Brian Wilson Net Worth

Brian Wilson's Quotes

• I'm not a genius. I'm just a hard working guy.
• I'd earned over a million dollars by the time I was old enough to vote.
• "My new band is better then The Beach Boys".
• "The Four Freshmen influenced me the most, with their great harmonies. Whew! The greatest".
• For me, making music has always been a very spiritual thing, and I think anybody who produces records has to feel that, at least a little bit. Producing a record, the idea of taking a song, envisioning the overall sound in my head and then bringing the arrangement to life in the studio, well that gives me satisfaction like nothing else.

Interesting Facts about Brian Wilson

1. First cousin of Mike Love.
2. Father, with Marilyn Wilson, of Carnie Wilson and Wendy Wilson.
3. Inducted by Elton John into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (as a member of The Beach Boys) on 20 January 1988.
4. His songs 'California Girls' and 'Good Vibrations' have been played more than three million times, 'I Get Around', 'Help me, Rhonda' and 'Wouldn't it be Nice' more than two million times, on radio. [1998]
5. Older brother of Carl Wilson and Dennis Wilson.
6. Subject of the hit song "Brian Wilson" by the Barenaked Ladies.
7. Became a virtual recluse after the "Smile" project was abandoned which, by all accounts, would have been on a par with The Beatles' "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band".
8. Was a board member for the Monterey Pop Festival.
9. Confessed years later that one entire album side (from 1965's 'The Beach Boys Today') had been written and arranged under marijuana's influences.
10. Almost completely deaf in his right ear, from an early accident. While he has never heard stereo music, his ear for balance between sounds is unusually strong; he preferred to mix in mono because he noticed stereo was off-balance unless one was directly between the speakers. (Later productions of his are in stereo, or binaural sound.)
11. Founded "Sea of Tunes" as The Beach Boys' publishing company with his father Murry Wilson; eventually lost all his 1960s song copyrights when Murry sold the company at the band's late-1960s low point. It was later proved that Brian had been tricked and hounded into signing over control to Murry, and documentation for the company was faulty or nonexistent - and "Sea of Tunes" buyers Irving Music had profited directly from this. While Brian couldn't regain ownership of his early songs, he was ultimately awarded $25 million by a California court, for his loss. Cousin and co-writer Mike Love, in turn, filed for a share of this from Brian, for songs - including "California Girls" - Murry had never credited him with, and was awarded $12 million. (There was reportedly no malice involved in the suit; with the two men unable to come to terms on their own, they turned to the courts to settle the matter.).
12. Recently revisited his long-shelved "Smile" album (co-written with Van Dyke Parks), finally completing the project, with plans to both release the album and perform it live on tour, with current backup band, Wondermints (March 2004).
13. The Beach Boys were voted the 12th Greatest Rock 'n' Roll Artists of all time by "Rolling Stone" magazine.
14. With the death of brother Carl Wilson in 1998, he became the last surviving original member of the Wilson family.
15. Years of smoking six packs of cigarettes a day damaged his voice; even though he no longer smokes, he sings without the range and smoothness of his early days. When he performs Beach Boys songs during shows, another vocalist often takes Wilson's former parts, while Wilson takes the parts recorded by Mike Love. He has referred to having a chest x-ray after he quit smoking as the bravest thing he ever did.
16. Inducted by Sir Paul McCartney into the Songwriter's Hall Of Fame June 2000
17. Names "California Girls" his favorite song out of all the songs he has written.
18. In June 2006, re-united with the original Beach Boys on top of the Capitol Records Building for the first time since 1996, and the first time without brother Carl.
19. Actually performed the song "Brian Wilson" by the Barenaked Ladies live with slight abridgments to one line, instead of "Playing my guitar and building castles in the sun", he said "Playing my piano and building castles in the sand".
20. No longer plays bass or guitar, and has played keyboards or piano since his 1985 performance at Live Aid in which he gave a solid performance of "Wouldn't It Be Nice", he first in many years.