Happy Music Monday! Today, in 1971, Charles Manson and his girls were found guilty of the Tate-LaBianca murders and sent to prison. Charles Manson was kinda the only rock star-friendly serial killer, since he was gently connected to the music scene before heading out into the desert with his followers. There might be more music connected to him than to any other killer (excepting Jerry Lee Lewis, of course) so today we're gonna pay tribute to his conviction. Unusual? Possibly. Historically interesting? Very much so.
The Beach Boys - Never Learn Not To Love
Who wrote this song on paper? Why, Dennis Wilson, of course! It's just a coincidence that it sounds weirdly similar this Charles Manson song that Manson wrote while staying at the Dennis Wilson house. You can probably guess that the Beach Boys have never played this one on the White House lawn. Wonder why, huh?
There's more historical discussion to come, after the jump.
Guns 'N Roses - Look At Your Game Girl
It was a huge deal in the 1990s when Guns 'N Roses covered a Charles Manson song. Of course, the band only recorded it to be super edgy, but compare it to a recent G'N'R song and it's clear Charlie could have been so much more if he'd stayed on the straight and narrow. Also, don't feel bad listening to any of these. By law, Mr. Manson's royalty payments on any music must go right to the heirs of the victims.
This Manson took his name from Charlie on purpose, to borrow a little bit of infamy and get some attention. It worked! Young people today probably know this Manson more than the original! Maybe that's why the original is rumored to strongly dislike his namesake.
Johnny Cash took "Hurt" from Trent Reznor, Jimi Hendrix stole "All Along The Watchtower" from Bob Dylan, and Charles Manson stole "Helter Skelter" from the Beatles. U2 couldn't even do a cover without referencing his name at the beginning, for Pete's sake! Once you know the story of the killings, "Helter Skelter" stops being a nonsense song and starts sounding very tragic. Even when this guy takes a turn at it.
To close us out, here's the man himself, with his own demo. When this was being sent around, it probably seemed polite and wholesome. Today? In retrospect? Creeeeepyyyyyyy. And that's why I've included it today. So nobody forgets this guy was NOT nice.
Scott left out a lot of Manson-related songs, from a Nine Inch Nails record recorded in the actual house to a Sonic Youth track about the killings to that Psychic TV song about Roman Polanski to the Lou Reed song about Sharon Tate and beyond. Feel free to post that kinda stuff in the comments if you wanna. Alternatively, feel free to discuss the historical side of the Manson Family or why you think Charlie and popular music are now forever connected. Or you can just say he sucks. Y'all are smart, you'll figure it out. As always, let us just remind you: some images come from the corresponding Wikipedia page and are here under fair use. See you next week.