Carl Wilson - Personal Life and Death

Personal Life and Death

To all who knew him, Carl Wilson was a significantly spiritual person and he, himself frequently spoke of what he called his "connection with Spirit". Prayer ritual was an important part of his life and, according to Brian Wilson, "prayer sessions" were conducted before recordings on Pet Sounds in order to invoke higher guidance in the music. Carl declared himself a conscientious objector and refused the draft to join the American military during the Vietnam War. By 1988, Wilson had become an ordained minister in the Movement of Spiritual Inner Awareness.

Carl was married twice - first to Annie Hinsche, sister of frequent Beach Boys sideman Billy Hinsche, then to Dean Martin's daughter, Gina (born December 20, 1956). With Annie, Carl had two sons, Justyn and Jonah. It was during the breakup of his marriage to Annie that he wrote "Angel Come Home" which, according to co-writer Geoffrey Cushing-Murray, was about Carl's grief over separation from his wife during the incessant touring with the Beach Boys. His marriage to Gina lasted until his death, and she accompanied him on all of his touring duties.

Carl had an Irish setter named Shannon whose passing inspired the emotional 1975 hit song of the same name by Henry Gross.

Carl Wilson was diagnosed with lung cancer after becoming ill at his vacation home in Hawaii in early 1997. Despite his illness, Carl continued to perform during chemotherapy treatment. He played and sang throughout the Beach Boys' entire summer tour which ended in the fall of 1997. During performance he sat on a stool and reportedly needed oxygen after every song. His unique, compelling voice, however, never deserted him and he always respectfully stood while singing "God Only Knows".

Carl Wilson died of his cancer in Los Angeles surrounded by his family, on February 6, 1998, just two months after the death of his mother, Audree Wilson. He was interred at Westwood Village Memorial Park Cemetery in Los Angeles.

Apart from the Beckley-Lamm-Wilson album Like a Brother, which was finally released in 2000, Carl's late recordings continue to appear. Brian's 2004 album Gettin' in Over My Head features Carl's vocal from the unreleased Beach Boys song "Soul Searchin'" over a new backing track (the Don Was-recorded elements and the other Beach Boys' voices are absent), and in 2010 bandmate Al Jardine's first solo album, A Postcard From California, features a similarly reconstructed track, "Don't Fight The Sea". Carl can also be heard on the continual stream of Beach Boys archival releases, most notably as a central voice in the November 2011 release of The Smile Sessions.

It was announced that Carl Wilson's voice would be heard on a track from the reunited Beach Boys, on the 2012 album That's Why God Made the Radio, but this never materialised. Instead, the scheduled song, "Waves of Love", featured on the 2012 re-release of Jardine's "A Postcard From California".

During the 50th anniversary tour, a segment of the show was dedicated to Dennis and Carl Wilson. The band harmonized with isolated vocal tracks of Carl performing "God Only Knows" and Dennis singing "Forever" while large-screen projections of the individual Wilson brothers appeared behind the band.