"He was our American Mozart," "a human who transformed inexpressible sadness into art..." - tributes to Brian Wilson, co-founder of the Beach Boys

Following the news of Brian Wilson's passing, tributes have been pouring in from across the music scene to pay tribute to the legendary Beach Boys co-founder, whose death was announced by his family on Wednesday .

"Anyone who really knows me knows how deeply saddened I am by the passing of Brian Wilson. Few people have influenced me as much," wrote Sean Ono Lennon, whose father, John Lennon—like the rest of the Beatles—was a Beach Boys fan, on X. "I feel very lucky to have been able to meet him and spend time with him. He was always very kind and generous. He was our American Mozart. A unique genius from another world."

On Instagram, Ahmir Thompson, aka Questlove, the drummer of The Roots, also posted a long message dedicated to Brian Wilson and Pet Sounds , the Beach Boys' 1966 masterpiece . "Honestly, if there's one human who turned inexpressible sadness into art... goddamn it, it was Brian Wilson. It breaks my heart that he had to go through all that to create this album (also: the Smile Outtakes , they're my compass). But man... without him, I don't know how so many artists who came after him would have felt safe expressing sadness that would otherwise have been ridiculed or repressed."

Keith Richards, founding guitarist of the Rolling Stones, wrote a laconic "Rest in peace!" on Instagram , along with a passage from his 2010 memoir, Life , in which he wrote: "I was more interested in their B-sides [the Beach Boys'] , the ones he would sneak in. There was no particular connection to what we were doing, so I could just listen to them on another level. I thought: these are very well-constructed songs." More in spirit, Ronnie Wood, the other guitarist of the Stones, wrote on X: "Oh no, Brian Wilson and Sly Stone in the same week: my world is in mourning. So sad." Mick Fleetwood, drummer of Fleetwood Mac, also paid tribute to the genius of Brian Wilson: "Anyone with the slightest musical fiber should be grateful for the genius and magic touch of Brian Wilson! And deeply saddened by this major loss to the world!" My thoughts are with his family and friends.”

Welsh musician John Cale, a member of the Velvet Underground from 1965 to 1968, a band with a musical aesthetic diametrically opposed to that of the Beach Boys, wrote on X: "For me, Brian Wilson was not just a surf artist, but a true musical genius who strove to fuse pop with striking sophistication. He will be terribly missed."

On Facebook, Carole King paid tribute to "[her] friend and [her] songwriting brother." She explained: "We shared a similar sensibility, as evidenced by his fourth-over-fifth chord under the 'Aaaah' in Good Vibrations, and mine in I'm Into Something Good . One day, we argued over which of us used it first, and in the end, we decided it didn't matter. The world will miss Brian, but we are incredibly lucky to have his music."

On Instagram, Nancy Sinatra wrote that "his beloved music will live on forever as he travels through the universe and beyond. God bless you, sweet Brian. One of the greatest moments of my life was singing California Girls with Brian ."

For his part, John Cusack, who played Brian Wilson in the 2014 biopic Love & Mercy , wrote on Bluesky : "The maestro has left us - the man was an open heart with two legs - with an ear that heard angels. Literally. Love and mercy to you and yours tonight. Rest in peace, Brian."