The Dark Connection: Brian Wilson’s Eerie Ties to Charles Manson and His Near-Descent into a Family Cult’s Twisted World 

The Beach Boys had a strange connection with cult leader Charles Manson that could’ve turned deadly.

Brothers Brian, Dennis, and Carl Wilson, their cousin, Love, and friend Al Jardine formed The Beach Boys in Hawthorne, California, in 1961 and achieved international success thanks to hits such as Surfin’ USA, I’m Not in Love, God Only Knows, and Good Vibrations.

However, in 1968, though, they were on a downward trajectory, as their two 1967 albums, Smiley Smile and Wild Honey, were their worst-selling albums to date.

Things weren’t looking good for the group during this slow period, but their success really could’ve been halted and even tainted because of one Wilson brother’s association with the famous cult. For a while, Dennis actually shared his house with the Manson family, once Manson had already become a cult leader.

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The Manson family moved in and essentially took over the property, leaving Dennis to eventually flee and abandon all his belongings to escape their clutches after he witnessed them do unspeakable acts.

According to ATI, in April 1968, Dennis was driving his burgundy Rolls-Royce through the hills of Sunset Boulevard when he picked up a couple of hitchhiking women, kind of like in the scene in Quentin Tarantino’s Once Upon a Time in Hollywood where Brad Pitt’s character picks up a Manson follower played by Margaret Qualley.

Charles Manson and his family lived with Dennis Wilson(Image: Popperfoto/Getty Images)

The women of the Manson family repeatedly used this tactic to lure in new followers, but Dennis dropped them off at their home. Months later, he picked up the same two women, and this time, he brought them back to his place in Pacific Palisades. They told him about their spiritual guru and he was intrigued until he arrived home one night to Manson himself.

Seeing the fear on Dennis’ face, Manson got down on his knees and kissed the rock star’s feet. “Do I look like I’m going to hurt you, brother?” Manson asked.

According to the biography of former Manson family member Dianne Lake, the two got along immediately: “Dennis and Charlie hit it off right away, which is not surprising, given Charlie’s skills at ingratiating himself with strangers. Dennis, in no rush to leave, hung out for a while, smoked some pot with Charlie, and listened a bit to [Manson’s music].

“It was obvious from the start that Dennis liked the girls and admired Charlie’s harem. We sat at Charlie’s feet and looked at him lovingly as he sang and played guitar. We made sure Dennis saw how much we idolized Charlie — we knew that was our job, without Charlie even having to tell us.”

From then on, Wilson wanted to be a part of Manson’s following and introduced him to friends and family. “This is Charlie,” Dennis would say, upon introduction. “He is the wizard, man. He is a gas.”

According to Cracked, Dennis’ brother, Brian, later described coming to dinner and seeing him nude with Manson and a bunch of the Manson girls.

The Beach Boys wanted Dennis to cut ties with Charles Manson(Image: NBCUniversal via Getty Images)

An LSD orgy followed dinner, and when he declined to take part and went for a shower, a naked Manson tried to join him there. The cult leader warned him that leaving “the group” wasn’t an option.

Brian fled the house that night, but Dennis continued to be trapped with the family, who occupied his home for months, racking up close to a million dollars in expenses, including a large amount on STD treatments.

Still, Dennis publicly praised Manson and claimed he was happy that the family was relieving him of the burden of wealth. He even booked time for Manson at The Beach Boys’ home recording studio.

During a recording session, Manson discovered that producers had altered his music and that Wilson’s team was trying to make his sound fit with the group. Negotiations got tense and ended with Manson pulling a knife on a producer.

Following the knife-pulling incident, the rest of the band urged Dennis to cut ties with Manson and his family. However, before he did, he made one last reckless move.

In December of 1968, the group recorded Never Learn Not to Love, on the B-side of their Bluebirds Over the Mountain single. Little did the listeners know that the song was once called Cease to Exist, and was originally written by Manson. When the song was released, it was renamed, and the sole writing credit was given to Dennis.

Dennis Wilson was intrigued by Charles Manson

In the days after the song was released, Wilson awoke to find a bullet in his bed. “I gave him a bullet because he changed the words to my song,” Manson said.

It was Wilson who introduced Manson to Terry Melcher, a music producer and son of Hollywood legend Doris Day. Manson was in the car one day when Wilson dropped Melcher off at his house at 10050 Cielo Drive — the house that was later rented by actress Sharon Tate and director Roman Polanski.

After Melcher rejected Manson’s music in June of 1969, Manson got his revenge. To spook the producer, he ordered his “family” to murder everyone at 10050 Cielo Drive, sparking one of the most gruesome mass murders of the ’60s.