The songwriter and producer behind the Beach Boys' sound, from surf anthems to the introspective Pet Sounds.
For a quick sense of his range, listen to 'God Only Knows' and then something like 'Let The Wind Blow.' They're from different eras, but you can hear the same ear for melody.
He wrote and produced early Beach Boys hits like 'Surfin' U.S.A.' and 'I Get Around,' songs that defined a California myth. Then he made Pet Sounds in 1966, an album that pushed pop into more personal, orchestrated territory with tracks like 'God Only Knows.' Later solo songs such as 'In Blue Hawaii' kept that imaginative streak alive.
He started making music with his brothers in Hawthorne in the early 1960s, forming the Beach Boys and crafting their surf-rock hits. After Pet Sounds, he continued writing and recording through various phases, both with the band and on his own, exploring different sounds in songs like 'Barnyard.'
Keep it compact: a lyric you come back to, a live memory, or the part of the catalog you would point someone toward first.
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