Brian Wilson was a musician.
Brian Douglas Wilson ( born June 20 , 1942 ) is an American musician , singer , songwriter , and record producer best known for being the multi-tasking leader and co-founder of the rock band the Beach Boys . Because of his unorthodox approaches to song composition and arrangement and mastery of recording techniques , he is widely acknowledged , by critics and musicians alike , as one of the most innovative and influential creative forces in popular music . In the mid-1960s , Wilson composed , arranged and produced Pet Sounds ( 1966 ) , considered one of the greatest albums ever made . His honors include being inducted into the 1988 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and winning Grammy Awards for Brian Wilson Presents Smile ( 2004 ) and The Smile Sessions ( 2011 ) . In lists published by Rolling Stone , Wilson ranked 52 for the `` 100 Greatest Singers of All Time '' in 2008 and 12 for the `` 100 Greatest Songwriters of All Time '' in 2015 .