Brain Wilson jammed with Charles Manson
The Beach Boys are one of the greatest and most important American rock bands of all time. They also have a legendary history of not being the clean-cut, all-American boys they're made out to be. This group of relatives (three Wilson brothers and cousin Mike Love) and one friend (Al Jardine) were led by the tyrannical Murry Wilson, father to the brothers, who has long been accused of psychologically and physically abusing the band.
On top of that, there are the legendary on-again off-again squabbles between Brian Wilson and Mike Love. Wilson, the perceived genius, had a long battle with mental illness and drug abuse that eroded his creativity. Love is known as many things, kind and gentle not among them. Following the band's 2012 tour, Love unceremoniously dumped Wilson in favor of his backing band, who proudly wave the Beach Boys flag without their most influential member.
Brian's drug use in the '60s made him an icon and cemented him as a genius, but also melted his brain. The same can be said of his shrink, Dr. Eugene Landy, who gave Wilson enough pills during in late '80s to fry his brain even more. Landy was attempting to control Wilson to nefarious ends, and it took a new romantic interest - who Wilson married - to break the sordid relationship.
Meanwhile, Dennis Wilson was friends with the Manson family (as in Charles Manson) and even jammed with Manson. Allegedly, Wilson nearly produced and wrote music with the cult leader. Following this, Wilson drowned in 1983 while diving off his yacht while intoxicated. Finally, Carl Wilson died of cancer in 1998.
