtime friend Jeff Foskett said to People in 2012. “She’s provided a family environment for him. They actually do things together.” For his part, Brian admitted he continued to struggle and still occasionally saw a therapist: “On my good days I feel creative, I laugh a lot, I go to my piano and play… Some days I don’t feel creative and I don’t talk to anybody.”
Stepping away from the music again wasn’t on his radar though. “Oh, man. No retiring,” Brian told Rolling Stone in 2016. “If I retired I wouldn’t know what to do with my time… I’d rather get on the road and do concerts and take airplane flights.”
His creative and performing output continued to be strong for many years, though he was aware his mental health must always come first. Brian postponed dates on his 2019 Pet Sounds and Greatest Hits Live Tour after back surgeries caused him to feel “mentally insecure,” according to a press statement. The Beach Boys icon had been in the studio recording and rehearsing with his band when his mental health issues “crept back,” he said, causing him to struggle “with stuff in my head and saying things I don’t mean.”
“It is no secret that I have been living with mental illness for many decades,” Brian added. “There were times when it was unbearable, but with doctors and medications I have been able to live a wonderful, healthy and productive life with support from my family, friend and fans who have helped me through this journey.”
In his final years, Brian further withdrew as a neurocognitive disorder limited his decision-making, mobility, and memory. After Melinda died in January 2024, his publicist and his business manager coordinated his care as Brian’s conservators.
Brian’s death at age 82 was announced Wednesday on social media.
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