Editing Brian Wilson (section)

===Childhood===
Brian Douglas Wilson was born on June 20, 1942, at [[Centinela Hospital Medical Center]] in [[Inglewood, California]], the first child of Audree Neva ({{nee}} Korthof) and [[Murry Wilson]], a machinist who later pursued songwriting part-time.{{sfn|Murphy|2015|p=27}}{{sfn|Gaines|1986|p=40}} Wilson's two younger brothers, [[Dennis Wilson|Dennis]] and [[Carl Wilson|Carl]], were born in 1944 and 1946.{{sfn|Badman|2004|p=10}} Shortly after Dennis' birth, the family moved from Inglewood to 3701 West 119th Street in nearby [[Hawthorne, California]].{{sfn|Leaf|1978|p=14}}{{sfn|Badman|2004|p=10}} Wilson, along with his siblings, suffered psychological and sporadic physical maltreatment from their father.{{sfn|Granata|2003|p=21}} His 2016 memoir characterizes his father as "violent" and "cruel"; however, it also suggests that certain narratives about the mistreatment had been overstated or unfounded.{{sfn|Wilson|Greenman|2016|pp=136–137}}

From an early age, Wilson exhibited an aptitude for [[playing by ear|learning by ear]].{{sfn|Lambert|2007|pp=2, 8}} His father remembered how, after hearing only a few verses of "[[The Army Goes Rolling Along|When the Caissons Go Rolling Along]]", the infant Wilson was able to reproduce its melody.{{sfn|Carlin|2006|p=11}}{{refn|group=nb|Some sources indicate the tune was the "[[Marine Corps Hymn]]".{{sfn|Lambert|2007|p=2}}}} Murry was a driving force in cultivating his children's musical talents.{{sfn|Leaf|1978|pp=17–18}} Wilson undertook six weeks of accordion lessons, and by ages seven and eight, he performed choir solos at church.{{sfn|Leaf|1978|pp=15–17}}{{refn|group=nb|According to his mother, "The [accordion instructor] said, 'I don't think he's reading. He hears it just once and plays the whole thing perfectly.'"{{sfn|Lambert|2007|p=2}}}} His choir director declared him to have [[perfect pitch]].{{sfn|Granata|2003|p=22}}{{sfn|Lambert|2007|p=2}} Wilson owned an educational record titled ''The Instruments of the Orchestra''{{sfn|Dillon|2012|p=xv}} and was a regular listener of [[KFWB]], his favorite radio station at the time.{{sfn|Granata|2003|pp=19–20}} Carl introduced him to [[Rhythm and blues|R&B]], and their uncle Charlie taught him [[boogie-woogie]] piano. Both brothers would frequently stay up listening to [[Johnny Otis]]' [[KFRN|KFOX]] radio show, incorporating its R&B tracks into their musical lexicon.{{sfn|Lambert|2007|pp=3–4}}{{refn|group=nb|Carl remarked that by the age of 10, his brother "could play great boogie-woogie piano!"{{sfn|Granata|2003|p=22}}{{sfn|Lambert|2007|p=69}}}}

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|quote=I got so into [[The Four Freshmen]]. I could identify with [[Bob Flanigan (singer)|Bob Flanigan]]'s high voice. He taught me how to sing high. I worked for a year on The Four Freshmen with my hi-fi set. I eventually learned every song they did.
|source=—Brian Wilson, 1998{{sfn|Badman|2004|p=11}}
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One of Wilson's first forays into songwriting, penned when he was nine, was a reinterpretation of the lyrics to [[Stephen Foster]]'s "[[Oh! Susannah]]".{{sfn|White|1996|p=88}}{{refn|group=nb|In his 1991 memoir, he recalls writing his first song for a fourth-grade school project concerning [[Paul Bunyan]].{{sfn|Lambert|2007|p=4}} In a 2005 interview, he said that he began composing original music in 1955, when he was 12.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Bartlett |first1=Thomas |title="I try to write songs and stuff" |url=https://www.salon.com/2005/06/22/wilson_15/ |website=Salon |date=June 22, 2005}}</ref>}} At age 12, his family acquired an upright piano, and he began teaching himself to play piano by spending hours mastering his favorite songs.{{sfn|Granata|2003|p=23}} He learned how to write [[manuscript]] music through a friend of his father.{{sfn|Wilson|Greenman|2016|p=78}}

Wilson sang with peers at school functions, as well as with family and friends at home, and guided his two brothers in learning harmony parts, which they would rehearse together. He also played piano obsessively after school, deconstructing the harmonies of [[the Four Freshmen]] by listening to short segments of their songs on a [[phonograph]], then working to recreate the blended sounds note by note on the keyboard.{{sfn|Badman|2004|p=11}}