Brian Wilson on the first time he met Paul McCartney: "It really blew my mind"

20 January 2026, 10:16 | Updated: 20 January 2026, 10:48

They had a unique connection.

From the outside, many perceived Brian Wilson and Paul McCartney to be the most bitter of rivals.

Understandably so – throughout the 1960s, The Beach Boys' and The Beatles' masterminds propelled their respective bands to unprecedented heights.

In their own way, both Wilson and McCartney experimented with pop music influencing the mainstream like few artists have done since.

They shared a fair amount of musical hallmarks: eyebrow raising chord structures, a desire to tinker in the studio with orchestration and recording techniques, and of course, immaculate melodies.

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They also shared similarities in so far that their bands created the cultural zeitgeist of the era, battling against one another throughout.

So, it was bound to be a special occasion when Wilson and McCartney first got together in person, having a sort of cultural conversation with each other with their songwriting for several years.

Wilson recalled their maiden meeting in his 2016 memoir I Am Brian Wilson, admitting: "It really blew my mind."

The pair certainly didn't enact the roles of bitter rivals which the press no doubt wanted them to play up to.

But Wilson was inspired and invigorated by The Beatles' success, with McCartney feeling the same about Wilson's vision for The Beach Boys.

They first met in a recording studio – a fitting locale – and it was there that Wilson found out that his 1966 classic 'God Only Knows' was one of The Beatles' favourite songs as a collective.

"It’s the kind of thing people write in liner notes and say on talk shows," he reflected. "When people read it, they kind of look at that sentence and keep going.

"But think about how much it mattered to me when I first heard it there on Sunset Boulevard.

"I was the person who wrote 'God Only Knows,' and here was another person – the person who wrote 'Yesterday' and 'And I Love Her' and so many other songs – saying it was his favourite. It really blew my mind."

They'd keep in touch after that initial meeting. Macca came over to Brian's house on one occasion to play him a new ballad he'd written for The Beatles, 'She's Leaving Home'.

The fact that Paul decided to share a song with Brian in this intimate moment had an enormous impact on him.

"[He]...told me about the new music he was working on," Wilson recalled. "'There’s one song I want you to hear,' he said. 'I think it’s a nice melody.'

"He put the tape on and it was 'She’s Leaving Home.' My wife, Marilyn, was there, too, and she just started crying."

"Listening to Paul play a new song let me see my own songs more clearly," he continued. "It was hard for me to think about the effect that my music had on other people, but it was easy to see when it was another songwriter."

The Beach Boys - God Only Knows (Official Music Video)

Whilst Paul and Brian maintained a mutual respect for one another's artistry, there's no doubting that they felt as though they were in competition with one another for a period of time.

It's commonly known that The Beatles' transition to folk-rock troubadours with 1965's Rubber Soul had a major influence on The Beach Boys' 1966 masterpiece Pet Sounds.

In turn, hearing Pet Sounds encouraged Paul, John, George and Ringo to break boundaries with their 1967 psychedelic landmark Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band.

Ultimately, their adoration for one another's musical contributions outweighed any potential discontent between the two parties.

Paul McCartney on performing with The Beach Boys' Brian Wilson

"We ended up [with] kind of like a rivalry," McCartney told The Rolling Stones' guitarist Ronnie Wood in 2013 during a television interview.

"We’d put a song out, and Brian would hear it and do one," he said. "You’d kind of try to top each other all the time.

"He eventually came out with his 'God Only Knows' on Pet Sounds. I just think it’s a great song... It’s my favourite Beach Boys song."

"I got to sing it with Brian once. We did a benefit together," Paul recalled. "And I was OK on the actual performance – I held it together – but at the soundcheck I lost it. Because it’s very emotional, that song, I find."

Paul even admitted he was sort of starstruck, adding: "I'm thinking, 'Oh, my god, I’m singing it with Brian."

Sadly, Brian Wilson was one of 2025's most prominent deaths, passing away on June 11 having been diagnosed with dementia the year before.

Tributes poured in from across the music world and beyond, including from McCartney who shared a special message about his inspirational friend.

"Brian had that mysterious sense of musical genius that made his songs so achingly special," Paul wrote in a statement.

"The notes he heard in his head and passed to us were simple and brilliant at the same time. I loved him, and was privileged to be around his bright shining light for a little while.

"How we will continue without Brian Wilson, 'God Only Knows'. Thank you, Brian."