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What is Elton John’s opinion on The Beach Boys and Brian Wilson
Elton John started his musical career in the 60s being part of many bands and also working as a session musician. His solo debut album was released in 1969 and he became a huge superstar in the early 70s with the release of influential albums like “Madman Across the Water” (1971) and “Goodbye Yellow Brick Road” (1973).
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The musician was always interested in what was happening in the music business and is famous for going to record stores almost every week to buy albums. So over the decades he talked about many bands and artists, including The Beach Boys and Brian Wilson.
What is Elton John’s opinion on The Beach Boys and Brian Wilson
Known for the incredible melodies he created to fit the lyrics written by Bernie Taupin, Elton John always admired bands that created beautiful melodies. So The Beach Boys are obviously one of them and he praised the band’s mastermind Brian Wilson multiple times over the decades.
As pointed on Brian Wilson’s official website, the groundbreaking album “Pet Sounds” is one of his favorite ones. “Pet Sounds is a landmark album. For me to say that I was enthralled would be an understatement. I had never heard such magical sounds, so amazingly recorded. It undoubtedly changed the way that I, and countless others, approached recording. It is a timeless and amazing recording of incredible genius and beauty.”
He had the chance to meet Wilson and even recalled once in an interview with Howard Stern that the Beach Boys member tried to sell him his piano. Elton was the one who inducted Brian into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1988.
He said in his speech (Transcribed by Rock and Roll Garage): “As you might possibly guess, I’m English. In England, we sort of had all our own bands and all the American R&B music. But The Beach Boys were the first or the first white band I can remember being in England. If you live in England all you ever wanted to do was going to America. Everything you ever dreamed of was American.”
He continued:
“This band not only wrote great songs, initially writing surf music but they did more than that. As a musician, you graduated from just listening to pop songs to bands that produce new sounds and records. This band were geniuses, they still are. But they made me love America so much more because they existed. I’m not gonna go on about it but to me, they influenced my writing. They are for me what America is: a very, very, wonderful place to be,” Elton John said.
A few years later, in 2001, Elton had the chance to perform songs like “Wouldn’t Be Nice” and “God Only Knows” alongside Brian Wilson. That performance happened during an All-Star tribute to Wilson.
Brian Wilson once said he would like to be Elton John
In an interview with Mojo Magazine back in 2021, Brian Wilson was asked which famous artist he would like to be if he could choose. Curiously, his answer was Elton John. “That’s a hard question. I’d have to put Elton John at the top of that list because of his voice and he is great on piano. I admire him as a person too.”
After picking the legendary British pianist, songwriter and singer Elton John, Wilson was asked to name his favorite “Saturday Night Record. Again, he chose an Elton John track. “Anything rock ‘n’ roll is a great Saturday night record, all kinds. I can’t really pin one down. How about ‘Saturday Night’s Alright For Fighting’? That’s a good one from Elton,” Brian Wilson said.
