The Right Place at the Right Time: How Bob Dylan and Brian Wilson Met in the Emergency Room

On Wednesday, June 11, Brian Wilson‘s family announced that the musical trailblazer and co-founder of the Beach Boys passed away at 82 years old. Since the announcement, the internet and the world of music have been commemorating Wilson’s life by sharing some of the greatest stories from it. We are going to add to that commemoration by sharing a story Wilson told himself years before his passing on X. The story of how Bob Dylan and Brian Wilson coincidentally met for the first time while visiting a Malibu emergency room at the same time.

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While Brian Wilson and Bob Dylan never collaborated extensively, the two still had a mutual and deep respect for one another. A respect that started when Bob Dylan walked into the same hospital as Brian Wilson at an undisclosed point in their lives. Here is the story…

Brian Wilson’s Routine Visit & Bob Dylan’s Broken Thumb

In the post, Wilson stated that he was visiting the hospital “getting a weigh-in.” Contrary to Brian Wilson’s seemingly routine visit, Bob Dylan had come in for treatment due to a broken thumb. “He had curly hair and was on the short side.” Wilson told the tale. “‘Are you Brian Wilson?’ he asked. ‘Yeah,’ I said. ‘Hi,’ he said, ‘I’m Bob Dylan.’”

“We talked a little bit about nothing. I was a big fan of his lyrics, of course…” Wilson continued. “What a songwriter! I invited him over to my house for lunch the next day. That was a longer conversation. We just talked and talked about music. We talked about old songs we remembered, songs before rock and roll, and we talked about ideas we had. Nice guy.”

Brian Wilson left out a lot of details in his story. Regardless, this chance encounter led to a long friendship and a collaboration on the song “The Spirit Of Rock And Roll”. That song was intended to be on Wilson’s unofficial album, Sweet Insanity. However, the album or the cut featuring Wilson, Dylan, as well as Jeff Lynne of Electric Light Orchestra, was never officially released. However, folks have discovered the track in bootleg releases.

Nevertheless, in light of the pair’s friendship, Bob Dylan wrote on X yesterday, June 11, “Heard the sad news about Brian today and thought about all the years I’ve been listening to him and admiring his genius. Rest in peace dear Brian.”

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