Why George Harrison Thought Charles Manson’s Connection to The Beatles Was “Upsetting”

Charles Manson is one of America’s most notorious criminals and one of the most notable figures of the 1960s. While Manson was a musician himself, that isn’t how he gained his notoriety. Rather, he gained his notoriety thanks to his ties with Dennis Wilson, the Manson Family Murders, and his self-proclaimed connection with The Beatles.

Videos by American Songwriter

Manson’s self-proclaimed connection with The Beatles boils down to one song: “Helter Skelter”. Manson viewed the 1968 single as a prophetic anthem about the fictional, inevitable race war in the United States. In reality, it isn’t about any of those things, but Charles Manson attached his own meaning to it. Consequently, the song acted as a support beam for the justification of Manson and the Manson family’s beliefs. As one might imagine, The Beatles despised the Manson connection, especially George Harrison.

The Beatles and Charles Manson Narrative Was Seemingly Uncontrollable

When one is as famous as The Beatles, it is seemingly impossible to control the media’s narrative and perspective. The sheer rate of stories coming out is simply too hard to keep up with. That being said, when Manson’s connection to The Beatles’ “Helter Skelter” became public knowledge during his murder trial in the early 70s, publications and the masses had a heyday of crafting alluring headlines.

Concerning the out-of-control narrative, Harrison stated in The Beatles Anthology, “Everybody was getting on the big Beatle bandwagon…The police and the promoters and the Lord Mayors — and murderers, too. The Beatles were topical, and they were the main thing that was written about in the world, so everybody attached themselves to us, whether it was our fault or not. It was upsetting to be associated with something so sleazy as Charles Manson.”

Again, there was seemingly no controlling the media’s story, as the rumor mill runs rather swiftly. It seems The Beatles just had to take it and clear up any falsehoods whenever the opportunity presented itself. In retrospect, we all know that there was no mutual connection between The Beatles and Manson. Instead, Manson was a crazed fan who created his own meaning for the sake of his own morbid vision.

In addition to George Harrison, the other Beatle upset with the portrayal of the connection was John Lennon. Regarding Manson’s absurdist and overpersonal reading of the song, John Lennon once stated, “All that Manson stuff was built around George’s song about pigs and Paul’s song about an English fairground.” “It has nothing to do with anything, and least of all to do with me,” he concluded per Playboy, via Beatles Interviews.

Photo by Tom Wargacki/WireImage