The Beach Boys' co-founder talks to The Times about his longtime former bandmate who helped shape the culture of SoCal music.

Brian WIlson's answer to Phil Spector's excellent holiday LP, The Beach Boys' Christmas Album divides its two sides between originals and standards. Stick with Side One, where Wilson's "Little Saint Nick" and "The Man With All the Toys" kick things off. It's a brief sidestep before Wilson entered his most creative period.

The death of the poet laureate of adolescent heartbreak was announced by his family on Wednesday: “We are at a loss for words right now.”