You can’t reduce a genius like Brian Wilson down to a singular accomplishment. But it is worth noting how many of us, immediately after learning of his passing Wednesday at age 82, went to YouTube, Spotify,

Saying farewell to Brian Wilson, the Beach Boys visionary who created a perfect tableau of Southern California heartbreak

Sting paid tribute to Brian Wilson during his concert in Rostock, Germany, on Wednesday, June 12. "Today, one of my heroes died, Brian Wilson from the Beach Boys, so I want to sing a song that I love,

Singer Elton John posted a photo of him and Wilson, writing, “Brian Wilson was always so kind to me from the day I met him. He sang ‘Someone Saved My Life Tonight’ at a tribute concert in 2003, and it was an extraordinary moment for me.”

There have been loads of tributes for Brian Wilson after his death last week at age 82. Many of these have come from his contemporaries, of course, and some have come from bands he never met. The cynical part of me wants to say some have come from artists just trying to be noticed because of an attachment to the Beach Boys founder.

There are almost no corners of the music world that Beach Boys co-founder Brian Wilson didn’t touch, so since news broke earlier today that he had died at age 82, there have been an outpouring of tributes from friends, fans, and fellow musicians. In many cases it’s all three in one person.

The simple purity of God Only Knows, and the glorious harmonies of its recorded version have become a touchstone of modern music, and a shared password of musical passion.

When inducting Brian Wilson into the songwriters Hall of Fame, Paul McCartney recalled how Wilson's 'God Only Knows" brought him to tears. The passing of Wilson at 82, brought many to tears remembering how he had brought joy to them as the founder,