Beach Boys co-founder Brian Wilson, who created some of rock’s most enduring songs such as Good Vibrations and God Only Knows in a career that was marked by a decades-long battle between his musical genius, drug abuse and mental health issues, has died at the age of 82.

Wilson’s family announced his death in a statement on the singer’s website.

“We are at a loss for words right now,” the statement said.

“We realise that we are sharing our grief with the world.”

The statement did not disclose a cause of death.

Wilson had suffered from dementia and was unable to care for himself after his wife Melinda Wilson died in early 2024, prompting his family to put him under conservatorship.

Wilson was the eldest and last surviving of the three musical brothers who formed the US rock band in 1961, alongside their cousin Mike Love and school friend Al Jardine.

His band, known for their vocal harmonies, signed with Capitol Records in 1962 and released their first album, Surfin’ Safari, that same year.

Wilson was born on June 20 1942, and began to play the piano and teach his brothers to sing harmony as a young boy.

The Beach Boys started as a neighbourhood act, rehearsing in Wilson’s bedroom and in the garage of their house in suburban Hawthorne, California.

In the group Wilson played bass while his brother Dennis was the drummer and Carl played lead guitar.

Their debut single, Surfin’, became a minor hit on its release in 1961 but was nothing compared with the success that followed from their second studio album, Surfin’ USA, released in 1963.

The band were managed by the trio’s father, Murry Wilson, but by mid-decade he had been displaced and Brian, who had been running the band’s recording sessions almost from the start, was in charge.

They were inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall of Fame in 1988 and received a Lifetime Achievement Grammy Award in 2001.

The Beach Boys’ biggest hits included California Girls, Surfin’ USA and Good Vibrations.

with PA