In late spring 1968,
Dennis Wilson of
The Beach Boys was driving through Malibu when he noticed two female hitchhikers. He picked them up and dropped them off at their destination. Later, Wilson noticed the same two girls hitchhiking again. This time he took them to his home on Sunset Boulevard in Los Angeles, California. He told the girls about The Beach Boys recent involvement with the
Maharishi and they, in turn, told him about their own guru, a guy named Charlie. Dennis then went to a recording session; when he returned later that night, he was met in his driveway by “Charlie,” who happened to actually be
Charles Manson. Wilson then walked into his home and found about a dozen people occupying the premises, most of whom were young women, but all of whom were members of Manson’s cult, the
Manson Family.
Unaware of what evil Manson was capable of, Dennis was initially fascinated by Manson and his followers, referring to Manson as "the Wizard" in a
Rave magazine article. Wilson and Manson briefly became friends and, over the next few months, members of the Manson Family (mostly women who were treated as servants) were housed at Wilson's household, costing Wilson a small fortune to maintain.
In late 1968, Wilson told
Record Mirror magazine that when he met Manson, he found that he had great musical ideas and that they were now writing together. Dennis also introduced Manson to a few friends in the music business, including
The Byrds' producer
Terry Melcher, whose home at 10050 Cielo Drive would later be rented by director
Roman Polanski and his wife, actress
Sharon Tate, where less than a year later, Manson family members would murder Tate and several others.
In September 1968, Dennis Wilson reworked (and The Beach Boys recorded) a Manson song, heard below, which was originally titled "
Cease to Exist" that you can read more about and listen to
here. The song was credited solely to Dennis Wilson. Angered by this, Manson threatened Wilson to murder him and his children. According to one of The Beach Boys collaborators,
Van Dyke Parks, Wilson supposedly responded by grabbing Manson by the head, throwing him to the ground, and pummeling him. Wilson then attempted to cut ties with Manson by moving out of his own home, but allowing Manson and his followers to remain.
In August 1969, Manson Family members committed the
Tate-LaBianca murders. That November, Manson was apprehended and later convicted for numerous counts of murder and conspiracy to commit murder.
Some attribute Dennis Wilson's subsequent spiral of self-destructive behavior to the guilt he felt for ever having introduced Manson to the Hollywood music scene.
The Beach Boys - Never Learn Not to Love (1968)
Loading the ABLYAM player...(Might not work on mobile devices)
Lyrics:
Cease to resist
Come and say you love me
Give up your world
Come on and be with me
I'm your kind, I'm your kind and I see
Come on, come on
I love you, pretty girl
My life is yours
And you can have my world
I'm your kind, I'm your kind and I see
Never had a lesson I ever learned
I know I could never learn not to love you
Come in, now closer
Come in closer, closer, closer
Submission is a gift, give it to your lover
Love and understandin’ is for one another
I'm your kind, I'm your kind and I see
Never had a lesson I ever learned
I know I could never learn not to love you
Come in now closer
Come in closer
Come in closer
