History Music / BrianWilson

* 2015 - ''No Pier Pressure''

* 2010 - ''Brian Wilson Reimagines Gershwin''
* 2011 - ''In the Key of Disney''

* 2005 - ''What I Really Want for Christmas''
* 2008 - ''That Lucky Old Sun''

* 2004 - ''Gettin' In Over My Head''

* 1998 - ''Imagination''

* 1995 - ''Orange Crate Art'' [[note]]A collaboration with Van Dyke Parks[[/note]]

* 1995 - ''I Just Wasn't Made for These Times''

Brian Douglas Wilson (born June 20, 1942) is an American SingerSongwriter, musician, arranger, and RecordProducer, best known as the principal songwriter for Music/TheBeachBoys, and the eldest brother of Music/DennisWilson and Carl Wilson.

* 1992 - ''Music/SweetInsanity'' [[note]]Cancelled album)[[/note]]

* 1992 - ''Music/SweetInsanity'' (Cancelled album)

It was not to be. For reasons too numerous to list here, ''[=SMiLE=]'' was shelved, and Brian's musical productivity slowed considerably as he [[CreatorBreakdown withdrew from the world]]. Following a diagnosis for schizoaffective disorder (a condition that combines symptoms of schizophrenia and mood disorders like bipolar) which he further exacerbated with drug abuse, Brian holed himself up in his house for a number of years, surfacing only occasionally to aid the 'Boys. With over a decade of "help" from controversial therapist [[TheSvengali Eugene Landy]][[note]]who was secretly using Brian to obtain fame and fortune by leeching off his name[[/note]], Brian was able to more or less restore his health and some level of musical productivity, releasing a self-titled solo album in 1988. A follow-up called ''Sweet Insanity'' was completed, but never released.

* SopranoAndGravel: Brian Wilson and Mike Love have got to be one of the most famous singing duos of this nature.

* 1988 - ''Brian Wilson''

Brian Douglas Wilson (born June 20, 1942) is an American SingerSongwriter, musician, arranger, and RecordProducer, best known as the principal songwriter for Music/TheBeachBoys, and brother of Music/DennisWilson and Carl Wilson.

** Also the subject of one from Music/WeirdAlYankovic, whose "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tqDBB0no6dQ Pancreas]]" is a pretty dead-on pastiche of Brian's music, particularly ''[[Music/{{Smile}} [=SMiLE=]]]''.

* {{Cloudcuckoolander}}: Oh yes! While his, um, idiosyncratic sense of humor and thought processes were always there, it really reached full flower during the ''[[Music/{{Smile}} [=SMiLE=]]]'' period. Handing out plastic firefighter hats at a recording session, putting his piano in a sandbox in his living room, and erecting an indoor tent is only the tip of the iceberg that was his multi-faceted creative process back in the day. Oh, and his chance meeting with Van Dyke Parks resulted in a perfect storm of cloudcuckoolandish music and lyrics.

** ''[[Music/{{Smile}} [=SMiLE=]]]'' was intended to be one. Even incomplete, the idea of a trip across America in a child's mindset as a "Teenage Symphony to God" is applicable (although even then it doesn't explain all the themes). The 2004 version fleshes out the concept further.

* DemotedToExtra: To a gradual extent, both as a songwriter and performer, following the failure of ''[[Music/{{Smile}} [=SMiLE=]]]'', to a point where '70s albums featured little involvement from him. Even more so after beginning his solo career, though the 2012 reunion saw the band feng shui restored, and then some. While a bit generalizing, sure, some fans are of the opinion that the quality of a Beach Boys album is often dependent on the level of Brian's involvement.

* EverythingIsAnInstrument: In particular during the ''Music/PetSounds'' / ''[[Music/{{Smile}} [=SMiLE=]]]'' era. In the first example, we have dog barks, a bicycle and Coca-Cola cans; in the second example, we have celery, construction tools and a key chain as percussion.

* {{Instrumentals}}: A few. Notably, "Mrs. O'Leary's Cow" (a re-titled "The Elements: Fire") won a Grammy Award for Best Instrumental. You gotta figure that must have been pretty cathartic for Brian considering its part in his abandoning ''[[Music/{{Smile}} [=SMiLE=]]]''.

* MeaningfulName: As evidenced on the documentary ''Beautiful Dreamer: The Story of Brian Wilson and [[Music/{{Smile}} [=SMiLE=]]]'' by Brian himself, his initials BDW can stand for "Beautiful Dreamer Wake," the three first words of the song "Beautiful Dreamer" by Stephen Foster. It isn't made clear if this was intentional however.

* SongStyleShift: This is what Brian was all about during the ''Music/{{SMiLE}}'' era, most famously "Good Vibrations", pieced together from a number of musically divergent sections. Even now, he continues to employ this modular approach to composing to various extents.

* StandardSnippet: Particularly during the ''Music/{{SMiLE}}'' days... part of his vision was to celebrate American musical history.

* VaporWare: ''Music/{{SMiLE}}'' is (or perhaps was, depending on your definition) music's greatest such example.

* WordSaladLyrics: Though not his lyrics, ''Music/{{SMiLE}}'' is notorious for this. Notably, a certain infamous disagreement about lyrics served as just another nail in the coffin for Brian's master-work; Mike Love repeatedly complained that he couldn't make sense of Van Dyke Parks' words and had no idea what the hell he was singing about.

A musical prodigy from birth, he ironically suffered from complete deafness in one ear. [[note]]Several theories exist as to how that happened; the most popular one being that it resulted from repeated beatings by his domineering father Murry.[[/note]] During TheSixties, as his group enjoyed increasing success and popularity, Brian withdrew from touring to focus entirely on writing and producing. Brian's increased focus on introspective existential angst birthed ''Music/PetSounds'', regarded as one of the best pop albums of all time. His follow-up project, a "teenage symphony to God" entitled ''[[Music/{{Smile}} [=SMiLE=]]]'', was intended to mark The Beach Boys' ascendancy to the pinnacle of popular music.

* 2004 - ''[[Music/BrianWilsonPresentsSmile Brian Wilson Presents [=SMiLE=]]]''

* BadassBeard / BeardOfSorrow: A mainstay of his reclusive years.

* AscendedFanboy: One of his formative musical experiences was hearing Music/GeorgeGershwin's "Rhapsody in Blue". Many decades later, Brian not only recorded a cover album in which he attempted to complete some of Gershwin's unfinished music, but also received the prestigious Gershwin Award for Lifetime Musical Achievement.

* UnfortunateName: ''Sweet Insanity''. Now granted, it's taken from a song lyric (see AlbumTitleDrop) but it's still more than a little uncomfortable given his situation at the time.

Brian Douglas Wilson (born June 20, 1942) is an American SingerSongwriter, musician, arranger, and RecordProducer, best known as the principal songwriter for Music/TheBeachBoys, and brother of Music/DennisWilson and Carl Wilson. A musical prodigy from birth, he ironically suffered from complete deafness in one ear. [[note]]Several theories exist as to how that happened; the most popular one being that it resulted from repeated beatings by his domineering father Murry.[[/note]] During TheSixties, as his group enjoyed increasing success and popularity, Brian withdrew from touring to focus entirely on writing and producing. Brian's increased focus on introspective existential angst birthed ''Music/PetSounds'', regarded as one of the best pop albums of all time. His follow-up project, a "teenage symphony to God" entitled ''[[Music/{{Smile}} [=SMiLE=]]]'', was intended to mark The Beach Boys' ascendancy to the pinnacle of popular music.

!!Studio and Live Discography:

After being legally separated from Landy in [[TheNineties 1991]], Brian was able to tap into a level of productivity not seen for three decades; to everyone's surprise, he conquered his still-lingering stage fright to perform live. In 2004, Brian resurrected ''[=SMiLE=]'' for a series of live shows; the unanimous praise resulted in a solo studio version of the album, which also resulted in his first Grammy. Since then, he has released a steady stream of solo recordings, and even rejoined with The Beach Boys on a number of occasions, finally releasing the original ''[=SMiLE=]]'' sessions in 2011, reaffirming his belief in his masterpiece amongst lavish critical praise. [[EarnYourHappyEnding Truly the story of a man who learned to "smile!"]]

Brian Douglas Wilson (born June 20, 1942) is an American SingerSongwriter, musician, arranger, and RecordProducer, best known as the principal songwriter for Music/TheBeachBoys, and brother of Music/DennisWilson and Carl Wilson. A musical prodigy from birth, he ironically suffered from complete deafness in one ear. [[note]]Several theories exist as to how that happened; the most popular one being that it resulted from repeated beatings by his domineering father Murry.[[/note]] During TheSixties, as his group enjoyed increasing success and popularity, Brian withdrew from touring to focus entirely on writing and producing. Brian's increased focus on introspective existential angst birthed ''Music/PetSounds'', regarded as one of the best pop albums of all time. His follow-up project, a "teenage symphony to God" entitled ''[[Music/{{Smile}} [=SMiLE=]]]'' marked The Beach Boys' ascendancy to the pinnacle of popular music.

It was not to be. For reasons too numerous to list here, ''[[Music/{{Smile}} [=SMiLE=]]]'' was shelved, and Brian's musical productivity slowed considerably as he [[CreatorBreakdown withdrew from the world]]. Following a diagnosis for schizoaffective disorder (a condition that combines symptoms of schizophrenia and mood disorders like bipolar) which he further exacerbated with drug abuse, Brian holed himself up in his house for a number of years, surfacing only occasionally to aid the 'Boys. With over a decade of "help" from controversial therapist [[TheSvengali Eugene Landy]][[note]]who was secretly using Brian to obtain fame and fortune by leeching off his name[[/note]], Brian was able to more or less restore his health and some level of musical productivity, releasing a self-titled solo album in 1988. A follow-up called ''Sweet Insanity'' was completed, but never released.

After being legally separated from Landy in [[TheNineties 1991]], Brian was able to tap into a level of productivity not seen for three decades; to everyone's surprise, he conquered his still-lingering stage fright to perform live. In 2004, Brian resurrected ''[[Music/{{Smile}} [=SMiLE=]]]'' for a series of live shows; the unanimous praise resulted in a solo studio version of the album, which also resulted in his first Grammy. Since then, he has released a steady stream of solo recordings, and even rejoined with The Beach Boys on a number of occasions, finally releasing the original ''[[Music/{{Smile}} [=SMiLE=]]]'' sessions in 2011, reaffirming his belief in his masterpiece amongst lavish critical praise. [[EarnYourHappyEnding Truly the story of a man who learned to "smile!"]]

->''Hi, this is Brian Wilson of Music/TheBeachBoys, and I don't know who knows me, but I hope they like my music.''