Brian Wilson Quotes

32 Sourced Quotes

Now and then I'll be a little brief with some of my band members. I won't talk or I'll refrain from talking to my band while we're rehearsing. But basically I am friendly with people. … I'll go on cold streaks. I'll work with a collaborator then I'll stop calling the collaborator for a couple weeks. I'll say I need a break from you for a couple weeks. But they're "OK, fine, fine, I'll see you in two weeks."

Brian Wilson
I think because I felt so sad I had to bring out my feelings, and try to create music that would make me and all my friends feel better.

Brian Wilson
We wanted to bring some love to the world. I thought we were good at doing that. Bringin' love to the world.

Brian Wilson
Did I suffer from depression? Yes, a little, from time to time. Yes. … I'm not as depressed as I was. I get depressed now and then but not very much anymore. … At the height of it it was just God-awful. It was really bad.

Brian Wilson
I'm doing good. I've had a slight nervous breakdown in the '60s. I got through that. And I got through the '70s. And I was in a doctor's program during the '80s and then I met Melinda and we've been together ever since. I've got a happy life.

Brian Wilson
It was very competitive in the '60s. And everybody caught the bug, y'know? It was like a competitive bug. And, as far as I could see, everybody was turning everybody on. … The Beatles were a part of that whole competition thing. Rubber Soul blew my mind. It really made me wanna record; it made me wanna cut. It sounds like a collection of songs that belong together, and it was an uplifting feeling. So I thought I'd make a collection of songs — called Pet Sounds — together. That's how I got that idea. … I'm proud of it. I think it's a very everlasting album. I'm very proud of the love that went into it. A lot of love went into that album. And people pick up on that too, and they really like it 'cause they feel the love.

Brian Wilson
It started out — my mom and dad took a little vacation to Mexico and they left $250 for food. But instead of food we went and bought some instruments. We got a bass, guitar and a set of drums. … I was 19. Dennis was 15. Carl was 17. Mike was 18. Al was 19. And so we wrote a song called "Surfin'" in my living room. We were all playing and singing and Mike and I wrote a song called "Surfin'" and that's how it all started.

Brian Wilson
I wanted to write joyful music that made other people feel good. That's what I tried to do for the past 27 years.

Brian Wilson
When people hear music that is spiritual it gets through. Music that is Godlike and loving gets through. I don't have any power in this world, but I have spiritual power. I think God gave me my music and my talent. I'm trying to get across a feeling of spirituality; I think I have a spiritual influence on people.

Brian Wilson
My mother used to tell me about vibrations. I didn't really understand too much of what that meant when I was just a boy. It scared me, the word "vibrations." To think that invisible feelings, invisible vibrations existed, scared me to death. But she told about dogs that would bark at people and then not bark at others, that a dog would pick up vibrations from these people that you can't see, but you can feel. And the same existed with people.

Brian Wilson
My cousin came over to my house one day just to fool around and we said — he said, some day we should start a rock n' roll group. We could all get together. And I said, I know I guy named Al Jardine who plays bass and could probably sing good. You know. So we went from there.

Brian Wilson
Drive for a couple miles
You'll see a sign and turn left
For a couple blocks
Next is mine, you'll turn left on a little road
It's a bumpy one.

Brian Wilson
If there's not love present, it's much, much harder to function. When there's love present, it's easier to deal with life.

Brian Wilson
Take all the time you need
It's a lovely night
If you decide to come
You're gonna do it right.

Brian Wilson
I met Paul in 1967, Ringo in 1985, and I saw George Harrison in a nightclub somewhere in L. A. I never met John.

Brian Wilson
I would have the musicians keep playing over and over again till the sound made sense. I worked overtime on that; I worked hours to get it right. If the sound didn't make any sense, then I wouldn't know what to do — I'd be lost! It's instinct that tells me. I have an instinct for music, or a feeling about it, and I'll have my feelings guide my hands.

Brian Wilson
Well, she got her daddy's car
And she cruised through the hamburger stand now
Seems she forgot all about the library
Like she told her old man now
And with the radio blasting goes cruising
Just as fast as she can now
And she'll have fun, fun, fun
Till her daddy takes the T-Bird away

Brian Wilson
I went through a lot of changes in the years from when I first started out.

Brian Wilson
Being single is like liking a Phil Spector record.

Brian Wilson
Humor — it helps to make the vibe better — it loosens up the vibrations.

Brian Wilson
Spirituality amounts to love with me. I consider it the same as love. And my band members are full of love.

Brian Wilson
I talked to Paul McCartney over the years ranging from 1967 to 2004. … At the landmine show he did "God Only Knows" with me and I did "Let It Be" with him. And then I called him about four months ago asking him if he could come out and do — sing a song called "A Friend Like You," which I wrote for him, me and my collaborator wrote for him. And he said he'd love to come out. And he came to the studio and that was one of the bigger thrills of my life to tell you the truth, to produce Paul McCartney. And that was a thrill for me. That was a thrill.

Brian Wilson
Where did your long hair go?
Where is the girl I used to know?
How could you lose that happy glow?
Oh Caroline, no.

Brian Wilson
A voice or a song can be so comforting to someone who really needs it.

Brian Wilson
If you should ever leave me
Though life would still go on, believe me
The world could show nothing to me
So what good would livin' do me
God only knows what I'd be without you…

Brian Wilson
I was very, very surprised. I never thought I would be that loved or respected.

Brian Wilson
You know Chuck, Buddy, and Elvis paved the road
The roots are deep inside us
It's the rythm in our soul.

Brian Wilson
All of us have the privilege of making music that helps and heals — to make music that makes people happier, stronger and kinder. Don't forget: music is God's voice.

Brian Wilson
The sound was essentially background sound, myself, and Carl, Dennis and Al Jardine, Mike was our lead singer. The four of us put our voices together. We had done it really beautifully. We had a beautiful blend. We really did.

Brian Wilson
Being called a musical genius was a cross to bear. Genius is a big word. But if you have to live up to something, you might as well live up to that.

Brian Wilson