Brian Wilson, leader of iconic pop-rock band The Beach Boys, has passed away, his family said on Wednesday. He was 82.

"We are heartbroken to announce that our beloved father Brian Wilson has passed away," his family said in a statement.

"We are at a loss for words right now. Please respect our privacy at this time as our family is grieving."

Brian Wilson was the eldest and last surviving of three musical brothers in the Beach Boys — and the driving force behind the band.

How did the Beach Boys form?

Born on June 20, 1942, in a suburb of Los Angeles, Brian Wilson found refuge in music amid a childhood marked by abuse from his controlling father — who would later become the band's manager.

Music became Wilson's sanctuary. He would gather his brothers around the Hammond organ in their living room, teaching them jazz and gospel harmonies.

At 19, Wilson formed The Beach Boys as a family project with his brothers Dennis and Carl, cousin Mike Love, and neighbor Al Jardine, who lived just around the corner in Hawthorne. 

Wilson would be the band's main creative drive, handling the songwriting and musical arrangements and playing bass guitar.

The Beach Boys signed with Capitol Records in 1962 and released their first album, Surfin' Safari, the same year. 

What is Brian Wilson's legacy?

The Beach Boys' best-known tracks included "California Girls," "Surfin' USA" and "I Get Around." What appeared to be an inexhaustible string of feel-good hits made them into the US's biggest-selling band of the period. However, they also garnered critical acclaim.

While the band gained fame for their sunny surf anthems, Wilson's lyrics evolved into raw explorations of loneliness, insecurity, and longing. Songs included like "God Only Knows," "Caroline, No," and "I Just Wasn’t Made for These Times."

Wilson's magnum opus, the 1966 album "Pet Sounds," is consistently ranked among the greatest albums of all time — pushing new boundaries in studio production. It used complex harmonies, unconventional instruments, and introspective lyrics.

Then, after five years of astonishing creativity, Wilson spiraled into a prolonged, drug-fueled depression that would engulf him for decades.

During that time, the Beach Boys were inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall of Fame in 1988 and clinched a Lifetime Achievement Grammy Award in 2001. 

More than 35 years later, Wilson reemerged to finally complete "Smile," a long-lost Beach Boys album often hailed among his crowning artistic achievements.

Edited by: Zac Crellin