Elton John, Mick Fleetwood and more pay tribute to Beach Boys singer Brian Wilson

June 11, 2025 2

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Tributes poured in for Beach Boys singer Brian Wilson on Wednesday following his death at age 82.

The singer’s family shared the news of his death on social media, saying they are “heartbroken” and “sharing our grief with the world.”

Among those who posted messages and memories of Wilson were Elton John, Mick Fleetwood and actor John Cusack, who played Wilson in the 2014 film Love and Mercy.

Elton shared on Instagram that Wilson was “always so kind to me from the day I met him,” noting how Wilson sang “Someone Saved My Life Tonight” to him at a 2003 tribute concert.

“I grew to love him as a person, and for me, he was the biggest influence on my songwriting ever; he was a musical genius and revolutionary,” he added. “He changed the goalposts when it came to writing songs and shaped music forever. A true giant.”

Cusack shared photos of him and Wilson on social platform X, writing, “The maestro has passed – the man was a open heart with two legs – with an ear that heard the angels. Quite literally. Love and Mercy for you and yours tonight.”

Fleetwood noted on X, “Anyone with a musical bone in their body must be grateful for Brian Wilson’s genius magical touch!! And greatly saddened of this major worldly loss!!”

Others paying tribute include:

The Rolling Stones‘ Ronnie Wood, who wrote that his world “is in mourning” following the news of Wilson’s death, as well as the death of Sly and the Family Stone frontman Sly Stone. His bandmate Keith Richards wrote, “Rest In Peace, Brian Wilson.”

Sean Ono Lennon, the son of John Lennon and Yoko Ono, shared a post on X about how “heart broken” he is and shared how much Wilson influenced him. “I feel very lucky that I was able to meet him and spend some time with him,” he wrote. “He was always very kind and generous. He was our American Mozart. A one of a kind genius from another world.”

The Kinks‘ Dave Davies shared that Wilson had a “profound effect” on him, adding, “I’m devastated. I loved his Singing. He was an innovator and his writing prowess was remarkable. I loved him.”

There were also tributes from Carole King, The Monkees‘ Micky Dolenz, KISS‘ Gene Simmons, Christopher Cross, Nancy Sinatra and Randy Bachman.