Dennis Wilson

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Dennis Carl Wilson (born December 4, 1944 in Inglewood , California , † December 28, 1983 in Marina del Rey , California) was a member of the band The Beach Boys .

Life

Dennis Wilson founded the Beach Boys in 1961 with his brothers Brian and Carl . He only came into the band at her mother's insistence, as he could not play an instrument and was a poor singer. After all, it was he who inspired his brother Brian to write songs about surfing. He later learned to play drums, piano and guitar. Although he acted as a drummer on stage, a studio drummer usually did his part when recording records.

In 1967, after his brother Brian withdrew more and more from the band, he wrote several songs with the lyricist Stephen Kalinich for the Beach Boys albums Friends , 20/20 , Sunflower , Carl and the Passions - "So Tough" and Holland and produced them.

Wilson caused a stir when his brief acquaintance with Charles Manson , whom he met in 1968 and had several of his family members live in his house for some time, became public . Wilson bought the song Cease to Exist from him and released it a little later revised on the Beach Boys album 20/20 under the title Never Learn Not to Love . He also wrote a few other songs with Manson and produced a demo tape with him. As a result, the Manson family used Wilson's property and credit card several times without asking, stole clothing and even gave away ten of his gold records (which, according to their own estimates, resulted in a loss of around 100,000 US dollars). After Manson finally threatened him with a knife, Wilson put an end to the complicated acquaintance in the spring of 1969, a few months before the so-called Tate and LaBianca murders .

1970 Wilson published with Darryl Dragon under the name Dennis Wilson and Rumbo the piece Sound of Free , which he had written with Mike Love . He worked with Darryl Dragon in 1971 on a joint solo album under the working title Poops / Hubba Hubba . The resulting pieces Make It Good and Old Movie (as Cuddle up ) appeared on the Beach Boys album Carl & The Passions .

In 1971 he played the male lead alongside James Taylor in the cult film Asphaltrennen ( Two-Lane Blacktop ) by Monte Hellman .

In 1977 Wilson released his first solo album, Pacific Ocean Blue , which surpassed the Beach Boys album Love You , which was released at the same time, in sales. He also worked with other artists (such as Captain & Tennille ) and wrote the lyrics for You Are So Beautiful , later a world hit for Joe Cocker . Dennis Wilson sang this song at Beach Boys concerts.

While working on his second solo album Bambu , his brother Carl asked him to return to the band. Dennis Wilson agreed and left some of the songs planned for Bambu to the Beach Boys, which they released on the LA Light album in 1979 . His solo career came to an end.

In 1981 he started working on new songs with his brother Brian. These recordings are unofficially dubbed "Hamburger Sessions", because Dennis Wilson lured his older brother, who was then on a strict diet, into the studio with hamburgers and french fries .

In the early 1980s, Dennis Wilson withdrew more and more from the public. Excessive drug and alcohol consumption and his unsteady lifestyle had left their mark on him. He also had to have numerous operations on his vocal cords, which limited his vocal range. He threw himself into numerous affairs. In 1983 he married the daughter of his bandmate Mike Love , Shawn Love, who is the mother of his last son.

In September 1983 he performed one last time with the Beach Boys. On December 28, 1983, he drowned in the Marina del Rey Marina, Los Angeles. He had dived at the berth of his former sailing yacht Harmony for objects that he had once thrown overboard there. On the occasion of the autopsy of his corpse, alcohol and valium and cocaine were found in his blood. Dennis Wilson's remains were buried at sea . Since this is normally reserved for war veterans , the relatives had to obtain permission from the then US President Ronald Reagan .

Wilson was married five times and had four birth children and an adopted son from his first marriage.

Discography (solo)

  • Rumbo (Dennis Wilson & Daryl Dragon) - Sound of free / Lady (1970)
  • Pacific Ocean Blue (1977, re-released as a double CD with the complete Bambu sessions and other rare recordings in June 2008)
  • Bambu, (1980) (unpublished until 2008)

Filmography

Individual evidence

  1. The Ones That Got Away ... ( Memento from July 26, 2010 in the Internet Archive )
  2. People Magazine : Death Of A Beach Boy , Jan. 16, 1984
  3. ^ The New York Times : Reagan Helps Get Approval For Musician's Burial at Sea , January 3, 1984, accessed November 7, 2008
  4. http://www.cinetropic.com/blacktop/people/