Elton John shares moving tribute to “biggest influence” Brian Wilson
Music legend Elton John paid tribute to Beach Boys frontman Brian Wilson after his death, which was confirmed on June 11th.
Wilson’s passing was confirmed on social media by his children. His family have refrained from revealing Wilson’s cause of death. However, last year, it was revealed Wilson was suffering from dementia after a conservatorship was filed following the death of his wife, Melinda.
Following the tragic news, Elton took to Instagram to post an old photo of himself in a recording studio with the Good Vibrations hitmaker.
“Brian Wilson was always so kind to me from the day I met him,” the post began. “He sang ‘Someone Saved My Life Tonight’ at a tribute concert in 2003, and it was an extraordinary moment for me. I played on his solo records, he sang on my album, The Union, and even performed for my AIDS Foundation,” he continued.
The ‘Rocket Man’ singer added, “I grew to love him as a person, and for me, he was the biggest influence on my songwriting ever; he was a musical genius and revolutionary. He changed the goalposts when it came to writing songs and shaped music forever. A true giant.”
The Beach Boys and Elton John share an extensive history which dates back over half a century. On June 21st, 1975, John headlined a monumental all-day show at Wembley Stadium alongside the Beach Boys, for almost 100,000 people. The year prior, two members of the Californian group secretly provided backing vocals for Elton’s track, ‘Don’t Let The Sun Go Down On Me’.
According to Elton, Pet Sounds was a “landmark” moment in the history of music due to the shockwaves it sent across the entirety of the music industry. “Pet Sounds is a landmark album,” John is quoted as saying on Brian Wilson’s official website. “For me to say that I was enthralled would be an understatement. I had never heard such magical sounds, so amazingly recorded.”
As recently as 2023, Elton shared his affection publicly for the late Beach Boys singer. For the singer’s 80th birthday, he said in a video message: “Hi Brian, it’s Elton, have a wonderful 80th birthday with Melinda and your family. I’m in Denmark, but I send you so much love. You’ve inspired me all my life, to me, you’re the only real pop genius in the world, and I love you very much.”
Other tributes have poured in for Wilson, including from Bob Dylan who mentioned how he has spent years “admiring his genius,” and Beach Boys co-founder Al Jardine, who “will always feel blessed that you were in our lives for as long as you were.”
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