Carl Wilson

As a founding member of the Beach Boys, Carl Wilson and his band directly informed the pop culture landscape and rock and roll trends of the '60s, '70s, and beyond. His earliest contributions to the group were lead guitar, harmony vocals, and the select lead vocal here and there, but following his oldest brother Brian Wilson's stepping away from touring in 1965, Carl effectively took over as the band's on-stage director and general leader, guiding them through multiple decades of success both on tour and with radio hits. In addition, he acted as producer on tracks in a run of Beach Boys albums that included 1970's Sunflower, and emotionally driven sets like 1971's Surf's Up and 1973's Holland. Wilson briefly struck out as a solo artist in the early '80s, but remained a driving force in the Beach Boys camp until his death in 1998.