Wipeout: The Turbulent years of Dennis and Brian Wilson

foreign via satellite from our studios in Los Angeles Brian Wilson Dennis Wilson Carl Wilson Mike I love Al Jardine and Dennis maybe you'd like to start this why do you think you've been so popular? We're keeping you awake. I'm borrowing my brother Carl's microphone. This is ABC. Yes, you need a new microphone. What do you listen to when you are at home? I listened to a record called Be My Baby By The Ronettes. This interview took place on December 5, 1990. The Beach. Boys had released their 24th studio album, Keeping Summer Alive seven months earlier, but for a decade none of their albums have alcoholism, drug abuse, and Madness follows the band throughout the journey.

This is the

turbulent

history of The Beach Boys. career thanks November 5, 1982 Brian Wilson wakes up to his usual morning routine: an extra-strong instant coffee that he fills with six tablespoons of sugar. His hands shake so violently that he spills the same amount on the kitchen counter. His breakfast consists of two, sometimes three, more. thick New York steaks served with a bottle of steak sauce after finishing Brian starts smoking cigarettes non-stop at the end of the day Brian consumed five or six packs of Marlborough a few

years

earlier he had developed the habit of talking out of his mouth which weighs more than 340 pounds Brian walks from room to room the house he sits in shows the remains of a week's worth of cocaine, alcohol and junk food that he long ago stopped washing, changing clothes or brushing his teeth, a woman told him.

He enthusiastically sees his ex. -wife Marilyn I want to know what it's like to be homeless Brian looks outside to check the weather it must be a sunny day otherwise Brian won't even try to venture out that day Brian will receive news that will drastically change his life For the next decade, Ryan lives with a nurse turned caregiver in a relationship where Brian is free to drink, snort cocaine, and answer to no one. His brother Dennis often visited him together, they snorted cocaine and then Dennis lured him to the music room. with a bag of McDonald's hamburgers but little is achieved in the music sessions between the two brothers at this point in his life Dennis is completely out of control The Beach Boys would kick him out of the band so that he could sober up in what he would, but Dennis never stayed sober for long and this cycle continued for the rest of his life.

Mike loves the lead singer of The Beach Boys. He made clear his feelings about Dennis' drug and alcohol use. By 1982, Mike had been through seven marriages. His seventh marriage only lasted a year and it wasn't long before he remarried. Mike had a penchant for attending concerts in strange clothes. At that time, he wore tennis clothes and a trucker cap. One night at a concert, Amor made a comment that It angered Dennis so much that he lunged from his drum kit and a fist fight ensued. Dennis was taken off stage by security and locked in a closet, where he was left for the rest of the concerts.

There was no fear of him returning to the stage. I really got scared. You know, I thought, Oh my God! God, something someday is really going to happen to Dennis and he won't be here. Dennis' drunken antics on stage became legendary and from then on the two stayed apart, but it wasn't always like that, the two cousins ​​were in Harmony When The Beach. The boys first met the foreign drummer at the insistence of his mother Audrey, but Dennis never learned to hold the drumsticks the right way when the band was struggling to find a niche. Dennis came up with the idea of ​​surfing at that time in California. was in fashion, there were even surf reports broadcast every morning on the radio when his father Murray Wilson heard his music he became very interested in managing his career Murray it was like sitting in a public library when a freight train passes by Murray had been a Struggling songwriter and saw the Beach Boys as a group he could live vicariously through, it wasn't long before Ryan landed them a contract with Capital Records and began a songwriting partnership with Gary Usher, a talented young musician who was living nearby and envied the duo.

Murray insisted that he be the one to write songs with Brian. Usher attended one of the writing sessions, let's write a song about yellow roses. Murray said to Usher's disbelief, that's really old-fashioned. Usher responded not long after Russia was kicked out of the house and he could still hear her. Murray yelling at Brian as he walked down the street Brian apologized profusely the next time he saw Russia the music room of the house was where Brian spent most of his time and it was also his bedroom Murray lay in his bed listening and if He heard a note he didn't like and was quick to correct Brian once Brian lost his temper with Murray and told him to leave.

Murray never got over it and mentioned it constantly in 1962. Capital Records released the Beach Boys' first single. 409, a car song written as a tribute to the Chevrolet 409, was a flop. Capital quickly changed tactics and pushed surfing, peaking at No. 14 on the charts. After that, Capital took the Beach Boys into a studio and, in a 12-hour session, surfed Safari. Complete around this time, Dennis, at Murray's direction, was making a box of cigars that Murray planned to give to some business friends when Dennis was finished. Murray told him that he wasn't good enough, to which Dennis, angrier, punched Murray in the face and all that happened and the neighbor had to come and break the fighter.

Murray had lost an eye in a machine accident. He wore a glass eye and Dennis told me that when he did something that really irritated Murray, he would punish him. Ryan achieved great success with his songs, but Murray always criticized anything Brian wrote once Murray tried to cancel the studio sessions for fun. funny funny because he didn't like the song Murray would come in and really wanted to be the producer another time while the recording was helping me Rhonda Murray came into the studio drunk and started interrupting the session, but what are the words I sing? that since you belittled me no, since you belittled me to take the loot things came to a head during the recording of I got around bonfired Murray who was so devastated that he stayed in bed for five weeks after recovering Murray began directing a new band called Dawn Murray planned them to be a clone of the Beach Boys, their first singles were of course written by Murray and of course they flopped, but the next single I Lived for the Sum was a minor hit, their next Five singles then flopped, Ryan developed during this time. a fascination with marijuana and then LSD one of their albums which he recorded live at Mike's house included three Beatles covers when Brian released Pet Sounds the group was unsure about the experimental album The Worship Brian's behavior was becoming increasingly strange and unpredictable Caroline was not released as a single and reached number 32 the next single Sloop John B fared better reaching number three in England reviews of Pet Sounds were euphoric in the US it was a flop its The following album Smile was abandoned but the single Good Vibrations was an immediate critical and commercial success.

Success around this time Murray released a solo album titled The Many Moods of Murray Wilson, he stated after Good Vibrations Brian lost a lot of confidence and did not believe that I could write something as good as that again with my LP I'm going to nudge. My Son's Competitive Spirit The album is currently available on Spotify 1968 Dennis Wilson was returning home from a recording session at 1440 Sunset Boulevard when Dennis pulled up to his house, the lights were blaring and there seemed to be a party going on inside. of the outings of a small man. the house was barely five feet high he approached Dennis fell on his knees and kissed his sneakers who are you Dennis said I'm a friend he replied and invited Dennis to his own house the house was occupied by about 12 girls drinking alcohol smoking marijuana and helping themselves to any food available two of the girls Dennis had picked up earlier had been part of the Manson family an opportunity for a struggling songwriter like Manson to befriend a beach boy wasn't something he was going to pass up Manson Pride Lost Outsiders with a Problematic upbringing Despite his fame, the perfect description of Dennis Fitness Manson regularly handed out LSD to his group of followers whom he called his family, insisted they all take the drug, but gave himself a much smaller dose, if is that some, this would ensure his authority among the family at the time Manson met Dennis Wilson he was 33

years

old and had spent half his life in prison before meeting Dennis the family had lived in a disused movie ranch in Chatsworth, it was owned by George Spawn, who called it Spawn Ranch, but soon Dennis would invite the family to move into his house to live.

Charlie, as he was known, helped himself to anything that belonged on Dennis's food wagons, even some gold records that he gave away despite having access to food delivered every day. The family still went to trash cans to look for food. Dennis occasionally accompanied them in his Ferrari when they interviewed him in 1968 for an English magazine called Rave. Dennis mentioned Charlie Manson. Fear is nothing more than awareness. Sometimes the magician scares me. Charlie Manson, who is a friend of mine, says it is. God and the Devil (he sings), he performs and writes poetry not long after Dennis attempted to advance Manson's musical career, although Dennis later said that he had no musical bone in his body.

Dennis took him to the recording studios, but no one was impressed by him, he smelled so bad that they nicknamed him pigsty, but not to his face. Things went downhill in the following months and Dennis grew tired of the family. One of Dennis's accountants says you have a bill for twelve hundred dollars from Altadena Dairy. They were charging everything the Altadena Dairy man would charge. like unloading his truck there, although that started to play on Dennis, she didn't want people to take advantage of them, but now it became more and more apparent that that was what was happening once Manson put a knife in the Dennis' throat and said: what would you do?

Do it if I just killed you do it was the response to which Manson lowered the knife Dennis never told the family to leave his house he was renting the house and three weeks before his lease expired he simply did not renew he left the house house and rented somewhere else and when the rent was not paid, the family was evicted. Manson wasn't upset by Dennis' actions, he simply moved back to the spawned ranch. Dennis was not a contact he wanted to lose, he would make an appearance at Dennis' apartment if he was Always Short on Food.

On the Beach Boys' next album, Dennis included a song Manson wrote called "Cease to Exist", changing the lyrics to stop resisting and the title "Never learn not to love this angry Manson even though this was the only time a Manson song." Appearing on the charts would be Terry Melcher, a record producer who had worked with the birds, went to Spawn Ranch twice to hear Manson's music, the first time he left please, but was not impressed with what he heard the second time. , a scene broke out in which Manson punched a drunken Ranch Hand. This incident completely destroyed Manson's chances of getting a record deal after this rejection or all hell would break loose in Manson's world, he would seek revenge and resulting in a murder spree and a life sentence in 1970.

Murray met a guy of songs he gave to the Beach Boys At the beginning of the guy, he suggested they record them because he didn't have much time left to live in the later years. Murray's health began to deteriorate. Murray had begun socializing regularly with Dennis. drinking and watching football games together Our Mother's Day in 1973 Murray told Dennis during a telephone conversation I'll live about a month four months later Murray died of a heart attack Brian and Dennis did not attend the funeral, but Dennis visited the Murray's body in the morgue, Sunrise members describe Maria as the kindest man ever in 1982.

Dennis' alcohol problems had become so severe that he drank from morning until night. When he woke up in the morning, he would go to the local liquor store and buy a bottle of vodka and pour half the orange juice into a pitcher of orange juice and top it off with vodka, which he would drink throughout the day if Dennis was away. full of alcohol. His hands were shaking violently one time when Dennis was buying food and when he came to pay his hands were shaking so much he couldn't sign his name Dennis went out to the parking lot drank two cans of beer and then came back he was bloated, looked emaciated and didn't look like the surfer.

Thin man he once was, he spoke with a growling, hoarse voice, if you only knew what it felt like to be up here and frequent his favorite bar, Shayjays,every day he was broke and never had a stable residence, they gave him an ultimatum that if he entered rehab for 30 days, The Beach Boys. He would buy back his boat the Harmony. Dennis had restored the large yacht but money problems meant he couldn't keep it. He entered rehab in another attempt to detox, but left after just two days, on December 28, 1983. Dennis sat with friends in Marina del Rey and ate. turkey sandwiches and his friends tried to cut down on his alcohol consumption, after which he began diving into the water where the Harmony was once docked.

He swam to the bottom of the ocean floor in search of items he had dropped before surfacing before submerging again. and he never resurfaced in a panic, his friends called Harbor Patrol and dove into the water to look for Dennis. They found him 45 minutes later, on November 5, 1982. Brian receives a letter from The Beach Boys notifying him that he was fired and that his expenses had run out. his bank accounts, it was all a ruse to persuade Brian to accept help and the help would come from Dr. Eugene Landy, so Brian's situation was desperate. Extreme Measures had many believed that if not, Brian would soon die.

Brian had no choice but to accept Landi's help and this would mean 24 hour therapy. The two met for a consultation in which Landy told him that his liver was bad, he had a quarter of his lung capacity, his heart was oversized, and he was 150 pounds overweight. A month later, Brian was admitted to Cedar Cyanide Hospital, there. he refused to bathe despite food, yelled at the nurses, and spent most of his time chain-smoking when he was discharged. Dr. Landy took Brian to a secluded resort in Hawaii the morning after Landy and a medical team took Brian to the beach, at which point Landy said we're driving this far and now we're going to walk back.

Panicked, Brian protests, but I can't. Come back then you can stay in the car Landy replied walking down the street after a tantrum Brian gave in and started walking I'm going to die if I don't stop Brian said gasping for air you're not going to die I promise you're just going to feel like you're dying. Landy responded an hour later. Brian was walking up the last few steps of the house he was staying in, although out of breath, drenched in sweat, and extremely angry as he entered the house. Brian fell into a chair in the living room.

Breakfast roared. "It's coming." Landy replied, "Who is now sitting next to him? One of Landi's team came in and left a glass of blended juice. Brian drank this in one gulp. Where's the rest?" he asked that's it, there's no more Landy responded that for the next week it's just juice and multivitamins, unbeknownst to Brian. Landy had quickly started him on juice alone. Ron stayed on a juice diet for the first week, but after that his breakfast switched to frozen fruit, so he was too afraid to shower the first week. He swam in the London pool every day to clean himself, then moved on to washing in the ocean and at the end of the week Landy pushed Brian to stand in the shower.

Brian said that what would come out of the shower head was acidic blood, so Landy stripped naked and stood under the shower and showed Brian that he was safe during the day. Landy forbade Brian to stay in his room, the sleeping rooms, he said instead, Brian lay on the couch, lay on the floor, or sat in a dark closet. Deidre Courtney was hired. to cook Brian's meals and the refrigerators were locked, the chef's lighter said of Dr. Landy that he would humiliate you in a very silent and controlled way, he never yelled or screamed, the movie was wrong referring to the later movie love and mercy, he later received a thank you.

You credited on Brian's first solo album. Brian also received medication for schizophrenia. Doctors later said this was a misdiagnosis of Landy and stopped the medication. Brian's health improved greatly. The grueling regimen continued for months and then years. By 1985, it was clear that Eugene Landy had saved Brian. life every morning Brian runs six miles lifts weights and then sits down to have a healthy breakfast washed down with herbal tea there was a strange contrast to Brian's rehabilitation, on the one hand, healthy food, exercise and sociability, on the other hand, without free agency, supervision and 24-hour medication that fried Brian's mind in 1989 Dr.

Landy had lost his license to practice psychology from the seven charges brought against him Landi admitted to illegally prescribing drugs and surrendered his license Brian and Landy continue working musically their therapeutic relationship had ended but Landy still had a close relationship with Brian. I separated after Brian's family filed legal action in 1991. Landy moved to Hawaii and died in 2006 of lung cancer. Brian Wilson continues to write and perform songs to this day.