The word “genius” gets thrown around a lot when referring to musicians. But if anyone in the last five decades of popular music deserves that designation, it’s Brian Wilson (The Joint at the Hard Rock Hotel, 888.929.7849), the man whose work with the Beach Boys revolutionized pop and rock, influencing decades of future musicians and changing the way bands approached recording and touring. A list of Wilson’s hits with the Beach Boys could fill this entire space, but a small number of highlights include “I Get Around,” “Help Me, Rhonda,” “California Girls,” “Wouldn’t It Be Nice” and “Good Vibrations.”
Wilson had lived an often troubled life since gradually stepping away from the Beach Boys in the 1970s and ’80s, but since then, his reputation has only grown, and in recent years he’s been much more active in touring and recording, including a 2012 reunion with his fellow original Beach Boys. Wilson’s current tour, stopping on July 1 in Vegas, includes longtime Beach Boys members Al Jardine and Blondie Chaplin, celebrating the 50th anniversary of Beach Boys album Pet Sounds, often considered one of the greatest albums ever recorded. That’s real genius.
