Brian Wilson, co-founder of The Beach Boys, dead at age 82

Brian Wilson, co-founder of American musical group The Beach Boys, has died at the age of 82. The news was confirmed by his family.

"We are heartbroken to announce that our beloved father Brian Wilson has passed away. We are at a loss for words right now", his family announced in a message on Instragram, in which they asked for privacy in this time of mourning.

Wilson struggled with mental issues much of his life. Schizophrenia and depression forced the genius songwriter to withdraw from the world as his popularity reached new milestones.

Born in 1942 and raised in Hawthorne, Calif., Wilson, his two younger brothers Carl and Dennis, his cousin Mike Love and his friend Al Jardine formed what would eventually become The Beach Boys while in high school. The group became one of the most important rock bands in the country, which shared the essence of the Californian youth of the 1960s in its music.

From 1962 to 1966, the band composed the most upbeat music in rock, with more than 200 songs about the sun, surfing and California girls ("Surfin' USA," "I get around," "Fun Fun Fun Fun," "Surfer girl"), making the Beach Boys the best-selling American band in the world.

From the age of 19 to 24, the bassist and singer matched the Beatles. John Lennon called "Pet Sounds" (1966) one of the greatest albums of all time.

After the innocence of the band's early compositions, the singer ruminated on the loss of youth and steered his band toward a more psychedelic rock that had its origins in hippie culture.

However, in 1967, his mental health deteriorated as a consequence of drug abuse.

It wasn't until 2002 that, remarried and the father of five adopted children (seven in all), the "Mozart of pop" returned to work on his masterpiece, "Smile," after a long stint of psychiatric hospitalizations, cures and relapses.

Afflicted with dementia in his later years, he was placed under custodianship in May 2024.