Andy Paley, Beloved “SpongeBob SquarePants” Songwriter and Brian Wilson Collaborator, Dies at 72

Paley penned multiple hits for the 'SpongeBob' universe, including fan-favorite "Best Day Ever"

Scott Dudelson/Getty Andy Paley performs in Glendale, California on May 19, 2023

Scott Dudelson/Getty

Andy Paley performs in Glendale, California on May 19, 2023

Andy Paley, an instrumental figure in both the music of SpongeBob Squarepants and the solo career of Brian Wilson, has died. He was 72.

A rep for Paley's band, Tom Kenny & The Hi-Seas, confirmed the news to PEOPLE. Per Variety and Deadline, Paley died following a brief battle with cancer on Wednesday, Nov. 20.

"We were blessed to have had Andy," a rep for the Hi-Seas told PEOPLE in a statement. "He truly is the reason all this SpongeBob joy exists in music around the world. He gave us all a purpose and lots of infinite joy that the band will continue to foster in memory of his gift to us and his musical legacy."

Spending his later years touring alongside the big band fronted by SpongeBob voice actor Tom Kenny, Paley was perhaps best known for his songwriting and production work alongside the likes of Wilson, Jerry Lee Lewis, Elton John, Madonna, Patti Smith and others — as well as writing several of the fan-favorite tracks that would go on to define the sound of Bikini Bottom.

Related: Tom Kenny, the Voice Behind SpongeBob, on His 12-Piece Band the Hi-Seas: 'It's Not a Kids' Show'

Jim Spellman/WireImage Tom Kenny, Ethan Slater and Andy Paley at the 'Spongebob Squarepants' Broadway opening in 2017

Jim Spellman/WireImage

Tom Kenny, Ethan Slater and Andy Paley at the 'Spongebob Squarepants' Broadway opening in 2017

Born in New York's Albany area in November 1952, Paley got his start in the music industry by playing for local bands upstate, before performing with the group Catfish Black in the '70s following a move to Boston.

By 1976, Paley and his brother Jonathan formed the Paley Brothers, a duo that would go on to sign to Sire Records and contribute to the Ramones' Rock 'n' Roll High School.

After working alongside the likes of Brenda Lee, Little Richard and Madonna, Paley found a musical spark with Brian Wilson when the pair teamed up for his 1988 self-titled solo debut and subsequent unreleased material throughout the '90s.

Wilson's official Facebook page has since shared a statement about Paley's death, calling the singer-songwriter "literally instrumental in Brian starting his solo career."

"He co-wrote three of the songs, including 'Rio Grande.' Andy collaborated again with Brian on the legendary, unreleased 'Wilson-Paley Sessions,' counting more than 20 songs," the statement read. "Brian always called him 'The Genius Andy Paley.' Love and mercy goes out to Andy’s family and friends."

For a generation of Nickelodeon viewers, Paley is also widely known for his contributions to the musical universe of SpongeBob Squarepants.

The musician's work on cartoons kicked off when he got involved in The Ren and Stimpy Show in the '90s, and also saw him pen material for other cartoons such as Camp Lazlo. But Paley built a lifelong bond when he was was introduced to SpongeBob's voice actor Tom Kenny in 2004, by way of Tom Ardolino of NRBQ.

Together, Paley and the SpongeBob crew created in-show hits such as "The Best Day Ever." The partnership began in 2004, when late SpongeBob creator Stephen Hillenburg and others behind the series recruited a team of musicians to soundtrack the cartoon. Thanks to Paley, Wilson himself even sang backing vocals on the 2006 Best Day Ever album.

“Kenny and I started planning to make these SpongeBob records with every member of the cast — Squidward, Pearl, whoever it was,” Paley told this reporter, via The Daily Gazette of Schenectady, in 2020. “We thought of it like the cartoons for the Monkees or Jackson 5 or the Beatles. We just thought, ‘Why not just do good pop songs and have SpongeBob and Patrick and Plankton and everybody sing?’”

Related: All About Brian Wilson and His Late Wife Melinda's Decades-Long Love Story

Getty Andy Paley and Jonathan Paley in 1978

Getty

Andy Paley and Jonathan Paley in 1978

In the years since his contributions to SpongeBob, Paley toured extensively alongside his friend Kenny as part of their genre-fusing big band, Tom Kenny & The Hi-Seas. In a statement to Variety, Kenny reflected on his friendship with his longtime bandmate.

“My friendship with Andy and our collaboration — writing songs and my fronting the band that he formed — is one of the greatest true joys I’ve ever experienced," he told the outlet. "He possessed not only encyclopedic knowledge of all pop music — especially rock ‘n’ roll and girl group — but was also astoundingly astute when it came to art and literature.”

Per the outlet, Paley is survived by his wife Heather Crist Paley, their children Jackson and Charlie, and his four siblings: Sarah, Brewster and Debby and brother Jonathan Paley.