Brian Wilson’s 80th Birthday

Photo by Tour Bus Live

The past week, many of the greatest legends in the history of rock ‘n’ roll officially entered their eighties. On Saturday, Paul McCartney turned 80-years-old and today The Beach Boys’ leader Brian Wilson also hits the big 8-0.

Born on June 20th, 1942 in Inglewood, California, Brian Wilson would develop into what many refer to as a complete “genius” for his musical contributions. He co-founded The Beach Boys in 1961 with his brothers Dennis and Carl Wilson, their cousin Mike Love, and friend Al Jardin. The Beach Boys would become one of the most popular bands in history releasing a massive amount of hits and creating the quintessential California beach sound.

Even at 80 years old, Brian Wilson is continuing his love for music and still performs. He is currently on tour with Chicago and performed a couple of weeks ago in both Los Angeles and Orange County. Although there are many known facts about the legend, here are some more things you might not have known about Brian Wilson:

Apparently Wilson has extremely diminished hearing in his right ear.
Because he was so distracted by the radio dial, it took Wilson five attempts to pass his driver’s license test.
The Beach Boys song Caroline, No was inspired by Wilson’s high school crush, a cheerleader named Carol Mountain.
The Beach Boys were originally called The Pendletones, after the shirts worn by popular surfers.
Paul McCartney called Wilson’s God Only Knows the “best song ever written.”
While recording Smile, Wilson had a sandbox installed around his piano so he could feel the sand between his toes when writing.
Good Vibrations came about from a discussion Wilson had with his mother about how dogs can sense a friendly person because they can “feel the vibrations.”
When Wilson dropped acid for the very first time, he hid in his friend’s bed for hours because he was terrified of the hallucinations.
Wilson originally planned to send Girl Don’t Tell Me to The Beatles.
Wilson hated touring, but overcame his fear in order to promote his solo work.