Though his most creative period lasted roughly six years in the 1960s, Brian Wilson, whose death at age 82 was announced today, left a profound impact on pop music, record production and American culture. In an ascent that ran from 1962 to 1967, the songwriter, bassist, arranger, falsetto singer and original Beach Boys leader pioneered vocal harmony, studio experimentation and songs that fed teens’ dreams of an endless summer.

From the start, Mr. Wilson and the Beach Boys combined the tight phrasing of the Four Freshmen, a jazzy pop vocal group, with the driving sound of surf-rock bands like the Ventures and the guitar of Chuck Berry. The result linked the twang and beat of mid-1950s rock ’n’ roll with puppy-love pop songs of the Kennedy era.