The musical world lost a giant with news Wednesday that Brian Wilson, the Beach Boys’ visionary and fragile leader, had died.

The Beach Boys went way deeper than the radio hits they're best known for. Songs about surfing, girls, cars and sunny California were an early part of their history, no doubt. But once the group ...

“Heroes and Villains” might be one of the most complex songs in the Beach Boys’ discography, and with good reason. It is the opener of “Smile,” what Wilson called a “teenage symphony ...