They say there are no second acts in American lives, and third acts
are almost unheard of. That's part of what makes Brian Wilson's story so
astonishing.
As a cofounding member of the Beach Boys in the 1960s, Wilson created
some of the most groundbreaking and timeless popular music ever
recorded. With intricate harmonies, symphonic structures, and wide-eyed
lyrics that explored life's most transcendent joys and deepest sorrows,
songs like In My Room, God Only Knows, and Good Vibrations forever
expanded the possibilities of pop songwriting. Derailed in the 1970s by
mental illness, drug use, and the shifting fortunes of the band, Wilson
came back again and again over the next few decades, surviving
and-finally-thriving. Now, for the first time, he weighs in on the
sources of his creative inspiration and on his struggles, the
exhilarating highs and the debilitating lows.
I Am Brian Wilson reveals as never before the man who fought his way
back to stability and creative relevance, who became a mesmerizing live
artist, who forced himself to reckon with his own complex legacy, and
who finally completed Smile, the legendary unfinished Beach Boys
record that had become synonymous with both his genius and its
destabilization. Today Brian Wilson is older, calmer, and filled with
perspective and forgiveness. Whether he's talking about his childhood,
his bandmates, or his own inner demons, Wilson's story, told in his own
voice and in his own way, unforgettably illuminates the man behind the
music, working through the turbulence and discord to achieve, at last, a
new harmony.
