The Beach Boys - Never Learn Not to Love (1968)

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)

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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

The Beach Boys - Kiss Me, Baby (1965)

By late 1964, Brian Wilson was getting a bit bored with the “sun, cars, and surfing” themes which made up the majority of his group’s songs. Inspired by pop contemporaries like The Beatles and Bob Dylan who were exploring more sophisticated and mature themes of their own, Wilson decided to write something that wasn’t entirely based on “fun in the sun.”

What resulted was the poignant song below, highlighting Wilson’s range as a lyricist, as well as his rapidly developing talents in multi-layering and creating Phil Spector-like sounds. This was an early glimpse into the style and mood which would go on to dominated Pet Sounds roughly one year later.

Released in April 1965, the song’s instrumental backing was recorded in December 1964; and its vocals were recorded the following month in January 1965. Primarily composed and written by Brian Wilson, the song also had some contributions from Mike Love, who wrote the repeated backing vocals (“Kiss a little bit / Fight a little bit…”). The song was released as the B-Side to the group’s “Help Me, Rhonda.”



The Beach Boys - Kiss Me, Baby (1965)

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Lyrics:

Please don’t let me argue anymore
I won’t make you worry like before
Can’t remember what we fought about
Late, late last night we said it was over
But I remember when we thought it out
We both had a broken heart

(Woah, baby)
(Kiss a little bit, fight a little bit)
Kiss me, baby
(Kiss a little bit, fight a little bit)
(Woah, baby)
(Kiss a little bit, fight a little bit)
Love to hold you
(Kiss a little bit, fight a little bit)
(Woah, baby)
(Kiss a little bit, fight a little bit)
Kiss me, baby
(Woah, baby)
Love to hold you

As I drove away I felt a tear
It hit me I was losing someone dear
Told my folks I would be alright
Tossed and I turned, my head was so heavy
Then I wondered as it got light
Were you still awake like me?

(Woah, baby)
(Kiss a little bit, fight a little bit)
Kiss me, baby
(Kiss a little bit, fight a little bit)
(Woah, baby)
(Kiss a little bit, fight a little bit)
Love to hold you
(Kiss a little bit, fight a little bit)
(Woah, baby)
(Kiss a little bit, fight a little bit)
Kiss me, baby
(Woah, baby)
Love to hold you tight

(Woah, baby)
(Kiss a little bit, fight a little bit)
Kiss me, baby
(Kiss a little bit, fight a little bit)
(Woah, baby)
(Kiss a little bit, fight a little bit)
Love to hold you
(Kiss a little bit, fight a little bit)
(Woah, baby)
(Kiss a little bit, fight a little bit)
Kiss me, baby
(Kiss a little bit, fight a little bit)
(Woah, baby)
(Kiss a little bit, fight a little bit)
Love to hold you
(Kiss a little bit, fight a little bit)
Kiss me, baby
(Kiss a little bit, fight a little bit)
(Woah, baby)
(Kiss a little bit, fight a little bit)
Love to hold you
(Kiss a little bit, fight a little bit)
Kiss me, baby…

The Beach Boys - You've Got to Hide Your Love Away (1965)

The Beach Boys were primarily composed of the three Wilson brothers (Brian, Dennis, and Carl) and their cousin Mike Love. Dennis, the middle child, was the band’s drummer from their formation in 1961 until his untimely death in 1983. The Beach Boys’ early music surrounding a surfing lifestyle was usually written by Brian, but it was inspired by Dennis, as he was the only member of the group who actually surfed. He was the first member of the band to release a solo album, Pacific Ocean Blue, which was released in 1977. Comparatively, his role in The Beach Boys was much like that of George Harrison’s in The Beatles; Dennis was considered to be the dark horse of The Beach Boys, growing from a quiet figure in the background to a prominent member who reached critical acclaim. On December 28th, 1983, a little over three weeks after his thirty-ninth birthday, Dennis became intoxicated and drowned at Marina Del Ray in Los Angeles while attempting to retrieve items from under the sea that he had thrown overboard from his yacht three years prior.

Written by John Lennon and first recorded by The Beatles for their August 1965 album Help!, this song was allegedly written about The Beatles’ manager, Brian Epstein, regarding his closeted homosexuality. In the opening lines, Lennon sang “two foot small” instead of the intended “two foot tall” and decided to keep it that way, stating that the “psueds will really love it.”

This particular version of the song, performed solely by Dennis Wilson, was released on The Beach Boys’ album Beach Boys’ Party! in November 1965. Although it sounds live, the laughter and background chatter was in fact mixed in during post production, making this a studio track. It was recorded in haste to meet the demands of Capitol Records who wanted something to release for the holiday season. The band had just released a Christmas album the year prior, had not yet finished their upcoming masterpiece Pet Sounds, and so this album promoting “togetherness” was the result.



The Beach Boys - You've Got to Hide Your Love Away (1965)

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Lyrics:

Here I stand, head in hand
Turn my face to the wall
If she's gone, I can't go on
Feeling two-foot small

Everywhere, people stare
Each and every day
I can see them laugh at me
And I hear them say

“Hey! You've got to hide your love away”
“Hey! You've got to hide your love away”

How can I even try?
I can never win
Hearing them, seeing them
In the state I'm in

How could she say to me
“Love will find a way”?
Gather ‘round all you clowns
Let me hear you say

“Hey! You've got to hide your love away”
“Hey! You've got to hide your love away”

The Beach Boys - Merry Christmas, Baby (1964)

This song comes from the group’s 1964 album, The Beach Boys' Christmas Album. The group used five original Christmas-themed songs for the album as well as recording seven traditional Christmas tracks. The biggest song from the album, “Little Saint Nick,” had originally been released in 1963, featured sleigh bells, and continues to get regular airplay each year.

This song was written by Brian Wilson and featured lead vocals by Mike Love.



The Beach Boys - Merry Christmas, Baby (1964)

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Lyrics:

My baby she told me
She don't wanna hold me
And kiss my lips anymore
She's gonna leave me
And she don't believe me
That I'll be true now

Well maybe she don't love me
And not thinkin' of me
But why'd she do it this time of year?
She knows that I'll miss her
And I'll wanna kiss her
If just for Christmas

Merry Christmas, baby
Merry Christmas, baby
Merry Christmas, baby

Tell me, what did I do
To really convince you
That I'm not the guy anymore?
Take back my ring now
I'll do anything now
But please forgive me

I made my mistake, but
I'm willing to wake up
And never mess around anymore
Oh, why did we break up?
There's still time to make up
If just for Christmas

Merry Christmas, baby
Merry Christmas, baby
Merry Christmas, baby

I made my mistake but
I'm willing to wake up
And never mess around anymore
Oh, why did we break up?
There's still time to make up
If just for Christmas

Merry Christmas, baby
Merry Christmas, baby
Merry Christmas, baby
Merry Christmas, baby…

The Beach Boys - Forever [Demo] (1969)

Coming out of southern California in 1961, this band transformed themselves from teen surf-style pop-rock to one of the greatest rock bands in the history of popular music. The group’s most popular lineup was composed of brothers Brian, Dennis, and Carl Wilson, their cousin Mike Love, and their friends Al Jardine and Bruce Johnston. They are often credited as one of the best-selling acts in America and have been honored as “America’s Band”. Their skill as a whole unit is matched by very few.

This song's original version comes from the album, Sunflower (1970), which was tied for the group’s lowest charting album. It was written and sung by Dennis Wilson, who had been working on it (such as in this early a capella version) as early as January 1969. Brian Wilson has stated that it was “the most harmonically beautiful thing” he had ever heard. This version was released on the Hawthorne, CA anthology album in 2001.



The Beach Boys - Forever [Demo] (1969)

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Lyrics:

If every word I said
Could make you laugh
I'd talk forever
(Together my love, baby)

I asked the sky just what we had
Mmm, it shone forever
(Together my love, baby)

If the song I sing to you
Could fill your heart with joy
I'd sing forever
(Together my love, baby)

(Forever, forever)
I've been so happy loving you

(Together my love)

Let the love I have for you
Live in your heart
And beat forever
(Together my love, baby)

(Forever, forever)
I've been so happy loving you

So I'm goin' away
Mmm, but not forever
(Baby)
I gotta love you any old way
Mmm, forever
(Baby)

(Baby)

Nah, man! You know- let me hear somethin’…