I'm a big fan of the Beach Boys music, but as is the case with most of my music favorites, I haven't dug much into their personal lives. Which means the following is likely common knowledge, and I'm just slower than hell.

AMG just did a write-up of Beach Boys drummer Dennis Wilson and his one completed studio album, Pacific Ocean Blues. The album sees a re-release tomorrow with bonus material from his uncompleted solo follow-up, Bambu.



Dennis was a notorious alcoholic and coke user, which was a contributing factor to his death by drowing in 1983 at age 39. After reading AMG's review, I wanted to find out more about the music he'd released prior to his death. After a Google search I came across this info in his Wikipedia entry:

In 1968 Dennis Wilson was driving along through Malibu when he noticed two female hitchhikers. He picked them up and dropped them off at their destination. Later on, Dennis noticed the same two girls hitchhiking. This time he pulled over and took them to his home. Dennis then went away to a recording session and when he returned at three o'clock in the morning he was met by a stranger, Charles Manson. When he walked into his home, there were about a dozen people occupying his home, most of them female.

It was the year 1969 that the infamous Tate/LaBianca murders occurred. Charles Manson had briefly become Dennis Wilson's protégé before the murders, and the trauma of this episode affected Dennis for his remaining 14 years. He rarely discussed his involvement with the Manson 'Family' and he usually became upset whenever the subject was talked about. (The "Fear is nothing but awareness" quote above was influenced by Manson, and was from a pre-murders magazine article in which Dennis lauded him as "the Wizard.") In one interview however he brought it up. "I guess it's time to talk about it. You see, when I knew Manson it was no big thing. We were friends; we lived together. That was long before the murders. And we'd talk every night, just like you and me. We'd really talk about important things." The interviewer went on asking the question "Do you know why Manson organized those murders?", Dennis responded "I know why Charles Manson did what he did. Someday, I'll tell the world. I'll write a book and explain why he did it. Over the years, people have always wanted to know what happened, what my relationship with Charlie was. We were just friends." Dennis did not testify at Charles Manson's trial as he went on to explain "I didn't testify at the trial. I couldn't. I was so scared. You know, the writers really raked me over the coals for not testifying."



The Beach Boys actually recorded a song penned by Charles Manson on their 1969 album, 20/20. Dennis Wilson is credited as the writer of Never Learn Not to Love, but the song is (apparently) a slightly reworded version of a Charles Manson tune, Cease to Exist. After Wilson's death, Manson commented, "Dennis Wilson was killed by my shadow because he took my music and changed the words from my soul."

For the morbidly curious, Find A Death's entry on Dennis has samples of both versions of the tune.


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[Edited 6/16/08 6:43am]

'Pacific Ocean Blue' is an excellent album imo, probably the best Beach Boys-related record of the '70s, including the Boys own releases from that era. Dennis really shows himself chasing brother Brian's best work, but in his own singular way. Had Dennis Wilson lived on and cleaned up, he could have been a highly respected pop songwriter/composer in his own right. A major talent in the making imo.

With Brian semi-incapacited for much of the '70s and '80s, the Beach Boys could have done a whole lot worse than have made Dennis their lead songwriter in that period. But, of course, family in-fighting between Dennis and cousin Mike Love (who hated each other by the '70s apparently) got in the way of the music.

But as it is, 'Pacific Ocean Blue' and the remnants of the unfinished follow-up, 'Bambu', are great examples of Dennis' brand of Beach Boy music meeting elements of '70s LA rock and other influences.

Not bad for the Beach Boys' equivalant of Ringo

Miles said:

Yeah, I get the feeling their father had a good deal to do with him not having more creative input in the band. I'll be sure to give this album a listen.

Manson was involved with more than the beach boys.. kindof

Sdldawn said:

Miles said:

I completely agree - Pacific Ocean Blue is a top notch album, just slightly marred by some dated heavy-rock elements. Anyone who likes the late sixties/early seventies Beach Boys albums (Sunflower, 20/20, Surf's Up) will likely find a lot to like. I've never heard anything of Bambu, so I'm reasonably excited about this long-overdue re-issue.