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Brian Wilson and Bob Dylan’s friendship was sparked in an unlikely place.
Two years before Wilson’s death at age 82, which his family announced on Wednesday, June 11, the Beach Boys co-founder and singer shared a sweet story about running into Bob Dylan at a hospital and later having a conversation about music over lunch.
“Once I was in the Malibu emergency room getting a weigh-in and this guy walked up to me,” wrote Wilson in a May 2023 post on Facebook. “He had curly hair and was on the short side. ‘Are you Brian Wilson?’ he asked. ‘Yeah,’ I said. ‘Hi,’ he said. ‘I’m Bob Dylan.'”
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The Pet Sounds artist explained Dylan, 84, was in the hospital with a broken thumb. “We talked a little bit about nothing,” he continued.
“I was a big fan of his lyrics, of course,” said Wilson, citing “Like a Rolling Stone,” “Mr. Tambourine Man” and “It’s All Over Now, Baby Blue” as some of his favorites. “What a songwriter!”
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The emergency room run-in then turned into a friendship between the two iconic musicians. “I invited him over to my house for lunch the next day,” recalled Wilson. “That was a longer conversation. We just talked and talked about music. We talked about old songs we remembered, songs before rock and roll. We talked about ideas we had. Nice guy.”
At the time, Wilson shared a photo of himself posing with Dylan — though it’s unclear exactly when the photo was taken, or when the interaction went down.
More recently, Dylan celebrated Wilson’s 80th year around the sun by singing “Happy Birthday” to him in a video. “That ear,” the “Blowin’ in the Wind” singer once said about him, according to the New York Times. “I mean, Jesus, he’s got to will that to the Smithsonian.”
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The “God Only Knows” singer’s death was announced by his family on Wednesday, June 11 in an Instagram post featuring a photo of the star smiling on a bench.
“We are heartbroken to announce that our beloved father Brian Wilson has passed away,” the statement read. “We are at a loss for words right now. Please respect our privacy at this time as our family is grieving. We realize that we are sharing our grief with the world. Love & Mercy.”
