As the Beach Boys sang “house,” the song, “All Summer Long,” didn’t just change chords — in a luscious instant, it ascended to a higher place. Another wave of voices flooded in, but it was the revelation of that chord that was the hook, the spice, the thing that made me melt.

Brian Wilson, cofounder of The Beach Boys and the creative force behind the group’s surf sound, orchestral arrangements and perfect harmonies, has died, his family announced on Wednesday.

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.”