Brian Wilson

Brian Wilson is arguably the greatest American composer of popular music in the rock era. As the founder of the Beach Boys, Wilson's songwriting captured the arc of innocence and turmoil that played out for those coming of age in the 1960s, quickly moving from the carefree fun of his early songs about cars, surfing, and teenage love to the complex self-inspection and vulnerability exhibited on his 1966 masterpiece Pet Sounds. Wilson's drive for experimentation only heightened as his music fell out of mainstream favor, but his art would also be influenced by his mental health s...