Who were the lousy little poets comin' 'round,
Who were the lousy little poets comin' 'round,
tryin' to sound like Charlie Manson?
May 4 1985 Berklee Boston / Feb 19 2009 Beacon NYC / May 29 2009 Wang Boston / June 4 2009 Red Rocks / Dec 15 2012 Wang Boston
Re: Who were the lousy little poets comin' 'round,
Hi - I read that Charles Manson used to be a bit of a singer songwriter and that before all the horrible "family" stuff kicked off, he used to hang out with I think the Canyon writers. Apparently some were really impressed by CM's writing and Neil Young recommended him to his record label at one point!? Generally, there was (is?) a fascination for Manson and the link with hippy ideals. Anyone else know more?
Ps have just joined today - first post! Have been Leonard fan since I was 15 and my first concert was the 80's.
Ps have just joined today - first post! Have been Leonard fan since I was 15 and my first concert was the 80's.
Re: Who were the lousy little poets comin' 'round,
Beach Boys recorded one of his songs - click here for Never Learn Not To Love which was Manson's Cease To Exist....a CD of Manson's demos has been released and versions can be found on the web....
From here is a telling of the Manson/Wilson tale that led to the Beach Boys recording:
A long list could be compiled of great songwriters who have never had a hit song on the Billboard charts. But on the vastly longer list of people who have written a tune that has appeared on a hit record, among the names is that of convicted mass murderer and cult leader Charles Manson.
The tale commences with the Beach Boys' Dennis Wilson, who first encountered Manson and his dreams of rock stardom in Southern California sometime in 1968. The Beach Boys drummer was blown away by the demos written and recorded by the recently freed ex-convict -- suffice to say Wilson was equally impressed by the free-love attitudes of the female members of the Manson Family cult. The charismatic leader and his followers went as far as relocating lock, stock and barrel to Wilson's house, and the Beach Boy proceeded to shop Manson's songs to various record labels, even introducing him to hip young producer and Columbia Records A&R man Terry Melcher, son of the famous singer-actress Doris Day.
In fact, in his role as Manson's benefactor, Wilson even had the Beach Boys record a Manson tune originally titled 'Cease to Exist.' Wilson altered the song slightly and renamed it 'Never Learn Not to Love,' taking the sole songwriting credit for his trouble. The song found release as a B-side of the single 'Bluebirds Over the Mountain' at the end of the year as well as on the 1969 LP '20/20,' both of which made the lower reaches of their respective Top 100 charts.
Eventually the family wore out its welcome, as Wilson, growing increasingly fearful of Manson, finally evicted the cult members from his home. Just months later, over two days in August 1969, the Family, directed by Manson, committed the brutal murders of actress Sharon Tate and six others. And to further haunt Dennis Wilson for the remainder of his life (he drowned in 1983), a leading theory posits that the murders were a retaliatory message from Manson to the music industry, as the house that Tate lived in was previously occupied by Terry Melcher, who had rejected Manson's bid for a record contract.
...as to Neil Young, he has had these things to say about Manson and his music: "Spooky times. I knew Charlie Manson. A few people were at this house on Sunset Boulevard and the people were different. I didn't know what it was; I was meeting them and he was not a happy guy but he seemed to have a hold on girls. It was the ugly side of the Maharishi. You know, there's one side of the light, nice flowers and white robes and everything, and then there's something that looks a lot like it but just isn't it at all."...."He had this kind of music that nobody else was doing. I thought he really had something crazy, something great. He was like a living poet." .....and then there is Neil's Revolution Blues: "Well, I hear that Laurel Canyon / Is full of famous stars / But I hate them worse than lepers / And I'll kill them in their cars"....but that's another story.....
From here is a telling of the Manson/Wilson tale that led to the Beach Boys recording:
A long list could be compiled of great songwriters who have never had a hit song on the Billboard charts. But on the vastly longer list of people who have written a tune that has appeared on a hit record, among the names is that of convicted mass murderer and cult leader Charles Manson.
The tale commences with the Beach Boys' Dennis Wilson, who first encountered Manson and his dreams of rock stardom in Southern California sometime in 1968. The Beach Boys drummer was blown away by the demos written and recorded by the recently freed ex-convict -- suffice to say Wilson was equally impressed by the free-love attitudes of the female members of the Manson Family cult. The charismatic leader and his followers went as far as relocating lock, stock and barrel to Wilson's house, and the Beach Boy proceeded to shop Manson's songs to various record labels, even introducing him to hip young producer and Columbia Records A&R man Terry Melcher, son of the famous singer-actress Doris Day.
In fact, in his role as Manson's benefactor, Wilson even had the Beach Boys record a Manson tune originally titled 'Cease to Exist.' Wilson altered the song slightly and renamed it 'Never Learn Not to Love,' taking the sole songwriting credit for his trouble. The song found release as a B-side of the single 'Bluebirds Over the Mountain' at the end of the year as well as on the 1969 LP '20/20,' both of which made the lower reaches of their respective Top 100 charts.
Eventually the family wore out its welcome, as Wilson, growing increasingly fearful of Manson, finally evicted the cult members from his home. Just months later, over two days in August 1969, the Family, directed by Manson, committed the brutal murders of actress Sharon Tate and six others. And to further haunt Dennis Wilson for the remainder of his life (he drowned in 1983), a leading theory posits that the murders were a retaliatory message from Manson to the music industry, as the house that Tate lived in was previously occupied by Terry Melcher, who had rejected Manson's bid for a record contract.
...as to Neil Young, he has had these things to say about Manson and his music: "Spooky times. I knew Charlie Manson. A few people were at this house on Sunset Boulevard and the people were different. I didn't know what it was; I was meeting them and he was not a happy guy but he seemed to have a hold on girls. It was the ugly side of the Maharishi. You know, there's one side of the light, nice flowers and white robes and everything, and then there's something that looks a lot like it but just isn't it at all."...."He had this kind of music that nobody else was doing. I thought he really had something crazy, something great. He was like a living poet." .....and then there is Neil's Revolution Blues: "Well, I hear that Laurel Canyon / Is full of famous stars / But I hate them worse than lepers / And I'll kill them in their cars"....but that's another story.....
Re: Who were the lousy little poets comin' 'round,
I have nothing to add OT, but: Welcome beattie!beattie wrote:Ps have just joined today - first post! Have been Leonard fan since I was 15 and my first concert was the 80's.
Columbia May 11, 2009; Boston May 29, 2009; Durham November 3, 2009; Las Vegas December 10 & 11, 2010; Austin November 1, 2012; Boston December 15, 2012; Brooklyn December 20, 2012
-
John Etherington
- Posts: 2605
- Joined: Sat Sep 18, 2004 10:17 pm
Re: Who were the lousy little poets comin' 'round,
I've always thought that the description "lousy little poets comin' round tryin' to sound like Charlie Manson" refers to any upstart/punkish poets or singers who cultivate an angry or aggressive persona purely because they feel it's an easy way to gain attention.
Re the real Charlie Manson, I saw him singing on a TV documentary once, and he certainly came across as a passable singer-songwriter. My own take on Dennis Wilson's involvement with him (apart from the obvious attraction of living with seventeen-odd groupies) is that he was drawn to an alternative "Family" because he came from a dysfunctional one himself - albeit one that included a musical genius. "Never Learn Not to Love" is a very eerie and haunting song,
Another musician that had associations with Manson is Bobby Beausoleil from Arthur Lee's first band The Grass Roots. Beausoleil, I believe, is serving a life sentence for murder.
Re the real Charlie Manson, I saw him singing on a TV documentary once, and he certainly came across as a passable singer-songwriter. My own take on Dennis Wilson's involvement with him (apart from the obvious attraction of living with seventeen-odd groupies) is that he was drawn to an alternative "Family" because he came from a dysfunctional one himself - albeit one that included a musical genius. "Never Learn Not to Love" is a very eerie and haunting song,
Another musician that had associations with Manson is Bobby Beausoleil from Arthur Lee's first band The Grass Roots. Beausoleil, I believe, is serving a life sentence for murder.
Re: Who were the lousy little poets comin' 'round,
....Bobby BeauSoleil was sentenced to death but California repealed the death penalty before the sentence was carried out....he has recorded music while in prison, most notably "Lucifer Rising" a film soundtrack done with the "Freedom Orchestra" which included other inmates....it can be checked out here and the music purchased through Amazon or iTunes.....Bobby's story is told here....John, I know you know but it may be worth mentioning (so that "Midnight Confessions" is not misunderstood) that Arthur Lee's Grass Roots was a pre-Love combo not the group with the top 40 hits in the '60's. Lee changed the name to Love when he found out the name had been "ripped off": "I think the reason I called the group Love was because rather than to hate somebody for stealing something from you, man, maybe you should love them. It would be a different approach to the whole trip. You dig it"......John Etherington wrote: Another musician that had associations with Manson is Bobby Beausoleil from Arthur Lee's first band The Grass Roots. Beausoleil, I believe, is serving a life sentence for murder.
-
John Etherington
- Posts: 2605
- Joined: Sat Sep 18, 2004 10:17 pm
Re: Who were the lousy little poets comin' 'round,
Hi Eskimo,
I don't remember Arthur telling that story of how the Love name emerged, before - though I've heard him give various other versions (I Sure miss him).
Love on Earth Must Be! John E
I don't remember Arthur telling that story of how the Love name emerged, before - though I've heard him give various other versions (I Sure miss him).
Love on Earth Must Be! John E