Ronnie Wood: Brian Wilson’s death inspired our new song

Mark LudlowSun, May 31, 2026 at 5:30 AM UTC

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Ronnie Wood said his ‘guitar was almost playing itself’ when recording the song - Gary Miller

The death of Brian Wilson, the Beach Boys co-founder, inspired a track on the new Rolling Stones album, according to guitarist Ronnie Wood.

Wilson, the songwriter and singer from the California band, died in June last year, aged 82, in the same week as another musician, Sly Stone, the soul and funk pioneer.

Wood, 78, paid tribute to both musicians on social media at the time, writing that he was “so sad” and “his world was in mourning”.

The Rolling Stones guitarist previously said he found out about Wilson’s death while recording a new track, Back In Your Life, which will feature on the Stones’ album, Foreign Tongues.

Although he never met Wilson, Wood said “my heart was always with him because I loved the melodies”.

Ronnie Wood says his ‘heart was always with’ Brian Wilson, above, because he ‘loved his melodies’ - Lucas Jackson/REUTERS

He said he felt Wilson’s influence as he laid down the guitar track for the song.

“In the same week, Sly Stone, who I really admired, (also died),” Wood told the BBC Radio 2 show Tracks Of My Years.

“I didn’t plan it, but there was a point where the guitar was almost playing itself and it was coming out, blowing me away, and I’m going ‘oh, that was nice’. Like, where did it come from?

“It was all from the heartfelt… I never met Brian Wilson, but my heart was always with him because I loved his melodies.

“I knew the other boys in the band but not Wilson. He always eluded me, but anyway, his spirit just caught me that day, and I was just so sad that he’d gone.”

The Beach Boys pioneered the California surf sound of the 1960s, with hit singles such as Surfin’ USA and I Get Around, before Wilson pushed the band in a more avant-garde direction to record their 1966 masterpiece, Pet Sounds.

The rivalry between The Beach Boys and The Beatles attracted headlines in the 1960s and inspired the Liverpool band to attempt to top Pet Sounds with their own sonic magnum opus, Sergeant Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band, in 1967.

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In awe of Wilson

But the Stones, who at the time were seen as the bad boys of the British bands with their raw, blues-inspired sound, were privately in awe of Wilson and his songwriting.

In 2024, Keith Richards admitted the fact that the Stones and the Beach Boys were not direct rivals allowed him to admire Wilson’s intricate songwriting, especially the B-sides.

“There was no particular correlation with what we were doing, so I could just listen to it on another level. I thought these are well-constructed songs,” he said.

“I was more interested in the B-sides, the ones he slipped in.”

Charlie Watts, Mick Jagger, Ronnie Wood and Keith Richards in 2002 - PA

Wood, who joined the Stones in 1975 after playing in The Faces with Rod Stewart, also used the Radio 2 show to speak about his relationship with Charlie Watts, a founding member, who died in 2021, aged 80.

“Charlie was right there. He’s so supportive. He was just such a caring person, really. He didn’t really push the envelope very much,” Wood said.

“Talking about envelopes, he did send a mean letter,” he joked.

Wood said he missed the “precious moments” of being backstage with Watts while on tour with the Stones.

Foreign Tongues, the band’s 25th studio album, which will be released on July 10, was also inspired by the passing of Watts, with some parts recorded before his passing, included on the new album.

Sir Mick Jagger told Vernon Kay, the BBC host, the Stones were clearly influenced by blues and soul, but you could never just call them a “pure rock” band.

He said he was “very aware of what’s going on around me”, but added that he tried to avoid copying music trends.

“I think it would be a mistake to slavishly be into trying to copy a trend,” he said. “By the time you’ve recorded the trend, the trend is gone – but you are aware of what’s going on.”

Sir Mick and Wood’s Tracks Of My Years will be broadcast on BBC Radio 2 at 5am on Sunday.

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Source: “AOL Entertainment”