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Post by AGD on Dec 28, 2018 1:39:15 GMT -5
Thirty five years on and it still seems like only yesterday. Two days earlier on Boxing Day a close family friend (spookily also called Dennis) had passed away, but that was long expected. DW's passing, the recent photos and reports of him notwithstanding, as shockingly unexpected. When the news broke nationally - and as I recalit was a lead on the TV news for a while - the phone started ringing off the hook. Mostly upset fans wanting to know if it was true (like, I'd know better than Reuters ?) but also The Sun, the leading UK redtop, wanting to know about Dennis and drugs, Dennis and sex and of course Dennis & Manson. Where they got my number from I have no idea but I took immense pleasure in telling them to go f*** themselves unless they wanted to talk about his music and nothing else. Click. Some people were never destined for a comfortable old age, or indeed, old age at all. Dennis was a force of nature, turbulent, explosive, incapable of being harnessed or even subdued, except by his incredible music, and even then all too briefly. I met him but the once, about two years before he left us and I'm damn glad I did. The abiding memory I took away from that short time (aside from his astonished reaction to my not only knowing of but actually having Pacific Ocean Blue, and thinking it wonderful) was of a person who, for the time they were interacting with you, made you feel you were the most important person in their life. That and his obvious adoration of his elder brother. God bless you, Dennis, wherever you are. And thank you for the likes of this:
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Dennis
Dec 28, 2018 1:49:55 GMT -5
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AGD and Jim like this
Post by Vale on Dec 28, 2018 1:49:55 GMT -5
Dennis was my favorite BB member and “Thoughts Of You” is without any doubt his best work. It’s really a shame his gone, it makes me feel very sad every time I think about it. If he didn’t die that day he probably would died within the following months, he was too much of everything.
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petsite
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Post by petsite on Dec 28, 2018 2:51:56 GMT -5
My only time interacting with Dennis was in 1981 in the lobby at the Hyatt in downtown Houston. Dennis was dressed in brown cordaroy pants, high end plaid shirt, brown suede jacket and hush puppies. He had one of those HUGE drink glasses from the bar. He was also passing around a joint. I approached him with my copy of PET SOUNDS (no LP inside) and asked for an autograph. He took the LP cover and hurled it across the lobby. I turned around, walked passed my stunned girlfriend, picked up the LP, returned to Dennis and said "Are you gonna quit fucking around and sign this?". Dennis smiled, took the LP and my pen and signed my PS cover. As he handed it back to me he said "You're ok kid." I stayed and talked to Dennis until Brian, barefoot, open shirt and messed up hair, came to join us. Here is Brian later that night on stage with his shirt buttoned, his hair combed and his shoes on.
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Post by Deleted on Dec 28, 2018 9:22:26 GMT -5
I was in my bedroom listening to Carl's Youngblood album when my Dad knocked on the door and told me that he just heard on the radio that a Beach Boy died. I immediately thought it was Brian, and I quickly turned on my radio and the TV. Damn...
I never met Dennis but I saw him live a few times between 1978-1981. While I admit to focusing on Brian the large majority of the time in concert, Dennis would've been second. It was hard to NOT watch him. He had a certain energy about him in the way he played his drums. Sadly, he didn't sing very much when I saw him, just the obligatory "You Are So Beautiful"; he came out front to harmonize for "Surfer Girl", and he made his way over to the Brian's piano for "Help Me Rhonda". Actually I also got to see Karen Lamm-Wilson come out on stage and sing background vocals for the encore in June 1978 at The Spectrum in Philadelphia.
Much like Brian Wilson's music, there is SOMETHING about EVERY Dennis Wilson song that I like. It's a shame he never recorded a solo album around 1971-72-73; it would've been a classic and I still wish one would be assembled and released. Pacific Ocean Blue is easily my favorite BB solo album. I don't even think there is a close second. The man could write and he could also produce. As a BB diehard, you always think that their music never received the credit and recognition it deserved. And that's what I think about Dennis Wilson's music. So few people know about it's greatness. Keep spreading the word, keep the music alive!
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Dennis
Dec 28, 2018 13:10:10 GMT -5
Post by craigslowinski on Dec 28, 2018 13:10:10 GMT -5
My only time interacting with Dennis was in 1981 in the lobby at the Hyatt in downtown Houston. Dennis was dressed in brown cordaroy pants, high end plaid shirt, brown suede jacket and hush puppies. He had one of those HUGE drink glasses from the bar. He was also passing around a joint. I approached him with my copy of PET SOUNDS (no LP inside) and asked for an autograph. He took the LP cover and hurled it across the lobby. I turned around, walked passed my stunned girlfriend, picked up the LP, returned to Dennis and said "Are you gonna quit fucking around and sign this?". Dennis smiled, took the LP and my pen and signed my PS cover. As he handed it back to me he said "You're ok kid." I stayed and talked to Dennis until Brian, barefoot, open shirt and messed up hair, came to join us. Here is Brian later that night on stage with his shirt buttoned, his hair combed and his shoes on. <iframe width="7.56" height="11" id="MoatPxIOPT0_80710478" scrolling="no" style="border-style: none; left: 12px; top: 304px; width: 7.56px; height: 11px; position: absolute; z-index: -9999;"></iframe> <iframe width="7.56" height="11" id="MoatPxIOPT0_99927291" scrolling="no" style="border-style: none; left: 332px; top: 304px; width: 7.56px; height: 11px; position: absolute; z-index: -9999;"></iframe> <iframe width="7.56" height="11" id="MoatPxIOPT0_53052052" scrolling="no" style="border-style: none; left: 12px; top: 794px; width: 7.56px; height: 11px; position: absolute; z-index: -9999;"></iframe> <iframe width="7.56" height="11" id="MoatPxIOPT0_77638601" scrolling="no" style="border-style: none; left: 332px; top: 794px; width: 7.56px; height: 11px; position: absolute; z-index: -9999;"></iframe> IIRC, you'd said that Dennis had recently gotten his hair cut shorter (like we see in their appearance on the National Cheerleader's Championship, or whatever it was called, from a couple of months later)? And didn't you also say this was the first time that Dennis and Brian had seen each other in a month or so, and they did a big bearhug in front of you? EDIT: checking the Bellagio site, I see it would've been 2 weeks max since they'd last seen each other.
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Post by Bummer In Paradise on Dec 28, 2018 14:14:50 GMT -5
Nice picture from Al’s Facebook: /
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Post by Paul JB on Dec 28, 2018 15:14:06 GMT -5
It was a huge loss and it was never the same.
My brother called into me from the next room shouting Dennis Wilson is dead! My heart sank when I ran into the living room and saw the news on TV. Went to work the next day and my boss had a clipping from the Milwaukee Journal with Denny's picture and short story about his death tucked into my time card slot. Everyone in my circle new what a gut punch it was for me when he died.
Many of us saw it coming but you are never ready for it or believe it until it happens. I responded to a post Ian had made about Dennis and the timeline of his decline on PSF, explaining how I had seen Dennis gradually looking a little worse year to year at the annual concerts in Milwaukee, and that their last time in my area was August of '83 and he was not even there, yet he had been there just about 6 weeks earlier at Summerfest and was in really bad form. Sounds odd but they played twice in Milwaukee that summer due to a void at the State Fair.
That same brother also was the one that called me on the phone to tell me Carl had died. For me, even more sadly, is that my brother is also gone having died of an illness at a young age, though he outlived Dennis by 5 years. And....bittersweet is the last time I went to a concert with said brother was to see Brian on the Smile tour a few months before he died. He was in a wheelchair, and this also sounds nuts but his being in a wheelchair is the reason Brian Wilson shook his hand and signed his ticket stub (at the coaxing of one of Brian's sidekicks). I knew better than to try and shake Brian's hand yet he offered his to my brother. A phenomenal moment in time for me that I'll never forget. It was one of those perfect, would not change a thing experiences...like it meant something. It was insane, my brother I loved with all of his problems and my all time favorite artist with all of his problems shaking hands and and me holding back an enormous smile.
IMO if Dennis was really dead we would not be talking about him. Rest easy my man!
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Post by shadownoze on Dec 28, 2018 17:20:58 GMT -5
I met Dennis before the first BB gig I ever saw. It was in 1975, the (I think) second show of the original Beachago tour and they were to play the Cotton Bowl near Dallas. A few months earlier, through an ad in Rolling Stone, Alice Lillie had organized Beach Boys Freaks United (BBFUN) and I had responded. At that point, she informed me, there were only three members in the entire state of Texas, so I was *ahem* The Texas Representative of BBFUN. A couple of weeks before the tour began, I had spoken on the phone to Rick Nelson, who was the tour director. He'd told me that the BBs and Chicago would be staying at the Fairmont Hotel in Dallas. I talked my friend Tom into going to the concert with me and we got to the Fairmont mid-afternoon and tried calling various Beach Boys on the in-house phones, with no luck, since they had not yet checked in. Tom went to use a payphone to call some girls he knew while I sat in the lobby. As I looked across at one of the shops in the lobby, I realized I was looking at Al & Linda Jardine browsing for jewelry. When they emerged, I talked to them for a moment and then Carl & Annie Wilson came in and we chatted a moment and Carl agreed to let me interview him after the show. I sat back down and Tom came back, saying, "Did I miss anything?" HAH! Tom was as big a fan of Chicago as I was of the Beach Boys and he was in fact wearing a t-shirt with the iron-on transfer that came inside Chicago VII. I had just informed him of my brushes with greatness when we saw Dennis walking through the lobby. We walked up and said hello and I mentioned that I was "The Texas representative of Beach Boys Freaks United." Dennis looked at Tom and said, "And I guess you're with CHICAGO Freaks United?" Tom turned quite red and I laughed my head off. We headed off to the Cotton Bowl. The concert was terrific and we raced back to the hotel afterward, where I got my interview with Carl and met half of the guys in Chicago. For my first BB concert, it was epic. But the interaction with Dennis was a highlight, one that I (and Tom) have never forgotten.
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Post by Mikie on Dec 28, 2018 17:49:38 GMT -5
Sacramento Memorial Auditorium, November 21, 1973. My girlfriend and another friend Tim were with me. After the concert, we went outside and stood on the sidewalk near the street where a limo was parked. Dennis came out of the auditorium from the side door and a girl followed him into the back seat. After the car door was closed, the limo didn't move for awhile and the window was down, so we leaned over to have a few words with Dennis. My girlfriend was leaning on me with her arm around me. All of a sudden Dennis looked past us at my friend Tim and said, "What are you lookin' at, f****t?" Needless to say, Tim is straight as an arrow, but......it wasn't cool of Dennis to say that to a big fan of his. Dennis musta had his head up his ass about something that night.
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Post by Mikie on Dec 28, 2018 18:14:41 GMT -5
Early Summer, 1974 or 1975 at a Beach Boys concert at the Oakland Coliseum. It was late in the day, the sun was going down, it was very warm and the ladies in the audience were dressed accordingly. In between songs the crowd had started to quiet down. Dennis was standing at the front of the stage at the mic. All of a sudden he gets his face real close to the mic and with a low voice booming out over the huge monitors says, "Look at all the big t*ts". I remember looking at the people aroundme and they were laughing so I guess what I thought I heard was actually what I heard!
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Post by Mikie on Dec 28, 2018 18:33:12 GMT -5
And you know, "streaking" was a fad for awhile in the early 70's, especially in colleges. Around 1974, Dennis use to streak the stage. How many concerts he streaked, I don't know. Here's a picture of him in Texas running naked on stage and Carl laughing.
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Dennis
Dec 29, 2018 12:00:30 GMT -5
Post by Mikie on Dec 29, 2018 12:00:30 GMT -5
Have any of you heard Dennis' jokes that he told during concerts?
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Dennis
Dec 29, 2018 17:02:42 GMT -5
Post by AGD on Dec 29, 2018 17:02:42 GMT -5
Have any of you heard Dennis' jokes that he told during concerts?I I remember the fly joke, and the Kissinger one.
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Post by Mikie on Dec 29, 2018 17:15:23 GMT -5
A little background. Richard Nixon was President of the United States at the time. Henry Kissinger was the Secretary of State. Tricia Nixon was Nixon’s daughter. It's obviously much better when Dennis told the joke, but here it is:
Dennis: "Hey, I’m tellin’ a joke!"
“He [Nixon] was walking on the beach by his San Clemente home and he was walking and looking down at the sand going “Ah, sh*t, what next?” Ya know, and he looks and it said in the sand…..somebody urinated in the sand and it said, “Richard Nixon is a Prick”. And he was outraged; he called all his aids, called the FBI, the CIA, he called everybody in. He said, “I want a urine analysis” (Dennis interrupts the joke with “Are you listening?”, and the crowd responded with, “Yeeeeeeesssss!”). "Awright. And I want a handwriting analysis within two days! So….two days later his big aide comes up and he says, “Sir, I have some very bad news to tell you. He said, “The urine analysis…it’s…well…it’s Dr. Kissinger’s urine. He said, “But the bad thing is
…..it’s in Tricia’s handwriting”.
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Post by Mikie on Dec 29, 2018 23:19:28 GMT -5
Here's the other joke Dennis told:
"In the time of the Samurai there was a powerful emperor who needed a new head Samurai so he sent out a declaration throughout the country that he was searching for one. A year passed and only 3 people showed up. The emperor asked the first Samurai to come in and demonstrate why he should be head Samurai. The first Samurai opened a match box and out pops a little fly. Whoosh goes his sword and the fly drops dead on the ground in 2 pieces. The emperor exclaimed, "That is very impressive!" The emperor then asked the second Samurai to come in and demonstrate. The second Samurai also opened a match box and out pops a fly. Whoosh whoosh goes his sword. The fly drops dead on the ground in 4 pieces. The emperor exclaimed, "That is really very impressive!" The emperor then had the third Samurai demonstrate why he should be the head Samurai. The third Samurai also opened a match box and out pops a fly. His flashing sword goes whoosshh whooosshh whoooossshhh whoooossshhh. A gust of wind fills the room, but the fly is still alive and buzzing around. The emperor, obviously disappointed, asks, "After all of that, why is the fly not dead?" The third Samurai smiled, "If you look closely, you'll see that the fly has been circumcised!"
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Post by sliponthrough on Dec 29, 2018 23:27:19 GMT -5
I first became aware of Dennis when I was 8 years old in 1983. His passing was all over the news, and like Ricky Nelson's death two years and three days later, it stuck with me to this very day. I have always liked the BB's music, but only became reacquainted with Dennis in the last year or so. This is due to a friend who had some pics of him on a FB page and commented how he was "the hot Beach Boy!!"
Great minds think alike. In his prime (1965-75 give or take), Dennis was hotter than hell, in my eyes!! Then I got to hear him sing lead on some songs. Yesterday, I bought a CD of "Sunflower/Surf's Up" at a used record store and OMG--"Slip On Through" is just sublime with a capital S!! Dennis' vocals are amazing on this--so soulful just like his brother Carl's!! It made my appreciation for Dennis intensify even more.
What I love about Dennis is that he was human. Flawed. Yet--in a very special way, truly one-of-a-kind. I was too young to know much about him, to see him in concert. To understand how special he would be to me, when he was alive. Now, 35 years later, I know he is watching upon all of us and I hope that he knows he still loved so much.
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Post by craigslowinski on Dec 30, 2018 2:16:45 GMT -5
There was another Dennis joke...went something like this:
A young Jewish couple went on their honeymoon. The bride wrote to her mother, and said, "Dear Mom, we made love tonight. It was great!" The mother wrote back and said, "Darling, don't say 'made love' in the mail. Say 'we had the Gefilte fish." So the daughter wrote back and said, "Dear Mom, tonight we had the Gefilte fish, and it was so good, Bobby ate the plate."
Drum roll, please.
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Post by AGD on Dec 30, 2018 2:20:06 GMT -5
Here's the other joke Dennis told: "In the time of the Samurai there was a powerful emperor who needed a new head Samurai so he sent out a declaration throughout the country that he was searching for one. A year passed and only 3 people showed up. The emperor asked the first Samurai to come in and demonstrate why he should be head Samurai. The first Samurai opened a match box and out pops a little fly. Whoosh goes his sword and the fly drops dead on the ground in 2 pieces. The emperor exclaimed, "That is very impressive!" The emperor then asked the second Samurai to come in and demonstrate. The second Samurai also opened a match box and out pops a fly. Whoosh whoosh goes his sword. The fly drops dead on the ground in 4 pieces. The emperor exclaimed, "That is really very impressive!" The emperor then had the third Samurai demonstrate why he should be the head Samurai. The third Samurai also opened a match box and out pops a fly. His flashing sword goes whoosshh whooosshh whoooossshhh whoooossshhh. A gust of wind fills the room, but the fly is still alive and buzzing around. The emperor, obviously disappointed, asks, "After all of that, why is the fly not dead?" The third Samurai smiled, "If you look closely, you'll see that the fly has been circumcised!" The version I heard on the tape ended something like "Fly still fly... but he no f*ck".
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Post by Mikie on Dec 30, 2018 11:06:41 GMT -5
Here's the other joke Dennis told: "In the time of the Samurai there was a powerful emperor who needed a new head Samurai so he sent out a declaration throughout the country that he was searching for one. A year passed and only 3 people showed up. The emperor asked the first Samurai to come in and demonstrate why he should be head Samurai. The first Samurai opened a match box and out pops a little fly. Whoosh goes his sword and the fly drops dead on the ground in 2 pieces. The emperor exclaimed, "That is very impressive!" The emperor then asked the second Samurai to come in and demonstrate. The second Samurai also opened a match box and out pops a fly. Whoosh whoosh goes his sword. The fly drops dead on the ground in 4 pieces. The emperor exclaimed, "That is really very impressive!" The emperor then had the third Samurai demonstrate why he should be the head Samurai. The third Samurai also opened a match box and out pops a fly. His flashing sword goes whoosshh whooosshh whoooossshhh whoooossshhh. A gust of wind fills the room, but the fly is still alive and buzzing around. The emperor, obviously disappointed, asks, "After all of that, why is the fly not dead?" The third Samurai smiled, "If you look closely, you'll see that the fly has been circumcised!" The version I heard on the tape ended something like "Fly still fly... but he no f*ck". Yeah, evidently there's variations of it.
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Departed
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Dennis
Jan 9, 2019 1:55:09 GMT -5
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Post by Deleted on Jan 9, 2019 1:55:09 GMT -5
I am late catching up with this thread but I am so grateful for this corner of the internet where Dennis is celebrated and remembered. Your memories are really moving (I was only 3 years old when he died) and I’m also crying with laughter at the humour. I like his joke where he would apparently say, ‘Do you want to see an impression of an elephant?’ and turn his pants pockets inside out. I can’t remember where I read that but maybe some of you even saw it. Seems like Dennis was large part little boy, no doubt one of the many things that endeared him to all those women.
His big heart lives in his music, which I cherish every day. Rest in peace dearest beautiful Dennis.
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Dennis
Jan 9, 2019 2:14:53 GMT -5
Post by Deleted on Jan 9, 2019 2:14:53 GMT -5
That was a very touching memorial, AGD.
I am nowhere near as familiar with Dennis' life and personality as most of you here--I never even got to see him live. But I always thought it was sweet how laudatory he was of Brian's work. Even Brian remembered this when recounting the SMiLE sessions, how Dennis was the one who was unfailingly supportive. I'm sure the other band members must have been supportive of Dennis' own songwriting, I'm not trying to imply otherwise. But when I hear about Dennis withdrawing his own tracks from some of the Early 70s albums, my impression was always that Dennis needed someone to say those same things to him, loudly and often. In my experience, the people who are most compassionate towards others are often the ones who themselves need it the most.
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Departed
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Post by Deleted on Jan 9, 2019 5:40:01 GMT -5
Very well said. Dennis’s emotional recklessness is the stuff of legend and there’s no glossing over that aspect of his character but he deserves to be equally famous for the depth of his love and care for his brother. When I listen to his interview with Pete Fornatale from 1976, which i consider one of the best things on the internet, I wish everyone in the world could have a brother as loving as Dennis. Also when you consider that these days it’s almost fashionable for people to talk about mental illness and most of what is said is trite BS, Dennis was decades ahead of his time in the way he spoke so thoughtfully about his brother’s struggles.
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