0:00:03 > 0:00:09Hi, my name is Dennis Wilson, I make rock'n'roll records.
0:00:09 > 0:00:13I've had a career of 15 years making hit records with the Beach Boys.
0:00:13 > 0:00:18During that 15 years I have had some very exciting moments.
0:00:20 > 0:00:26# If everybody had an ocean across the USA
0:00:26 > 0:00:27# Then everybody'd be surfing... #
0:00:27 > 0:00:33Dennis Wilson was the drummer in The Beach Boys, the teenagers who invented the sound of California,
0:00:33 > 0:00:37and for 1960s America, defined a whole new way of living.
0:00:37 > 0:00:41Sunshine, cars, girls, I Get Around,
0:00:41 > 0:00:44Good Vibrations, Surfin' USA.
0:00:47 > 0:00:52At the heart of the Beach Boys were the Wilson brothers, Dennis, Carl and Brian - the musical
0:00:52 > 0:00:56genius who penned unforgettable hits, but at the height of the band's fame retired to bed.
0:00:56 > 0:01:02But Brian didn't surf, he didn't race cars and he wasn't a teen idol.
0:01:02 > 0:01:06It was another Wilson brother who was the genuine article.
0:01:06 > 0:01:09The surfer, the hot-rodder, the DNA of the band.
0:01:11 > 0:01:17Dennis Wilson gave The Beach Boys their rhythm, but he also gave them their identity and their cool.
0:01:17 > 0:01:22When Brian lost his mind, it was Dennis who led the band through hard times.
0:01:22 > 0:01:27And it was Dennis who was the first to go solo with a lost classic of an album.
0:01:27 > 0:01:29He lived at the rock'n'roll lifestyle to the full,
0:01:29 > 0:01:34was married five times, and died tragically before he reached 40.
0:01:34 > 0:01:39This is the story of Dennis Wilson, the real Beach Boy.
0:01:46 > 0:01:49Act One, Scene One.
0:01:49 > 0:01:53An all-American neighbourhood in the golden age of the American Dream.
0:01:53 > 0:01:57Hawthorne. A blue-collar suburb of south Los Angeles where,
0:01:57 > 0:02:02on a very ordinary street in 1950s America, Dennis,
0:02:02 > 0:02:06his brothers and their neighbour David Marks, came of age.
0:02:11 > 0:02:13Here we are in Hawthorne,
0:02:13 > 0:02:17where The Beach Boys' California state landmark is,
0:02:17 > 0:02:21dedicated to the home of the Wilsons and myself.
0:02:23 > 0:02:27If we walk over here we will see...
0:02:27 > 0:02:30where their house actually was.
0:02:30 > 0:02:36The Wilsons' house was right here under this pile of dirt.
0:02:36 > 0:02:42And my house was right across the street, this was a corner house, the Wilsons'.
0:02:42 > 0:02:47And my house was right here directly across the street,
0:02:47 > 0:02:49under this pile of dirt.
0:02:49 > 0:02:54Can't go home, nothing there, empty air, a pile of dirt.
0:02:55 > 0:02:59The houses have changed here, but this house here looks almost exactly
0:02:59 > 0:03:02how the Wilsons' house looked.
0:03:02 > 0:03:07Where this garage is, the Wilsons turned theirs into a music room.
0:03:07 > 0:03:10That's where Brian wrote a bunch of songs.
0:03:10 > 0:03:12The window here, they had a similar window
0:03:12 > 0:03:18and I used to sneak up on Brian and peek in there and watch him.
0:03:19 > 0:03:23When I first met Dennis, he was 12.
0:03:24 > 0:03:27He had a buzz cut, flat top.
0:03:31 > 0:03:35We called him Dennis the Menace. He was always causing trouble.
0:03:35 > 0:03:39He was considered kind of the neighbourhood bully in a way.
0:03:39 > 0:03:42When the other kids saw him coming, they would go the other direction
0:03:42 > 0:03:45because they didn't know if Dennis was going to punch them or not.
0:03:48 > 0:03:53I had a chemistry set that I got for Christmas with a Bunsen burner, an alcohol burner.
0:03:53 > 0:03:56Dennis didn't want to do chemistry, he said, "Let's go and burn the ditch down."
0:03:56 > 0:04:01We went over and he threw the Bunsen burner down into the dry brush.
0:04:01 > 0:04:06It was about quarter of a mile, it just went up in flames.
0:04:06 > 0:04:10The fire department, the police, the National Guard - there was always
0:04:10 > 0:04:12something happening with Dennis and the police.
0:04:14 > 0:04:18He liked to have fun and he always recruited me to go with him to get in trouble.
0:04:18 > 0:04:23Watching over the incendiary Dennis was his loving mother Audrey.
0:04:23 > 0:04:25Audrey was very sweet.
0:04:25 > 0:04:27She was a nice person.
0:04:27 > 0:04:30I liked her very much.
0:04:30 > 0:04:32But ruling the roost was Dad Murry.
0:04:32 > 0:04:37Part-time composer and the Beach Boys' first manager.
0:04:37 > 0:04:41Murry Wilson, to me, was an obnoxious man.
0:04:41 > 0:04:44He had to have everything his own way.
0:04:44 > 0:04:48Murry's favourite thing was to get one of us boys
0:04:48 > 0:04:53and give us the Vulcan neck pinch until we went down on our knees.
0:04:53 > 0:04:55I didn't know that.
0:04:55 > 0:05:01- Or I would have done something. - You are going to smile next time on stage, aren't you?
0:05:01 > 0:05:05- I would have done something about that.- Yeah, I didn't tell my parents about that. I wasn't a tattle.
0:05:05 > 0:05:10Murry was a tough taskmaster with all three of his boys.
0:05:10 > 0:05:13But while eldest son Brian's musical talent and youngest son Carl's
0:05:13 > 0:05:18innocence placated Murry, middle son Dennis met his dad head-on.
0:05:18 > 0:05:22I did see them in a fist fight in the garage.
0:05:22 > 0:05:25I saw Dennis and his dad having it out in the garage.
0:05:25 > 0:05:28They obviously had to deal with their problems.
0:05:28 > 0:05:31David Marks's dad came from across the street
0:05:31 > 0:05:37- and pulled them apart.- The Wilsons' garage was directly across the street from us, and they faced each other.
0:05:37 > 0:05:41Open doors. And we heard a scuffle, we turned around and it was Dennis
0:05:41 > 0:05:44and Murry in their garage pushing each other around.
0:05:44 > 0:05:47And finally we saw Dennis trying to throw some blows at Murry.
0:05:47 > 0:05:51My father was a very big, strong man, and he ran over there
0:05:51 > 0:05:55and he tore them apart like dogs and broke the fight up.
0:05:57 > 0:06:03Away from Murry, Dennis had one place within walking distance that was all his own - the local beach.
0:06:08 > 0:06:11This is Manhattan Beach, 26th Street,
0:06:11 > 0:06:14where Dennis Wilson used to come.
0:06:14 > 0:06:20He loved this atmosphere, the salt air and the ocean.
0:06:20 > 0:06:22This was Dennis's place,
0:06:22 > 0:06:26the place where Dennis came for recreation, entertainment,
0:06:26 > 0:06:28see the girls, hang with them,
0:06:28 > 0:06:32be part of the whole beach scene as it rose in the early '60s.
0:06:37 > 0:06:40The rest of the band didn't really surf. Dennis was the only one.
0:06:41 > 0:06:43I tried it and didn't like it.
0:06:43 > 0:06:46Carl never went in the water. Had an aversion to water.
0:06:46 > 0:06:48But Dennis was one of the guys.
0:06:48 > 0:06:50He was accepted by the surf cult.
0:06:50 > 0:06:56It wasn't really a sport, it was a cult, and Dennis was accepted and he was one of them.
0:06:56 > 0:06:59In 1961, a young Brian Wilson
0:06:59 > 0:07:03had tunes, but only substandard lyrics for soppy love songs.
0:07:03 > 0:07:08He was struggling to write about something that would make him and his band stand out.
0:07:08 > 0:07:13It was Dennis's love of the beach that inspired the band's first song.
0:07:13 > 0:07:19Dennis, being the avid surfer in the family, he said, "Brian, why don't you write a song about surfing?"
0:07:22 > 0:07:26# Surfing's the only life The only way for me
0:07:26 > 0:07:30# Now surf, surf with me
0:07:31 > 0:07:36# I got up this morning Turned on my radio... #
0:07:36 > 0:07:41I played the stand-up, Carl played his little chunka-chunka guitar thing.
0:07:41 > 0:07:45A hollow-body electric-acoustic, unplugged.
0:07:45 > 0:07:49# ..have a good time Goin' surfing... #
0:07:49 > 0:07:51Dennis didn't play. He just sang.
0:07:51 > 0:07:55It was Brian hitting a snare drum with his index finger,
0:07:55 > 0:08:01and it was background vocals, and that was about it for that song.
0:08:02 > 0:08:05Primarily, it was more of an a cappella number than anything else.
0:08:05 > 0:08:12# ..only way for me Now surf, surf with me. #
0:08:12 > 0:08:18Surfin' was a local hit for the Beach Boys, but didn't make the national top 50.
0:08:18 > 0:08:23The band didn't have a record deal and realised they needed a bigger sound if they were to step up.
0:08:23 > 0:08:27They had the harmonies, but they needed a rhythm section.
0:08:27 > 0:08:30Yeah, Dennis didn't have any drum lessons.
0:08:30 > 0:08:35The drums just showed up in the music room one day, and "Dennis, you're the drummer," you know?
0:08:35 > 0:08:39Because we already had the guitar players, Brian playing bass solo.
0:08:39 > 0:08:42If they'd said, "Dennis, you're the bass player,"
0:08:42 > 0:08:44he would have picked up a bass and learned to play.
0:08:44 > 0:08:50With Dennis on drums, Carl and David now toting electric guitars and Surfin' their calling card,
0:08:50 > 0:08:54the band's demos of their next tune got them signed to Capitol Records
0:08:54 > 0:08:58and saw the release of their first long player, Surfin' Safari.
0:08:58 > 0:09:02# Let's go surfin' now Everybody's learnin' how
0:09:02 > 0:09:06# Come on a safari with me... #
0:09:06 > 0:09:11I just love the self-contained rock'n'roll sound. Listen to that.
0:09:11 > 0:09:13It's tight, it's energetic,
0:09:13 > 0:09:18it's bright, you can hear the little rhythm guitar riffs.
0:09:18 > 0:09:22It's so cool. It's so garage.
0:09:22 > 0:09:24I just love it.
0:09:27 > 0:09:30And, man, I mean, the sound is just so fun.
0:09:30 > 0:09:34I mean, you listen to that, it's rock'n'roll, but it's so California.
0:09:34 > 0:09:38And Dennis doing just those great surf fills.
0:09:38 > 0:09:41You can't call it anything other than surf. It was a surf beat.
0:09:41 > 0:09:46And Dennis, self-taught, somehow just nailed it and defined that sound.
0:09:50 > 0:09:53The sense of freedom, the sense of exuberance that you got
0:09:53 > 0:09:57from hearing that, it really was like the starting pistol of the '60s.
0:09:57 > 0:09:59"Dennis, the '60s are going to start."
0:09:59 > 0:10:01"All right! Boom! Here we go!"
0:10:01 > 0:10:05# Let's go surfin' now Everybody's learnin' how... #
0:10:05 > 0:10:08And they were off, packing concert halls round the country
0:10:08 > 0:10:12as Surfin' USA went to number three and I Get Around then topped the charts.
0:10:14 > 0:10:18In 1964, they played one of the first ever pop music festivals,
0:10:18 > 0:10:20the Teenage Awards Music International,
0:10:20 > 0:10:25alongside acts such as James Brown, The Supremes and the Rolling Stones.
0:10:25 > 0:10:30And out of all of that talent in that one room that night,
0:10:30 > 0:10:32the Beach Boys were probably the top-billed act,
0:10:32 > 0:10:36probably the most famous act out of them at that moment.
0:10:36 > 0:10:39GIRLS SCREAM
0:10:39 > 0:10:46- 'Who'd you come to see? Louder!' - Also in the room on that night was Beach Boys' roadie Ron Swallow.
0:10:46 > 0:10:51And to be in this hall again is just amazing, to look around here, and
0:10:51 > 0:10:56I've got goose bumps already just reliving the feeling of being here with all those kids.
0:10:56 > 0:10:58Are you ready for 'em?
0:10:58 > 0:11:02Well, let 'em know you're welcoming 'em! Come on!
0:11:02 > 0:11:04They can't hear you!
0:11:04 > 0:11:08The stage was set up here, at this end of the hall,
0:11:08 > 0:11:12and there were chairs all over the centre of the arena.
0:11:12 > 0:11:13When it started, kids were sitting,
0:11:13 > 0:11:17but within minutes it was just crazy and they were standing on
0:11:17 > 0:11:20the chairs and everybody was running up.
0:11:20 > 0:11:26- They were trying to get them back to the front.- 'The fabulous Beach Boys!'
0:11:26 > 0:11:30# Round, round, get around, I get around
0:11:30 > 0:11:32# Yeah, get around, round, round I get around
0:11:32 > 0:11:34# I get around
0:11:34 > 0:11:38# Get around, round, round I get around
0:11:38 > 0:11:42# Get around, round, round, I get around
0:11:42 > 0:11:45# Get around, round, round I get around
0:11:45 > 0:11:48# I'm getting bugged driving up and down the same old strip
0:11:48 > 0:11:53# I gotta find a new place where the kids are hip... #
0:11:53 > 0:11:58On that October night, the Beach Boys broke the hearts of 1,000 teenage girls.
0:11:58 > 0:12:03But there was one Beach Boy who broke more than his fair share.
0:12:05 > 0:12:09Oh, Dennis was the sex symbol. That rugged look... I mean, he was
0:12:09 > 0:12:11animated, he was a little bit crazy,
0:12:11 > 0:12:17and they just went crazy, especially when he started doing the hair thing.
0:12:17 > 0:12:21Dennis, before the Beatles, just would shake his hair wildly.
0:12:25 > 0:12:27He was just passionately all in,
0:12:27 > 0:12:29physically just flailing away,
0:12:29 > 0:12:33and that just drove the chicks nuts.
0:12:35 > 0:12:40There was a hilarious moment where Dennis is whaling away as usual on his drums
0:12:40 > 0:12:43and he just shatters a stick.
0:12:44 > 0:12:47He kind of hesitates for a second and then tosses it
0:12:47 > 0:12:50over his shoulder, grabs a new one and continues.
0:12:50 > 0:12:55Now, to me, that was a quintessential rock'n'roll moment.
0:12:55 > 0:12:58And there was a reason he broke sticks.
0:12:58 > 0:13:01Dennis had his own unique way of playing the drums.
0:13:01 > 0:13:03Normally, a right-handed drummer
0:13:03 > 0:13:08plays the high-hat, the two cymbals that clack together, over here
0:13:08 > 0:13:11with the right hand and the snare, the backbeat, as their left hand.
0:13:13 > 0:13:17He, probably just by not knowing any better, played the high-hat
0:13:17 > 0:13:22with his left hand and the snare with his right hand, which gave him a really heavy backbeat.
0:13:24 > 0:13:28I mean, you could tell he was a strong dude,
0:13:28 > 0:13:30and there was a fight in everything he did, you know?
0:13:30 > 0:13:36Not only did Dennis have his own maverick drumming style, but also his own look and image
0:13:36 > 0:13:41that from the days of the Beach Boys' first album had set him apart from his brothers and band mates.
0:13:41 > 0:13:45I looked at the rest of these guys,
0:13:45 > 0:13:47and there's David, then there's this kind of
0:13:47 > 0:13:50chubby guy over here, and this guy over here has kind of a flat-top.
0:13:50 > 0:13:53This guy's kinds getting bald, it looks like.
0:13:53 > 0:13:56So Dennis really stood out in that crowd.
0:13:56 > 0:13:59Definitely the coolest-looking one, if you ask me.
0:13:59 > 0:14:03# Do you wanna dance under the moonlight?
0:14:03 > 0:14:06# Kiss me, baby, all though the night
0:14:06 > 0:14:08# Oh, baby
0:14:08 > 0:14:11# Do you wanna dance? #
0:14:11 > 0:14:17I can remember being in a hotel. I can't tell you exactly when or where.
0:14:17 > 0:14:22But if his room was three or four rooms down from mine,
0:14:22 > 0:14:25there would be ten or fifteen girls lined up
0:14:25 > 0:14:27just to come in and say hi to him.
0:14:27 > 0:14:32I can remember being pressed up, just happened to be standing next to Dennis after a gig,
0:14:32 > 0:14:35and being smashed up against a chain-like fence
0:14:35 > 0:14:36by 3,000 screaming girls.
0:14:39 > 0:14:43In 1963, we were playing a show in Santa Cruz,
0:14:43 > 0:14:47and after the show, word got out of the hotel we were staying in.
0:14:47 > 0:14:52And so a lot of the kids came over, and some of the girls were more
0:14:52 > 0:14:56interested in the band, and their boyfriends got quite upset about it.
0:14:56 > 0:14:58And so they were coming to cause the band some grief,
0:14:58 > 0:15:02and when they got there they were coming up the stairs to get to our rooms.
0:15:02 > 0:15:07And Dennis being Dennis, he decided to intervene and got
0:15:07 > 0:15:12about halfway down the stairs and kicked one of the guys
0:15:12 > 0:15:15between the legs, and it actually split his scrotum.
0:15:15 > 0:15:17# Go!
0:15:17 > 0:15:23# I'm gonna wake you up early, cos I'm gonna take a ride with you... #
0:15:23 > 0:15:26The Beach Boys pulled the girls with their surf tunes and the spirit
0:15:26 > 0:15:31of California, but they were shrewd, and knowing that a lot of their audience lived in the vast interior
0:15:31 > 0:15:37of America, miles from the sea, they turned to a growing passion - young America's need for speed.
0:15:37 > 0:15:40# First gear, it's all right
0:15:40 > 0:15:42# Second gear... #
0:15:43 > 0:15:47We had 45s that came out, and they would play both sides of our record.
0:15:47 > 0:15:50# It's all right! #
0:15:50 > 0:15:54Our theme was one side would be a surf song and the flip side would be a car song.
0:15:56 > 0:15:58# It's more fun than a barrel of monkeys... #
0:15:58 > 0:16:01Dennis's prize possession at the time
0:16:01 > 0:16:05was a '63 split-window 327 cubic inch
0:16:05 > 0:16:07Corvette with a four-speed.
0:16:07 > 0:16:09Also, I might add, fuel-injected.
0:16:09 > 0:16:14From a speed standpoint, you're probably looking at an easy 145 on the street at any point in time,
0:16:14 > 0:16:17but obviously one of the sexiest machines ever built.
0:16:23 > 0:16:27This album really did it for me, for two reasons.
0:16:27 > 0:16:30It has Don't Worry Baby on it,
0:16:30 > 0:16:35and it has a picture of Dennis's 1963 split-window Corvette Stingray.
0:16:35 > 0:16:38Now, this car was one of my dream cars.
0:16:38 > 0:16:42Look at that face, man. I mean, what attitude!
0:16:42 > 0:16:45But I mean, not in a way that is threatening, in a way that just says,
0:16:45 > 0:16:49"I'm cool. And by the way, that's my car."
0:16:49 > 0:16:52Dennis was a serious car fanatic.
0:16:52 > 0:16:58There was a period that Dennis kind of had a secret life going at the local drag strips,
0:16:58 > 0:17:04and he was racing his cars under a different name and winning trophies, setting track records.
0:17:04 > 0:17:07And this album, Shut Down Volume 2,
0:17:07 > 0:17:13Dennis is right there, not only singing about it and posing on the cover with a cool car,
0:17:13 > 0:17:17but he's actually going out on the weekends and racing the damn things.
0:17:17 > 0:17:20# I'm picking up good vibrations... #
0:17:20 > 0:17:23In 1966, with Good Vibrations topping the charts,
0:17:23 > 0:17:26the Beach Boys had the world at their feet.
0:17:26 > 0:17:30But backstage, things were changing.
0:17:30 > 0:17:34Brian had retired from touring to concentrate on writing, but his new,
0:17:34 > 0:17:40psychedelic album, Pet Sounds, which inspired Sgt Pepper's, was not well received by their record label.
0:17:40 > 0:17:43The Beach Boys were victimised.
0:17:43 > 0:17:46Brian delivers Pet Sounds.
0:17:46 > 0:17:47They said, "What is this shit?
0:17:47 > 0:17:51"Pet what? Where's the surfing music, you idiot?"
0:17:51 > 0:17:56In these turbulent times, Dennis remained fiercely loyal to his elder brother.
0:17:56 > 0:18:00Dennis adored Brian. You could not say anything bad about Brian.
0:18:00 > 0:18:01Dennis would be all over you.
0:18:01 > 0:18:03Dennis quite often would stick up for Brian.
0:18:03 > 0:18:08In fact, Dennis never did not stick up for Brian, even when Brian
0:18:08 > 0:18:11was going through some very rough, eccentric times.
0:18:11 > 0:18:16Dennis would not go for that. "Are you kidding me? We wouldn't be here if it weren't for Brian."
0:18:16 > 0:18:20The band appeared to be at a crossroads.
0:18:20 > 0:18:22The strain was showing, and Brian began a slide
0:18:22 > 0:18:26into drugs and mental illness, much to the agony of Dennis.
0:18:26 > 0:18:30I would go to his house daily and beg, "What can I do to help you?
0:18:30 > 0:18:32"Forget recording.
0:18:32 > 0:18:34"Forget all of it."
0:18:34 > 0:18:37It got to Brian's health.
0:18:37 > 0:18:40And then, as the Beach Boys were slowly slipping away,
0:18:40 > 0:18:44y'know, we're at home trying to take care of our brother.
0:18:44 > 0:18:48Dennis took refuge from the storm,
0:18:48 > 0:18:53partying hard and fully embracing the 1960s.
0:18:53 > 0:19:00His new home at 14 400 Sunset Boulevard became an open house for young hippies.
0:19:00 > 0:19:03Dennis and I met back in '68.
0:19:03 > 0:19:06Quite honestly, he tossed me an apothecary jar of marijuana
0:19:06 > 0:19:09first, then he said, "Roll 'em till you can't smoke any more."
0:19:09 > 0:19:13And he picked up a guitar and he started playing me these songs.
0:19:13 > 0:19:16He said, "Yeah, a friend of mine, Charlie, wrote these songs."
0:19:16 > 0:19:21"Charlie" was, in fact, the infamous cult leader Charles Manson, who,
0:19:21 > 0:19:26along with the so-called Manson Family, moved into 14400 Sunset Boulevard.
0:19:26 > 0:19:32And Charlie, pictured here at the house, set out to impress Dennis with his home-grown songs.
0:19:32 > 0:19:34That was Charlie's thrust.
0:19:34 > 0:19:38He really wanted to be in the music business, he really wanted to be in entertainment.
0:19:38 > 0:19:39That's why he came to LA.
0:19:39 > 0:19:42And Charlie was an interesting study, in that he could sit down
0:19:42 > 0:19:46with a guitar and plunk out a song, just chord out a song.
0:19:46 > 0:19:53One of the songs that Charlie and Dennis worked on together was a song called Cease To Exist originally.
0:19:55 > 0:19:58# Pretty girl
0:19:58 > 0:20:00# Pretty, pretty girl... #
0:20:00 > 0:20:02It was very raw.
0:20:02 > 0:20:05Dennis took the song, polished it.
0:20:05 > 0:20:09# Cease to exist
0:20:09 > 0:20:13# Just come and say you love me. #
0:20:13 > 0:20:20One of the lyrics in the Charlie version, Charlie had the line "cease to exist" in the lyric.
0:20:20 > 0:20:25And Dennis changed it to "cease to resist"
0:20:25 > 0:20:30and turned the song into Never Learn Not To Love.
0:20:30 > 0:20:35# Cease to resist Come and say you love me
0:20:37 > 0:20:41# Give up your world Come on and be with me... #
0:20:43 > 0:20:46The reworked song was, in fact, recorded by the Beach Boys
0:20:46 > 0:20:48and credited to Dennis.
0:20:48 > 0:20:50Charlie wasn't happy.
0:20:55 > 0:21:02Dennis by this time was looking to escape from his own house, which had been overrun by the Manson family.
0:21:05 > 0:21:11Dennis would lots of times get away from the place and spent a night at my house up in Beverly Glen.
0:21:11 > 0:21:15We never did figure this out - Charlie found out where that house was.
0:21:15 > 0:21:20We were in this little room of his at Greg's, and the door flung open
0:21:20 > 0:21:22and this crazy little man just came
0:21:22 > 0:21:25flying into the room, and he looked exactly the way
0:21:25 > 0:21:28he looked on the front of the newspaper months later,
0:21:28 > 0:21:30when he was arrested.
0:21:30 > 0:21:34And he jumped in and he said, "I just come from the moon!"
0:21:35 > 0:21:38And Dennis said, "Come on, I want to talk to you,"
0:21:38 > 0:21:39and he took Charlie outside.
0:21:39 > 0:21:42And he came in and he was white as a ghost, and he said,
0:21:42 > 0:21:45"I had to give him a guitar and all the money I had.
0:21:45 > 0:21:50"He swore he was going to kidnap my son if I don't get him all of this money."
0:21:50 > 0:21:53Because they had not put Charlie's name on this record
0:21:53 > 0:21:55of the Beach Boys,
0:21:55 > 0:21:58also because Dennis had changed some of the words to it.
0:21:58 > 0:22:02And he said, "You mess with anything with me, but you don't mess with my words."
0:22:02 > 0:22:07Six months later, Manson and his followers began a series
0:22:07 > 0:22:10of brutal killings that would see them convicted and sentenced
0:22:10 > 0:22:13in the most high-profile murder case of its time.
0:22:13 > 0:22:15There were repercussions for Dennis,
0:22:15 > 0:22:19as, inevitably, he was questioned about his relationship with Manson.
0:22:19 > 0:22:24It was a low ebb for Dennis and a difficult time for the Beach Boys.
0:22:28 > 0:22:33Brian had retreated to the exclusive suburb of Bel Air and the band had
0:22:33 > 0:22:37installed a studio in his house, but their music wasn't selling.
0:22:37 > 0:22:40Albums were charting well outside the top 50,
0:22:40 > 0:22:43Sunflower as low as number 151,
0:22:43 > 0:22:47and Brian, battling his own demons,
0:22:47 > 0:22:49had retired to bed.
0:22:49 > 0:22:53That was really what life was all about for me, staying in bed.
0:22:53 > 0:22:55I was hiding away from everything and anything,
0:22:55 > 0:22:57and it was just one big hideaway.
0:22:57 > 0:22:59It's a problem.
0:22:59 > 0:23:03Here's the guy that basically is the impetus of your songwriting,
0:23:03 > 0:23:05and if he decided to take a break
0:23:05 > 0:23:11or decided to go into some kind of self-imposed songwriting exile,
0:23:11 > 0:23:13then there's not much you can do about it.
0:23:13 > 0:23:17Well, in that period it was really Carl that, essentially,
0:23:17 > 0:23:19took over the producing reins.
0:23:19 > 0:23:20Carl comes up with something like
0:23:20 > 0:23:23I Can Hear Music, which is a great single.
0:23:23 > 0:23:24Brian's not even on that.
0:23:24 > 0:23:28# Sweet, sweet music
0:23:29 > 0:23:32# Whenever you touch me, baby
0:23:32 > 0:23:34# Whenever you're near
0:23:38 > 0:23:42# I hear the music all the time, yeah
0:23:42 > 0:23:45# I hear the music all the time now, baby
0:23:45 > 0:23:48# I hear the music all the time
0:23:48 > 0:23:53# I hear the music I hear the music, baby... #
0:23:53 > 0:23:56With Brian horizontal, Dennis, who'd only been seen by the band
0:23:56 > 0:24:00as a drummer, and even then as something of a pounder,
0:24:00 > 0:24:01stepped forward as a writer.
0:24:01 > 0:24:04Dennis was starting to become a songwriter,
0:24:04 > 0:24:07and he was starting to sit at the piano and play,
0:24:07 > 0:24:10and he was learning more and more from his brother.
0:24:10 > 0:24:14But I suppose a lot of that is just almost in their DNA.
0:24:15 > 0:24:19Sunflower may not have sold, but Dennis took songwriting credits
0:24:19 > 0:24:24on four tracks, including the stand out song, Forever,
0:24:24 > 0:24:27which he co-wrote with Greg Jacobson.
0:24:27 > 0:24:30I was so inspired that I called up Dennis in the middle of the night
0:24:30 > 0:24:32and we almost wrote the whole song over the phone.
0:24:32 > 0:24:37The melody line was there and most of the chorus and verses were there
0:24:37 > 0:24:39within ten minutes on the phone.
0:24:39 > 0:24:42# If every word I said
0:24:42 > 0:24:47# Could make you laugh, I'd talk forever... #
0:24:48 > 0:24:52He said, "Would you help me with this song, Forever?" I helped him arrange it.
0:24:52 > 0:24:55# I ask the sky just what we have
0:24:57 > 0:24:59# It's shown forever... #
0:24:59 > 0:25:02Were you surprised that he had that ability?
0:25:02 > 0:25:05Of course. I never thought my brother Dennis could do that.
0:25:05 > 0:25:07But he did it anyway.
0:25:07 > 0:25:13# To fill your heart with joy I'd sing forever... #
0:25:13 > 0:25:17I really recognised him at that point as more than just a drummer.
0:25:17 > 0:25:22# Forever, forever... #
0:25:22 > 0:25:28Having a song like Forever is what's going to make you turn your head,
0:25:28 > 0:25:32and I guess there's certain times where I wish I was older,
0:25:32 > 0:25:34when all this stuff was happening,
0:25:34 > 0:25:38so I would have been more aware of how wonderful this stuff was.
0:25:38 > 0:25:41# Together, my love... #
0:25:41 > 0:25:42Times were good for Dennis.
0:25:42 > 0:25:45Manson now seemed firmly behind him
0:25:45 > 0:25:48as his songs were praised by critics and fans.
0:25:48 > 0:25:51Take it easy, man, you're going to kill us.
0:25:51 > 0:25:56To cap it, in 1971 he was cast it in cult road movie Two-Lane Blacktop,
0:25:56 > 0:26:01putting all that car knowledge to perfect use as the mechanic.
0:26:02 > 0:26:04We ought to get some action. We'll need him to do a little work
0:26:04 > 0:26:07on the carburettors and check out the rear end.
0:26:09 > 0:26:13By the mid-'70s, the Beach Boys were a big draw as a live act
0:26:13 > 0:26:17but in reality had become a show band who churned out the oldies,
0:26:17 > 0:26:20the surfing and car songs, to huge crowds.
0:26:20 > 0:26:22The band were creatively bankrupt
0:26:22 > 0:26:25and hadn't released any new material for years.
0:26:25 > 0:26:29This exasperated Carl and burgeoning songwriter Dennis,
0:26:29 > 0:26:30and a division grew.
0:26:32 > 0:26:36Between Dennis and Carl, they pretty much wanted to go in a direction
0:26:36 > 0:26:38of continuing to push the edge,
0:26:38 > 0:26:41whatever edge there was going to be with the Beach Boys,
0:26:41 > 0:26:44continuing Brian's legacy.
0:26:44 > 0:26:49Then you had Alan and Mike, who tended to more want to milk the cash cow.
0:26:51 > 0:26:55It was just the typical things, as Mike wanted to care of business
0:26:55 > 0:26:58with the band and Dennis just wanted to be Dennis.
0:26:58 > 0:27:00And so they just had all grown apart creatively.
0:27:00 > 0:27:03I don't know if they were ever on the same page.
0:27:03 > 0:27:07Dennis would never come to a business meeting or board directors' meetings with the Beach Boys.
0:27:07 > 0:27:11He would never do anything that would remotely benefit him financially.
0:27:13 > 0:27:16He did everything in his power to derail financial things,
0:27:16 > 0:27:17which drove Mike Love nuts!
0:27:17 > 0:27:19Why are you sitting down?
0:27:19 > 0:27:24Even on tour, Dennis began to relish taking the spotlight away from Mike
0:27:24 > 0:27:27with a show stopper that not many people know
0:27:27 > 0:27:28he had a hand in writing.
0:27:28 > 0:27:31I dedicate this song
0:27:31 > 0:27:34to the girls here tonight.
0:27:34 > 0:27:36He had a real affinity with the crowd,
0:27:36 > 0:27:38and he had a real power over the crowd.
0:27:39 > 0:27:42All right! Do you mess around?
0:27:42 > 0:27:46He was probably the most charismatic in the band.
0:27:46 > 0:27:50When he'd come up to the front and sing, the crowd would go crazy.
0:27:52 > 0:27:54He'd say, "I want to leave you with this song."
0:27:54 > 0:27:58A piano player would come out and play You Are So Beautiful and Dennis would sing.
0:27:59 > 0:28:04# You are so beautiful
0:28:06 > 0:28:08# To me... #
0:28:08 > 0:28:10Dennis really did write that with Billy Preston.
0:28:10 > 0:28:13They were sitting and jamming, and it just kind of came out.
0:28:13 > 0:28:16Dennis was plinking, and Billy Preston picked up on it,
0:28:16 > 0:28:19because he's really a piano player, and You Are So Beautiful.
0:28:19 > 0:28:22The song isn't much more than that.
0:28:22 > 0:28:27# Can't you see? Oh-h-h-h... #
0:28:28 > 0:28:33It wasn't until much later that it even became a song and Dennis
0:28:33 > 0:28:36realised, "Hey, I remember that, that's my lyric."
0:28:36 > 0:28:41# You're everything I need... #
0:28:42 > 0:28:43California.
0:28:45 > 0:28:50# You are so beautiful
0:28:52 > 0:28:54# To me. #
0:28:59 > 0:29:00Thank you very much.
0:29:03 > 0:29:08That song is so distinctively a Dennis song, because first of all...
0:29:08 > 0:29:10# You are so beautiful... #
0:29:10 > 0:29:15that's a melody of his, and that is a lyric that he would write,
0:29:15 > 0:29:21because it's simple and it's straight directly from here to here.
0:29:23 > 0:29:26From the early days, Dennis had been the Beach Boy
0:29:26 > 0:29:28to catch the eyes of their female fans.
0:29:28 > 0:29:32And for a sex bomb pop star in the '60s and '70s,
0:29:32 > 0:29:35it's perhaps no surprise that he married more than once.
0:29:35 > 0:29:40He was first hitched in 1965 to Carole Freedman.
0:29:40 > 0:29:43She's seen with him on the cover of The Beach Boys Party Album.
0:29:43 > 0:29:46In '69, he fell for Barbara Charren.
0:29:46 > 0:29:51She inspired him to write the songs Cuddle Up and Forever.
0:29:51 > 0:29:53But their marriage didn't last forever.
0:29:53 > 0:29:56They split in '74.
0:29:56 > 0:29:58Dennis wasn't done with marriage.
0:29:58 > 0:30:01In 1976, he tied the knot with Karen Lamm,
0:30:01 > 0:30:05a headstrong model and actress 12 years his junior
0:30:05 > 0:30:09who'd had a picture of Dennis on her bedroom wall growing up in Indiana.
0:30:09 > 0:30:13She would become the fiery muse through Dennis's most
0:30:13 > 0:30:14creative and turbulent years.
0:30:18 > 0:30:19During his marriage to Karen,
0:30:19 > 0:30:22Dennis brought another lady into his life,
0:30:22 > 0:30:25an ocean-going yacht, the Harmony.
0:30:26 > 0:30:29When he found it, it was at the bottom of the ocean.
0:30:29 > 0:30:32It was built by hand in Japan years and years ago.
0:30:32 > 0:30:35I mean, there was so many woods on it. There was teak and mahogany.
0:30:35 > 0:30:38He bought it for, I think, 125,000.
0:30:38 > 0:30:42In those days, that was like three quarters of a million,
0:30:42 > 0:30:45probably, now, and spent that much having it restored
0:30:45 > 0:30:47and never let me see it
0:30:47 > 0:30:51until it got dropped in the water here at the marina.
0:30:51 > 0:30:54It was just an amazing feat to watch, the way he was like this.
0:30:54 > 0:30:58I mean, it was like all his energy tied in with yanking the sails
0:30:58 > 0:31:00and going about and everything!
0:31:00 > 0:31:02I mean, he was a master.
0:31:04 > 0:31:10I was on the boat with my dad and Brian, and I think I got seasick,
0:31:10 > 0:31:13and I threw up all over Brian. I remember that.
0:31:15 > 0:31:19That was where he got a lot of his inspiration.
0:31:19 > 0:31:23We'd be floating out in the ocean at two o'clock in the morning, and he'd get an idea for something.
0:31:23 > 0:31:26He'd jump to a little keyboard,
0:31:26 > 0:31:30and way before cell phones he'd have me go ship-to-shore to call
0:31:30 > 0:31:32to get an engineer into the studio,
0:31:32 > 0:31:35and John Hanlon or Tom Murphy would come racing in in the middle
0:31:35 > 0:31:38of the night, and he'd go in and he'd lay down this crazy little part.
0:31:38 > 0:31:42Dennis would just grab me, because he'd be creative late at night.
0:31:42 > 0:31:45Karen would piss him off or something would happen,
0:31:45 > 0:31:47and he just wanted to record.
0:31:47 > 0:31:51He wasn't going to let anything stand in his way.
0:31:51 > 0:31:55And he was very engaging. He was very positive and he took chances.
0:31:55 > 0:31:59If Dennis wasn't on the Harmony, he was two miles up the road
0:31:59 > 0:32:03from the marina in the Beach Boys' own recording studio.
0:32:03 > 0:32:08He was in the zone. I mean, he was extremely focused when he was in the room.
0:32:08 > 0:32:11He'd spend weekends, Friday and Saturday nights, working late.
0:32:11 > 0:32:13There was no place he'd rather be.
0:32:13 > 0:32:16I never saw him agonise over it.
0:32:16 > 0:32:18It never looked like work.
0:32:20 > 0:32:23There were four songs that were first played for me on my first week.
0:32:23 > 0:32:28Gregg Jakobson always had what they call the rough-mix reel.
0:32:28 > 0:32:32It was a quarter-inch reel of tape that he'd catalogue the day's work.
0:32:32 > 0:32:34I'll never forget, the first week
0:32:34 > 0:32:37was River Song, Pacific Ocean Blue, Rainbows and Holy Man.
0:32:37 > 0:32:44- These tracks were the nucleus of the very first solo album recorded by a Beach Boy.- Hi.
0:32:44 > 0:32:46My name is Dennis Wilson.
0:32:46 > 0:32:48I make rock'n'roll records.
0:32:48 > 0:32:51Uh, I've had a career of 15 years
0:32:51 > 0:32:53making hit records with the Beach Boys.
0:32:55 > 0:32:59During that 15 years, I have had some very exciting moments,
0:32:59 > 0:33:05but I've never been as excited as I am now.
0:33:05 > 0:33:08As a matter of fact, I'm very proud to announce
0:33:08 > 0:33:12that I'll be making albums with James William Guercio,
0:33:12 > 0:33:14on Caribou Records.
0:33:17 > 0:33:20Pacific Ocean Blue was released in August 1977.
0:33:24 > 0:33:27Well, this here's me. That's Carl.
0:33:27 > 0:33:30It's a far-back memory, you know?
0:33:30 > 0:33:34This has got to be over 30 years ago now, so...
0:33:34 > 0:33:40# And live on the edge of a body of water
0:33:40 > 0:33:46# Warmed by the blood of cold-hearted slaughter
0:33:46 > 0:33:48# Of the otter... #
0:33:48 > 0:33:51Hearing just him in the studio
0:33:51 > 0:33:55and hearing his voice and just
0:33:55 > 0:33:57him do exactly what he wanted to do,
0:33:57 > 0:34:01you know, and you start hearing how soulful it was too.
0:34:01 > 0:34:05And so much of the original Beach Boys
0:34:05 > 0:34:07was just good, but so square.
0:34:07 > 0:34:10And there was so much soul involved.
0:34:14 > 0:34:17Very soulful. Very emotive.
0:34:18 > 0:34:22You're listening to that voice, the lyrics that he's singing,
0:34:22 > 0:34:23and you're believing it.
0:34:23 > 0:34:28# Wait a minute Can't you see you got an enemy? #
0:34:28 > 0:34:33Most people have only heard the other boys, Wilson boys,
0:34:33 > 0:34:34so to speak, the other two.
0:34:34 > 0:34:37But they didn't...
0:34:37 > 0:34:42Hopefully, they were surprised in a nice way, just like I was, to hear
0:34:42 > 0:34:47all this beautiful stuff coming out, and that's what made me emotional.
0:34:47 > 0:34:51It just made me teary-eyed, because he was a soulful guy.
0:34:55 > 0:34:57# Pacific Ocean blue... #
0:34:58 > 0:35:01He was just different. I don't know how to describe it.
0:35:01 > 0:35:04He sounded different than anybody else I'd ever heard.
0:35:14 > 0:35:17Pacific Ocean Blue album opens with the River Song.
0:35:19 > 0:35:24# Walking round by the river... #
0:35:24 > 0:35:26It's the epic nature of the production.
0:35:28 > 0:35:30You've got white-boy rock'n'roll,
0:35:30 > 0:35:32and he brings in the Double Rock Baptist choir
0:35:32 > 0:35:37and they're singing gospel-oriented backgrounds on this track. It was amazing.
0:35:38 > 0:35:40They took off with it.
0:35:40 > 0:35:44It was so much more than he had thought about.
0:35:44 > 0:35:47It took on a life of its own, you know, and it just blossomed.
0:35:48 > 0:35:53# By the river, I would love to be like you
0:35:55 > 0:36:00# Ooh, lonely river has not got time to say... #
0:36:01 > 0:36:04It has the bliss of a Brian Wilson production,
0:36:04 > 0:36:07but it's mature, it's rocking.
0:36:07 > 0:36:10# I was born into the city life
0:36:11 > 0:36:15- # It's all that I've ever known - Ooh-ooh-ooh
0:36:15 > 0:36:17# It's rough getting money to spend
0:36:17 > 0:36:21# So hard that I can hardly breathe... #
0:36:21 > 0:36:25If River Song had the credit "Produced by Brian Wilson" on it,
0:36:25 > 0:36:27people would have died.
0:36:27 > 0:36:31I mean...their teeth would have fallen out
0:36:31 > 0:36:36they would have been so happy, because that's kind of...
0:36:36 > 0:36:40where people were hoping Brian would go.
0:36:48 > 0:36:51Pacific Ocean Blue didn't just display a maturity,
0:36:51 > 0:36:55it revealed a side to Dennis that people hadn't seen before.
0:36:55 > 0:37:00It almost seems like his music really shows you what he was feeling.
0:37:00 > 0:37:02It's very emotional.
0:37:02 > 0:37:04And I was almost surprised at
0:37:04 > 0:37:08how dark it seemed and felt at first,
0:37:08 > 0:37:11very painful music, but so good!
0:37:12 > 0:37:16The pain in Dennis life came from his stormy relationship with Karen,
0:37:16 > 0:37:21who he would marry and divorce twice by 1978.
0:37:21 > 0:37:23If you like Pacific Ocean Blue,
0:37:23 > 0:37:25there's no way you can listen to that album
0:37:25 > 0:37:29and not feel the influence that she had on Dennis.
0:37:29 > 0:37:33It's right there, it's in the grooves. Thoughts Of You?
0:37:33 > 0:37:34That's about Dennis and Karen.
0:37:48 > 0:37:53She's not a beloved figure amongst Dennis's friends.
0:37:53 > 0:37:58To this day, you speak Karen Lamm and an awful lot of people will say
0:37:58 > 0:38:00that she was poison.
0:38:00 > 0:38:02# Look at love
0:38:05 > 0:38:07# Look at love
0:38:10 > 0:38:14# Look what they've done! #
0:38:15 > 0:38:17It's love hate. It's that emotion.
0:38:17 > 0:38:21He always brought it into the studio.
0:38:21 > 0:38:23As soon as he'd be in a beef, he'd come right into the studio.
0:38:23 > 0:38:25That was his outlet.
0:38:25 > 0:38:30It was just that's where he could bleed safely.
0:38:33 > 0:38:36Both Dennis and Karen had a taste for drugs and alcohol.
0:38:36 > 0:38:40As their second marriage veered out of control,
0:38:40 > 0:38:43Dennis began to rely heavily on both.
0:38:43 > 0:38:49That was when his substances became totally detrimental
0:38:49 > 0:38:51and not conducive to his working.
0:38:52 > 0:38:56It was insane, the nights that I would have to go to get him out of jail
0:38:56 > 0:39:01because she fired guns at his car and then called the police,
0:39:01 > 0:39:06telling them he was racing down the Coast Highway in a 200,000 Ferrari
0:39:06 > 0:39:08that had bullet holes in it
0:39:08 > 0:39:12that she had put in and had him arrested with a gun.
0:39:12 > 0:39:15It was just crazed, the things that the two of them went through.
0:39:15 > 0:39:19And that has a lot to do, I think, with the exceptional
0:39:19 > 0:39:22emotionalness that you hear in Bamboo.
0:39:24 > 0:39:26# It's not too late... #
0:39:26 > 0:39:30Bamboo was intended as the follow up album to Pacific Ocean Blue.
0:39:30 > 0:39:32Dennis had made a start on it,
0:39:32 > 0:39:34but the drugs and alcohol were taking their toll,
0:39:34 > 0:39:40and aged only 34, he began to lose some basic musical skills.
0:39:41 > 0:39:45Dennis's voice had deteriorated to the point where he was recording
0:39:45 > 0:39:51songs that the melody required places where his voice wouldn't go.
0:39:51 > 0:39:57And so he began bringing Carl in to assist him, to sing with him.
0:39:57 > 0:40:00Carl was really supportive.
0:40:00 > 0:40:02Always loved Dennis's music.
0:40:02 > 0:40:06And so you have examples of Dennis taking
0:40:06 > 0:40:07part of a song and then Carl
0:40:07 > 0:40:10kind of coming in and filling in the rest.
0:40:10 > 0:40:13# Ooh, words of love
0:40:13 > 0:40:19# Deep words inside of me Ooh...
0:40:19 > 0:40:25- # I cry for warmth - Cry, cry for warmth... #
0:40:26 > 0:40:32It's like the two brothers that were used to singing with Brian...
0:40:34 > 0:40:37..on early records, where they were in a supporting role
0:40:37 > 0:40:40and doing background vocals, and now they're doing leads.
0:40:40 > 0:40:43It's the two of them. They've stepped to the forefront,
0:40:43 > 0:40:46and Brian's not here.
0:40:46 > 0:40:48It's like, "We're picking it up."
0:40:48 > 0:40:50That's just what I get.
0:40:56 > 0:41:01But unfortunately, Bamboo suffered along with Dennis.
0:41:01 > 0:41:05As Dennis deteriorated personally,
0:41:05 > 0:41:08the Bamboo sessions deteriorated.
0:41:09 > 0:41:11These were dark days for Dennis.
0:41:11 > 0:41:15His second marriage to Karen had failed, the Bamboo sessions were
0:41:15 > 0:41:18faltering, and worst of all, Brother Studio,
0:41:18 > 0:41:21his recording base, was in financial trouble.
0:41:21 > 0:41:25The Beach Boys, who owned the studio, put it up for sale.
0:41:27 > 0:41:29We were trying to sell it to Fleetwood Mac at this point.
0:41:29 > 0:41:33There was a lot of interest from Lindsey Buckingham,
0:41:33 > 0:41:34a big Beach Boy fan.
0:41:34 > 0:41:37So Lindsey would come by with Mick Fleetwood and look at the studio
0:41:37 > 0:41:41with John McVie, and they were very interested in taking it over.
0:41:41 > 0:41:46So we started to all become sort of friends, and Dennis initially was trying to hit on Stevie Nicks.
0:41:46 > 0:41:50And in the process, Stevie didn't show much interest in Dennis,
0:41:50 > 0:41:53but Christine McVie became quite enamoured with him.
0:41:53 > 0:41:56I think he was just in awe of her musical talent
0:41:56 > 0:41:59and it was something that bonded between them that first night
0:41:59 > 0:42:02that materialised within 24 hours.
0:42:02 > 0:42:06And they were great for each other for a time.
0:42:06 > 0:42:12What this ended up doing for Dennis was that it increased his access to a lot of things.
0:42:12 > 0:42:15I mean, the Beach Boys were big,
0:42:15 > 0:42:18but Fleetwood Mac at that time, coming off of Rumours,
0:42:18 > 0:42:22they were really, literally, the biggest band in the world.
0:42:22 > 0:42:26He was enamoured with the fact that Christine was selling more records than the Beach Boys ever did,
0:42:26 > 0:42:30and Christine had unlimited funds for drugs and what-have-you.
0:42:30 > 0:42:33And so all that was very intoxicating to him.
0:42:33 > 0:42:36He became enamoured by the things around Christine
0:42:36 > 0:42:40as opposed to maybe Christine's beauty, if that makes sense.
0:42:40 > 0:42:47That summer, Dennis and Christine divided their time between the Harmony and Christine's house.
0:42:47 > 0:42:51There was a party at Christine McVie's up in the Holmby Hills,
0:42:51 > 0:42:53near Beverly Hills area, lovely home,
0:42:53 > 0:42:56big white house on the hill, big lawn that goes down to the pool,
0:42:56 > 0:42:58and then there's a pool house.
0:42:58 > 0:43:00It was a comfortable Beverly Hills home,
0:43:00 > 0:43:02and there was a nice little shack
0:43:02 > 0:43:05at the far end of the property that was a pool house,
0:43:05 > 0:43:07and Dennis adopted it as his own.
0:43:07 > 0:43:10And the night that the disaster happened,
0:43:10 > 0:43:14I happened to be up in the bedroom, in Christine's bedroom,
0:43:14 > 0:43:17and she looked out the window at one point and said,
0:43:17 > 0:43:18"My God, what are those flames?"
0:43:18 > 0:43:21Dennis had burned down the pool house.
0:43:21 > 0:43:24He was fooling around down there with candles to make it romantic.
0:43:24 > 0:43:26And Christine is coming down the stairs,
0:43:26 > 0:43:29and that's when Christine delivered her great line of,
0:43:29 > 0:43:31"Bit excessive, your friend, Dennis."
0:43:31 > 0:43:36He had the gardener plant this very large heart in the lawn
0:43:36 > 0:43:39with all different-coloured flowers,
0:43:39 > 0:43:43and of course it went on Christine's gardener bill, which was fun. But that's Dennis for you.
0:43:45 > 0:43:52In 1979, Dennis was facing a far greater loss which couldn't be remedied with hearts and flowers,
0:43:52 > 0:43:55as the Beach Boys finally sold Brother Studio.
0:43:55 > 0:43:57Dennis was creatively homeless.
0:43:57 > 0:44:00This is totally decentring Dennis.
0:44:00 > 0:44:03He's totally losing his base as a production, his security,
0:44:03 > 0:44:06his playpen, his house, whatever you want to call it.
0:44:06 > 0:44:10Dennis was literally carrying around his master reels,
0:44:10 > 0:44:13booking time at the odd studio, looking for the odd
0:44:13 > 0:44:17engineer or person to help him pull his project together.
0:44:17 > 0:44:20I took a couple of shots at it with Dennis, working in the studio,
0:44:20 > 0:44:22but it was so erratic, it was so difficult.
0:44:22 > 0:44:26I couldn't do it, and I told Dennis, "I'm sorry, I couldn't do it."
0:44:27 > 0:44:29I had to bow out.
0:44:30 > 0:44:34It was too hard to see what was happening, you know?
0:44:34 > 0:44:36The music was always the outlet,
0:44:36 > 0:44:40and when he lost the studio, that started the whole process.
0:44:41 > 0:44:45In addition to losing the studio, Dennis failed to keep up loan
0:44:45 > 0:44:49payments and had his beloved boat, the Harmony, repossessed.
0:44:50 > 0:44:53The combination of Dennis losing the studio and losing the boat...
0:44:53 > 0:44:55those were two anchors that Dennis would hold on to.
0:44:55 > 0:44:59Without that there wasn't much for Dennis to...
0:44:59 > 0:45:02hang that hat on, that joy.
0:45:02 > 0:45:06The alcohol really numbed the pain for him,
0:45:06 > 0:45:10and he got to the point where he'd carry a jug.
0:45:10 > 0:45:13It was two different things that he drank.
0:45:13 > 0:45:16He either drank rum and orange juice
0:45:16 > 0:45:19or vodka and grapefruit juice,
0:45:19 > 0:45:23and he got to the point where he'd pour half of it out on the kerb of the liquor store
0:45:23 > 0:45:26and fill the other half of the juice bottle up and just carry this thing
0:45:26 > 0:45:30around with him all day, constantly numb from alcohol.
0:45:30 > 0:45:34It was sad. It was sad to see him in that much pain.
0:45:34 > 0:45:36Dennis, maybe you'd like to start us off.
0:45:36 > 0:45:40Why do you think that you've had such continued popularity?
0:45:43 > 0:45:47Dennis? Good morning, Dennis. I know it's early there.
0:45:47 > 0:45:50Dennis has been out for days on end partying,
0:45:50 > 0:45:54and he can't hold himself up on the couch.
0:45:54 > 0:45:56Dennis, how are you doing out there?
0:45:56 > 0:45:58Are we keeping you awake?
0:45:58 > 0:46:00I'm borrowing my brother Carl's microphone.
0:46:00 > 0:46:03I think that... Is this ABC?
0:46:03 > 0:46:06- Yeah.- You need a new microphone.
0:46:06 > 0:46:10He's falling into Carl's lap, and he's smoking.
0:46:11 > 0:46:16The smoke from his cigarette is wafting across the table
0:46:16 > 0:46:19and right up under Mike Love's face.
0:46:19 > 0:46:24When they pan over to Mike, you can just see him seething.
0:46:24 > 0:46:27Dennis's antics on the couch extended to the stage.
0:46:27 > 0:46:32He started missing shows, and a drunken face-off with Mike Love
0:46:32 > 0:46:36in front of fans led to the Beach Boys doing the unthinkable -
0:46:36 > 0:46:38sacking a Wilson brother.
0:46:38 > 0:46:40I can relate to Dennis.
0:46:40 > 0:46:42He had an affliction, an illness
0:46:42 > 0:46:44that I shared with Dennis,
0:46:44 > 0:46:46and it was substance abuse.
0:46:47 > 0:46:51He was out in the early 80s, just, "Blaaah! Where am I?
0:46:51 > 0:46:53"What am I doing? What happened?"
0:46:53 > 0:46:58Much as the same way that I was feeling, I had the same thing.
0:46:58 > 0:47:02I anaesthetised myself for 30 years to get over the heartbreak
0:47:02 > 0:47:07of separating from my brothers that I got famous with.
0:47:07 > 0:47:10That was happening to Dennis also.
0:47:10 > 0:47:14The same thing. He was alienated from the band and his family.
0:47:14 > 0:47:19Dennis's relationship with Christine McVie was another casualty of his lifestyle.
0:47:19 > 0:47:26After they split, she described him as half-little boy and half-insane.
0:47:26 > 0:47:29Months later, Dennis met an attractive teenage blonde.
0:47:29 > 0:47:33She went by the name of Shaun Love, and although Mike denied it,
0:47:33 > 0:47:36claimed to be Mike Love's illegitimate daughter.
0:47:36 > 0:47:40I think there's some controversy regarding who accepts that as fact
0:47:40 > 0:47:43and who doesn't, but in the Wilson camp,
0:47:43 > 0:47:48pretty much everybody will tell you that Shaun was Mike's daughter.
0:47:49 > 0:47:54By 1983, a year shy of 40, Dennis's world had changed.
0:47:54 > 0:47:59He had made Shaun his fifth wife and had a baby son, Gage.
0:47:59 > 0:48:03But they were adrift. Money was short and Dennis lacked direction.
0:48:03 > 0:48:07They had made a home of sorts in a beachside Santa Monica hotel,
0:48:07 > 0:48:09only yards from the concert hall
0:48:09 > 0:48:13where he'd stolen the Tammy Show in 1964.
0:48:13 > 0:48:16So at this point, through various circumstances,
0:48:16 > 0:48:19we'd all moved across the street there.
0:48:19 > 0:48:24This was an old-time motel there called the Santa Monica Bay Inn, and
0:48:24 > 0:48:28Dennis and Shaun were living there, my ex-wife and kid and I were living
0:48:28 > 0:48:31in the room next door, and we were all able to see our bar stools
0:48:31 > 0:48:35over here at JJ's, and that had a lot to do with why he spent
0:48:35 > 0:48:39pretty much the last at least six months of his life
0:48:39 > 0:48:41either in JJ's or in that motel.
0:48:43 > 0:48:46The Beach Boys did let Dennis back in the band,
0:48:46 > 0:48:51and on Independence Day, 1983, Dennis serenaded the crowd.
0:48:51 > 0:48:56(HOARSELY) Folks, if you knew what it felt like...
0:48:57 > 0:49:02..to be up here singing and playing, you know...
0:49:02 > 0:49:05in front of you...
0:49:05 > 0:49:07the joy it brings to us...
0:49:07 > 0:49:09thank you so much.
0:49:09 > 0:49:13You sense a deterioration happening to him.
0:49:13 > 0:49:15That song, I remember that was probably
0:49:15 > 0:49:21around the first time I saw him in a way that was hard to see him,
0:49:21 > 0:49:24singing with the voice, having a hard time singing.
0:49:25 > 0:49:30# You are so beautiful
0:49:32 > 0:49:36# To me. #
0:49:36 > 0:49:37God bless you.
0:49:40 > 0:49:41The Beach Boys.
0:49:42 > 0:49:44This was the last Fourth of July
0:49:44 > 0:49:47that Dennis would spend with the Beach Boys.
0:49:58 > 0:50:01He drifted around the beach areas.
0:50:01 > 0:50:07Lots of people saw him walking barefoot, shirtless during that time.
0:50:10 > 0:50:14He'd come down and watch surfers, right here at Manhattan Beach,
0:50:14 > 0:50:17above the pier, where maybe he'd surfed in the younger days.
0:50:20 > 0:50:23He spiralled. I don't know what else to say.
0:50:26 > 0:50:32I just think he got hit with the demons, and you know, he spiralled.
0:50:32 > 0:50:35I was doing a show at the Roxy
0:50:35 > 0:50:41and some guy came running up to the stage and grabbed my ankle,
0:50:41 > 0:50:44just a bunch of hair and a beard and everything.
0:50:44 > 0:50:46My first reaction was,
0:50:46 > 0:50:51"who the hell is this?" Dennis. "It's me."
0:50:52 > 0:50:56I was driving and I saw him, and I didn't recognise at first.
0:50:56 > 0:50:59First I just thought it was a bum and then I thought, "It's Dennis."
0:50:59 > 0:51:04And he just looked awful. His stability, he was hunched over a little bit, really heavy beard,
0:51:04 > 0:51:06and I think he even had a sore on his face.
0:51:06 > 0:51:08It was just awful...
0:51:08 > 0:51:11and it just damn tore my heart out, to be honest. I didn't stop.
0:51:11 > 0:51:16I wasn't able to help him when I was with him more intimately, I didn't think I could help him then.
0:51:16 > 0:51:18It was really painful for me.
0:51:18 > 0:51:23It was painful just to see your friend in such dire straits.
0:51:23 > 0:51:25Not something that you can easily do.
0:51:25 > 0:51:28It broke my heart. What can I say?
0:51:29 > 0:51:32To this day...you know.
0:51:32 > 0:51:34Excuse me.
0:51:37 > 0:51:39I get very emotional.
0:52:00 > 0:52:04The last days were kind of rough. Kind of rough.
0:52:05 > 0:52:09He came in on a particular day, morning,
0:52:09 > 0:52:13he came in and he'd talk to Alice.
0:52:13 > 0:52:17Alice and I would talk and I would say...
0:52:17 > 0:52:21"Dennis, you've got to take it easy."
0:52:21 > 0:52:24That was it, the last time I saw him. Then he went down to the marina.
0:52:24 > 0:52:27'Dennis Wilson no longer owned a boat at the marina,
0:52:27 > 0:52:31'but he still spent a lot of time here visiting friends.
0:52:31 > 0:52:33'It was during an afternoon get-together aboard this boat
0:52:33 > 0:52:37'that Wilson decided to go swimming and diving off the dock.
0:52:37 > 0:52:40'For 15 minutes, friends desperately searched the waters for Wilson.
0:52:40 > 0:52:43'Divers in the harbour patrol were finally called in.'
0:52:43 > 0:52:47They conducted a search with two divers. They brought in two additional divers,
0:52:47 > 0:52:49and it took them that length of time,
0:52:49 > 0:52:50over an hour, to find the body.
0:52:50 > 0:52:53That last day of his life was just...
0:52:53 > 0:52:55He'd called me several times,
0:52:55 > 0:52:57he was here and he was drinking a little
0:52:57 > 0:53:01and he was having a good time, and then I got a call
0:53:01 > 0:53:02that he'd started diving,
0:53:02 > 0:53:05picking things up that he'd thrown off the Harmony.
0:53:05 > 0:53:08He loved that boat so much...
0:53:11 > 0:53:13..and he was diving in the empty slip
0:53:13 > 0:53:17for things he'd thrown overboard when he was, you know,
0:53:17 > 0:53:20he shouldn't have been in the water that day
0:53:20 > 0:53:23because he was drinking a lot and I guess he came up very fast
0:53:23 > 0:53:25and smashed his head on the piling.
0:53:25 > 0:53:29It knocked him out and he drowned.
0:53:31 > 0:53:33He curled up in 13ft of water down there.
0:53:33 > 0:53:35He'd curled up in a foetal position.
0:53:35 > 0:53:39They found him... People don't drown in the foetal position.
0:53:39 > 0:53:42People drown in the most horrific ways, you know.
0:53:42 > 0:53:45People don't just curl up in the foetal position.
0:53:45 > 0:53:48That's what the coastguard guys told me, they said when they found him,
0:53:48 > 0:53:51they said he was just laying, curled up, all peaceful.
0:53:53 > 0:53:56I'd spoken to him about an hour before it happened,
0:53:56 > 0:53:57and didn't want to come down here.
0:53:57 > 0:54:00He had been urging me since the night before
0:54:00 > 0:54:04to come down here, and I just, I...
0:54:04 > 0:54:05I got tired of saving him.
0:54:05 > 0:54:10I didn't get tired of saving him, but I just stopped thinking
0:54:10 > 0:54:14it was possible to save him. It was, obviously, it was.
0:54:42 > 0:54:43On January 4th, 1984,
0:54:43 > 0:54:48Dennis was afforded an honour normally reserved for the military
0:54:48 > 0:54:54and became one of the select few civilians to be granted a burial at sea.
0:54:54 > 0:54:56He left behind some unfinished business.
0:54:59 > 0:55:05I waited from 1976 to...
0:55:05 > 0:55:072008 to hear this.
0:55:09 > 0:55:12It's amazing.
0:55:12 > 0:55:162007. 31 years I waited to hear this.
0:55:16 > 0:55:20I heard this melody in my head for 31 frigging years.
0:55:23 > 0:55:26Holy Man was one of the first four tracks that Dennis recorded
0:55:26 > 0:55:31for Pacific Ocean Blue, but it was never released.
0:55:31 > 0:55:33It was the song that Dennis couldn't finish.
0:55:33 > 0:55:35He never completed the lyric.
0:55:35 > 0:55:38He never laid down a vocal track.
0:55:38 > 0:55:39Three decades later,
0:55:39 > 0:55:42those closest to him set out to finish what he'd started.
0:55:44 > 0:55:47I was always on a search for that song,
0:55:47 > 0:55:50and the only way I was ever going to find it was to get into the vault.
0:55:50 > 0:55:55I knew that reel existed, and I was determined to see if I could find it.
0:55:59 > 0:56:01I finally found Holy Man, the writing,
0:56:01 > 0:56:03because I never forgot what it looked like.
0:56:03 > 0:56:08I still, to that day, remember what it said on the outside of the box.
0:56:08 > 0:56:10We brought it into the studio, killer track,
0:56:10 > 0:56:13and I always thought that Taylor Hawkins, who was a friend,
0:56:13 > 0:56:15and he's the drummer in the Foo Fighters,
0:56:15 > 0:56:19sounded and belongs to that same drummer society.
0:56:19 > 0:56:22He's got a gravelly, whisky voice like Dennis.
0:56:22 > 0:56:28Greg wrote some lyrics, Taylor reworked a bunch of them, and Taylor sang lead vocal.
0:56:29 > 0:56:35# With the ego of a lamb, the holy man... #
0:56:35 > 0:56:41Finding a vocal, I just sang how I sing, and it wasn't really trying to sound like Dennis.
0:56:41 > 0:56:45I think he had Dennis's attitude. He climbed into the part.
0:56:46 > 0:56:50When I play that song for people, they don't believe it's anybody else other than Dennis.
0:56:51 > 0:56:55# The holy man will meet you there... #
0:56:55 > 0:57:00I was a little nervous, like, "I don't know, man, I don't really want to piss on somebody's Picasso."
0:57:01 > 0:57:05# The one you love is everywhere
0:57:07 > 0:57:10# He's everywhere
0:57:10 > 0:57:15# And you can follow... #
0:57:17 > 0:57:23In 2008, 31 years after its original release, Pacific Ocean Blue was
0:57:23 > 0:57:27re-mastered and reissued along with Dennis's lost album, Bamboo.
0:57:30 > 0:57:34The flat-top, hard-nosed kid from Hawthorne who rode the waves
0:57:34 > 0:57:37and charmed the girls in the shadow of his genius brother
0:57:37 > 0:57:40was back in the headlines for musical reasons,
0:57:40 > 0:57:45earning five-star reviews and voted number one re-issue of the year
0:57:45 > 0:57:47in a host of newspapers and magazines.
0:57:53 > 0:57:57He's always been recognised. The people that really loved him
0:57:57 > 0:58:00and the people that really knew him have always...
0:58:00 > 0:58:04said how talented and how big of a heart and just... He was golden.
0:58:05 > 0:58:08When I listen to his music, it's weird.
0:58:08 > 0:58:12It's just this real deep, intense, like...
0:58:12 > 0:58:16I almost want to say like trying to find a lost love or something.
0:58:16 > 0:58:21It's a real intense feeling and you can't figure it out, but it's there.
0:58:55 > 0:58:58Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd
0:58:58 > 0:59:01E-mail subtitling@bbc.co.uk