Nobody lived the real “beach boy” lifestyle quite like The Beach Boys’ drummer and co-founder, Dennis Wilson. He was an Inglewood, California native, loved to surf, had a mop of salt-soaked hair, and loved to really live. At least, that is how he seemed to many of his fans.
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Most people who remember Dennis Wilson didn’t really know him. Parasocial relationships with rock stars were a thing even in the 20th century. In reality, Dennis Wilson had a darker side to him. And that dark side would, in a way, contribute to his premature death in 1983 at the young age of 39.
The Beach Boys’ Dennis Wilson was very obviously the “pretty one” of the group. He was seen as the cute California surfer who loved to, unfortunately, womanize and use drugs, but his personality was nonetheless eccentric and attractive.
The Tragic Life and Death of The Beach Boys’ Dennis Wilson
Wilson himself said that he liked to live a “fast life”, though that way of living would catch up to him. He famously set his wife’s car on fire in a fit of jealousy. Wilson always called himself the “black sheep” of his family, which likely caused rifts in The Beach Boys, which he formed with several family members. He was lured by Charles Manson in the late 1960s, which left him bankrupt and emotionally damaged. Given his struggles and flair for fast living, it’s not shocking that he would become an addict and eventually die from it.
It’s sad to admit, but his Beach Boys bandmates rarely gave him the recognition he deserved when he was alive. He always stood by his brother Brian Wilson’s side, letting him make many of the creative decisions in the band. When Brian would eventually retire in the 1960s due to serious mental health struggles, Dennis would do his best to keep the band from falling apart. His own bandmate and cousin Mike Love would describe him as a “drugged-out-no-talent parasite” despite his best efforts to just keep his brother’s band together.
One can’t deny that Wilson was a supportive individual who wanted The Beach Boys to thrive. He was often described as the nicest guy in the band, with just a few very bad habits that would eventually catch up with him.
In the late 1970s, he started to heavily abuse alcohol and several illicit drugs. He struggled to sing and couldn’t play the drums. In 1977, following an airport debacle, he left the band. In 1983, he died by drowning in Marina Del Rey, following a day of drinking.
“Maybe I just like a fast life,” Wilson once said. “I wouldn’t give it up for anything in the world. It won’t last forever, either. But the memories will.”
Photo by Michael Putland/Getty Images
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