Musical genius | Brian Wilson and the wind

Brian Wilson once described himself in one of his songs as "a leaf on a windy day" being tossed through the air - "until I die". That was in 1971 and he thought it wouldn't be long now. His gardener should start digging a grave, he said. You had to imagine the singer, composer and producer of the Beach Boys as an unhappy genius who lived only on coffee, sugar and cigarettes - severely overweight in his pajamas in his bed, which he hardly dared to leave. More or less for decades, because he wanted to invent a new music, which he only heard in his head: a symphony for teenagers and God all at once, called "Smile".

He started at the end of 1966. The single "Good Vibrations" was released. Production cost $50,000 and took six months, making it the most expensive single of all time up to that point. Three and a half minutes, created from 90 hours of audio material. Nothing compared to the surf singles that made the Beach Boys famous in the early 1960s and which Wilson had to come up with on the fly. Like his role model Phil Spector , Brian Wilson was one of the first musicians to understand the studio as a musical instrument. And albums as an art form in their own right: in early 1966 he created the masterpiece "Pet Sounds" , which impressed the Beatles so much that they released "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band " in 1967. "Smile" was supposed to be the ultimate answer, but it didn't come out until 2004. It all took forever. It wasn't until the end of the 1980s that Wilson was able to move halfway decently again. The advice of his psychiatrist Eugene Landy was important: "If you hear voices in your head, just change the station, like on the radio."

Once again, the family was to blame. Brian Wilson was teased, beaten, and despised. First by his monstrous father, then by his cousins, less so by his brothers, with whom he formed the Beach Boys, but also by his first wife.

Brian Wilson outlived them all. A peaceful man whom everyone eventually took to and called – like Sean Lennon – the "American Mozart." He died last Wednesday, nine days before his 83rd birthday. The wind carried him for a long time.