following the recent death of Brian Wilson, the legendary pop innovator and creative force behind The Beach Boys, heartfelt tributes have poured in, highlighting the profound impact he had on the music world. among those sharing their admiration is Paul McCartney, who has long been a vocal champion of Wilson’s genius, particularly his work on “God Only Knows.”

Wilson passed away on June 11 at the age of 82, prompting an outpouring of grief and remembrance from fans and fellow musicians alike. Social media has been flooded with anecdotes and shared memories, including those highlighting the mutual respect and admiration between McCartney and Wilson.

Despite a kind sense of competition between The Beatles and The Beach Boys,born from mutual respect and a desire to push creative boundaries,there was never any animosity between the bands. Both acts were fans of each other’s work, spurring each other on to greater heights.

McCartney’s admiration for Wilson has been well-documented over the years, and Wilson reciprocated the sentiment. The two even shared the stage in 2002, performing The Beach Boys’ iconic “God Only Knows” together at a benefit concert.

In 2000, McCartney had the honor of inducting Wilson into the Songwriters Hall of Fame, were they reminisced about their “rivalry” and the impact they had on each other’s music.

During his induction speech, Macca shared, “In the ’60s, particularly, he wrote some music that when I played it, it made me cry and I don’t quite know why… It wasn’t necessarily the words or the music, it’s just something so deep in it, that there’s only certain pieces of music that can do this to me… I think it’s a sign of great genius to be able to do that with a bunch of music and a bunch of notes.And this man, he deserves to be in the Hall of Fame, that’s for sure.”

He continued,”So thank you,sir,for making me cry. For having that thing you can do with your music – you just put those notes, those harmonies together, stick a couple of words over the top and you’ve got me, any day.”

McCartney famously declared Wilson and The Beach Boys’ “God Only Knows” as “the greatest song ever written” in the ’90s. He reiterated this sentiment in 2003 for the book Wouldn’t it Be Nice: Brian Wilson and the Making of the Beach Boys’ Pet Sounds.

In 2004, Wilson released his solo album, ‘Gettin’ In Over My Head’, which featured a collaboration with McCartney titled ‘A Friend Like You’.

McCartney further emphasized his admiration in a 2007 BBC Radio 1 interview: “‘God Only Knows’ is one of the few songs that reduces me to tears every time I hear it.It’s really just a love song, but it’s brilliantly done. It shows the genius of Brian. I’ve actually performed it with him, and I’m afraid to say that during the soundcheck, I broke down.It was just too much to stand there singing this song that dose my head in and to stand there singing it with brian. So all it is indeed, it’s little vibrations reaching your music, it’s only little vibrations, little words, and little things.There is this powerful effect, you know.”

In a 2012 conversation with The Rolling Stones’ Ronnie Wood,McCartney reflected on performing ‘God Only Knows’ with Wilson in 2002: “I got to sing it with Brian once when we did a benefit together. I was okay at the actual performance, I held it together. But at the rehearsal, at the soundcheck, I lost it, because it’s very emotional, this song, I find it… ‘oh my god, I’m singing with Brian,’ it just got me, I couldn’t.”

“So all it is indeed, it’s little vibrations reaching your music, it’s only little vibrations, little words, and little things. There is this powerful effect, you know.”

As recently as 2021, during a discussion with Rick Rubin, McCartney again highlighted Wilson and The Beach Boys’ influence on The Beatles: “Beach Boys, I think was a big influence on our harmony. There was a little intercontinental rivalry – mainly Brian, his writing. I think he’d heard one of our albums and thought ‘I’ve got to do better’, and that was ‘Pet Sounds’, which I love and it’s still one of my big albums. So atmospheric and different, and yet it was the Beach Boys still.And we heard ‘Pet Sounds’ and thought ‘We gotta do something better than that.’ And so we did ‘Sgt. Pepper…'”.