Dennis Carl Wilson
(December 4, 1944 – December 28, 1983)
was an
American musician
who co-founded
He was their drummer
and the
middle brother
of bandmates
Brian and Carl Wilson
as well as a
first cousin
of other bandmate
Mike Love.
Dennis was the only
true surfer
in the Beach Boys,
and his personal life
exemplified the
"California myth"
that the band's
early songs
often celebrated.
He was also known for
his association with
the Manson Family
and for co-starring
in the 1971 film
Two-Lane Blacktop.
Dennis served mainly
on drums and backing vocals
for the Beach Boys.
His playing can be heard
on many of the group's hits,
belying the popular
misconception that he was
always replaced
on record by
studio musicians.
He originally had
few lead vocals
on the band's songs
due to his limited
baritone range,
but his prominence as a
singer-songwriter
increased following
their 1968 album
Friends.
His music is characterized
for reflecting his
"edginess"
and
"little of his happy charm."
His original songs
for the group included
"Little Bird"
(1968),
"Forever"
(1970)
and
"Cuddle Up"
(1972).
Friends and biographers
have asserted that he
was an
uncredited writer on
"You Are So Beautiful",
a 1974 hit for
Joe Cocker
frequently performed by
Wilson in concert.
During his final years,
Wilson struggled with
substance abuse,
exacerbating
longstanding tensions
with some of his bandmates.
His only solo album
issued in his lifetime,
Pacific Ocean Blue
(1977),
was released to
warm reviews
and moderate
sales comparable
to those of contemporaneous
Beach Boys albums,
and has retrospectively
become highly acclaimed.
Sessions for
a follow-up,
Bambu,
disintegrated
before his death
from drowning
in 1983
at age 39.
In 1988,
he was posthumously
inducted into the
Rock and Roll
Hall of Fame
as a member of
the Beach Boys.
I'LL NEVER MAKE THE
HEADLINES OF
THE EVENING NEWS
THERE WON'T BE
RAGS TO RICHES
STORY FOR ME
Pacific Ocean Blue
is the only
solo
studio album
by American
musician
co-founder of
The Beach Boys.
When released in
August 1977,
it was warmly
received critically,
and noted
for outselling
the Beach Boys'
contemporary efforts.
Two singles
were issued from
the album,
"River Song"
and
"You and I",
which did not chart.
The album remains
a focal point of
Wilson's legacy,
being referred to as a
"classic".
It was voted number 838
in Colin Larkin's
All Time
Top 1000 Albums.
Wilson intended to
record a follow-up,
entitled Bambu,
but the album was
left unfinished
at the time
of his death
Background and Recording
After several attempts,
starting in 1970,
to realize his own project,
some of which made it
to the finished album,
Wilson recorded the bulk of
Pacific Ocean Blue
in the months spanning
the fall of 1976
to the following spring,
at the Beach Boys'
own Brother Studios.
At the time of recording,
Dennis' hard living had begun
affecting his looks
and more importantly
his singing voice,
which now delivered
grainy and rough,
yet still
deeply soulful, vocals.
Recalling the time
Wilson spent working
on the album,
co-producer
Gregg Jakobson said,
"This was when he
fully accepted himself
as an artist.
Brian had shown him
chords on the piano,
but as he'd become
more proficient
the music that came forth
was not
derivative of that.
Having his
own studio
helped tremendously.
With a
little encouragement,
and the right tools,
Dennis took off."
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