Brian Wilson’s cause of death has been revealed two weeks after The Beach Boys singer’s death was announced by his family on June 11.
According to the death certificate obtained by TMZ, the musician’s immediate cause of death was listed as respiratory arrest, with sepsis and cystitis also listed as contributing causes. According to Advanced Cardiac Life Support training, respiratory arrest is when a person stops breathing — which often happens at the same time as cardiac arrest — but still has a pulse.
The death certificate also notes that the musician had several other significant conditions: neurodegenerative disorder, obstructive sleep apnea, chronic respiratory failure and chronic kidney disease. His date of death was also confirmed to be June 11.
The iconic musician is survived by his daughters with Marilyn Rovell, Carnie Wilson and Wendy Wilson, who formed ’90s pop trio Wilson Phillips with Chynna Phillips, who is the daughter of The Mamas and the Papas members John and Michelle Phillips. He is also survived by the five children he adopted with wife Melinda Ledbetter.
During The Beach Boys’ career, the group notched 15 top 10 hits on the Billboard Hot 100, with four of them reaching the summit: “I Get Around” in 1964, “Help Me Rhonda” in 1965, “Good Vibrations” in 1966, and “Kokomo” in 1988. The latter song, in which Brian Wilson was not involved, was featured in the Tom Cruise film Cocktail.
On the album side, the band charted an impressive 56 titles on the all-genre Billboard 200, with 13 hitting the top 10, and two landing at the summit: 1974’s Endless Summer for one week that October, and Beach Boys in Concert for four weeks at the end of 1964.
