You Are So Beautiful, AGD... To MEEEEEE!

[Mr. Cohen]

So what's the full story surrounding "You Are So Beautiful To Me"? According to Wikipedia, it's a fact that Dennis Wilson helped with this song, but here I always thought it was more of a rumor. That's interesting, for one. Also, while Wikipedia claims that Dennis helped with the lyrics, I have to say that a few of the chord changes seem distinctly Dennis. It recalls, to me, the dramatic changes in songs "You and I".

Give me the scoop. I'm counting on you people.

[The Shift]

Whole thing sounds like Dennis to me.

I believe Billy Hinsche was there the night it was composed and has authenticated the Dennis input.

Checkout Jon Stebbin's FAQ page:

http://thejonstebbins.com/realbeachboy-faq.html

[Jon Stebbins]

Yes this was substantiated by Billy Hinsche's eyewitness account of the Dennis/Preston collaboration on the song, which was first published in my DW book in 2000. Billy also told the story on camera during the making of the Endless Harmony doc., although that footage was not in the released film. Many of Dennis' closest friends and associates have also backed this up with remembrances of Dennis telling them he'd co-written the song. There is a pretty strong consensus  among some very reliable sources that Dennis had a hand in creating You Are So Beautiful. Preston claimed he didn't at least once, but he also claimed he didn't know who Dennis was, which everyone on the inside knows isn't true.

[clack]

Did Dennis really contribute enough to the song to be credited as a true "co-writer", or did he just offer suggestions as Preston composed it on the piano? Many songs over the years have incorporated minor contributions from producers, girlfriends, etc. without those contributers being listed in the writing credits.

[Awesoman]

Did Dennis really contribute enough to the song to be credited as a true "co-writer", or did he just offer suggestions as Preston composed it on the piano? Many songs over the years have incorporated minor contributions from producers, girlfriends, etc. without those contributers being listed in the writing credits.

Yes, we've heard many a time that Dennis Wilson had something to do with the creation of this song.  But it begs the question--why did he never receive songwriting credit for it?  The song is credited to Billy Preston and Bruce Fisher.

[Jon Stebbins]

Did Dennis really contribute enough to the song to be credited as a true "co-writer", or did he just offer suggestions as Preston composed it on the piano? Many songs over the years have incorporated minor contributions from producers, girlfriends, etc. without those contributers being listed in the writing credits.

Yes, we've heard many a time that Dennis Wilson had something to do with the creation of this song.  But it begs the question--why did he never receive songwriting credit for it?  The song is credited to Billy Preston and Bruce Fisher.

He never asked for it, and probably didn't care about it.

[MBE]

Mr. Desper makes it quite clear in our interviews that Dennis had that melody kicking around in the early seventies. The basic feel and construction are all his.

[Dave in KC]

Is Billy Preston a d*ckhead that even today he won't acknowledge the truth when asked? Is he even still alive? I'm not even going to check.

[Emdeeh]

Sadly, Billy Preston left this plane of existence in 2006.

[I. Spaceman]

Is Billy Preston a skull of Dick Reising that even today he won't acknowledge the truth when asked? Is he even still alive? I'm not even going to check.

Billy was a great musician and deserves respect, whatever he said about the composition of You Are So Beautiful.

[bgas]

Is Billy Preston a skull of Dick Reising that even today he won't acknowledge the truth when asked? Is he even still alive? I'm not even going to check.

Billy was a great musician and deserves respect, whatever he said about the composition of You Are So Beautiful.

 He deserves respect for his musical abilities, but NOT for his  theft of composer credits( at least for this one song)

[FatherOfTheMan Sr101]

Agreed.

[I. Spaceman]

.

[Lowbacca]

Why didn't Dennis seek recompense, if he really wrote that much of the song?

Did Dennis really contribute enough to the song to be credited as a true "co-writer", or did he just offer suggestions as Preston composed it on the piano? Many songs over the years have incorporated minor contributions from producers, girlfriends, etc. without those contributers being listed in the writing credits.

Yes, we've heard many a time that Dennis Wilson had something to do with the creation of this song.  But it begs the question--why did he never receive songwriting credit for it?  The song is credited to Billy Preston and Bruce Fisher.

He never asked for it, and probably didn't care about it.

Sounds like Dennis, I'd say.

[Pretty Funky]

Dennis had the perfect attitude to the song. Sang it in concert most nights. The BB's must have known why.

I can imagine if anyone asked him why he would just give them a wink and a smile. Better than any credit IMO.

[Wirestone]

I've always found this story very hard to swallow. Always. Not impossible for Dennis to have written something that sounded like YASB -- and maybe that's what people remember -- but it just seems a little too neat in retrospect. That is, Dennis, who never composed a big hit, was actually behind someone else's number one. Now that both of the principals are no longer with us (and given that Billy was in declining health for the last couple of years), it's all to easy to rewrite history.

[Jon Stebbins]

I've always found this story very hard to swallow. Always. Not impossible for Dennis to have written something that sounded like YASB -- and maybe that's what people remember -- but it just seems a little too neat in retrospect. That is, Dennis, who never composed a big hit, was actually behind someone else's number one. Now that both of the principals are no longer with us (and given that Billy was in declining health for the last couple of years), it's all to easy to rewrite history.

So what you are saying is that Billy Hinsche was lying when he told me on the record that he witnessed the Preston/Dennis collaboration on You Are So Beautiful while it was happening...first hand, and that Billy H. was also lying when he told Alan Boyd on camera for the Endless Harmony documentary that he witnessed Dennis and Preston working on the song together? And what of all the others like Jim Guercio, Karen Lamm, Gregg Jakobson, Stephen Desper, Tom Murphy, Christine Mcvie and about two dozen other of Dennis' friends and family members who are on the record that Dennis told them he helped Preston write the song back in the '70's? Are they part of a conspiracy to rewrite history? Rewriting history is not easy at all when there is an evidence trail going back to 1974. BTW...when i stumbled upon this story in 1998 or so, I thought it was REALLY hard to swallow, but the deeper I dug, the more credible it became.

[♩♬🐸 Billy C ♯♫♩🐇]

I myself found it hard to believe at first, just for the fact that if it was true it'd be yet ANOTHER case where a Beach Boy doesn't get due credit from the general public, but considering the sources, I believe it totally.

I wish Dennis had recorded a studio version himself, as it would've helped dispel the general public's image of the BB only being a 'surfin' oldies' band. Plus. Dennis Wilson > Joe Cocker.

[Awesoman]

Is Billy Preston a skull of Dick Reising that even today he won't acknowledge the truth when asked? Is he even still alive? I'm not even going to check.

Billy was a great musician and deserves respect, whatever he said about the composition of You Are So Beautiful.

 He deserves respect for his musical abilities, but NOT for his  theft of composer credits( at least for this one song)

So you were present for their writing session?

I've always found this story very hard to swallow. Always. Not impossible for Dennis to have written something that sounded like YASB -- and maybe that's what people remember -- but it just seems a little too neat in retrospect. That is, Dennis, who never composed a big hit, was actually behind someone else's number one. Now that both of the principals are no longer with us (and given that Billy was in declining health for the last couple of years), it's all to easy to rewrite history.

So what you are saying is that Billy Hinsche was lying when he told me on the record that he witnessed the Preston/Dennis collaboration on You Are So Beautiful while it was happening...first hand, and that Billy H. was also lying when he told Alan Boyd on camera for the Endless Harmony documentary that he witnessed Dennis and Preston working on the song together? And what of all the others like Jim Guercio, Karen Lamm, Gregg Jakobson, Stephen Desper, Tom Murphy, Christine Mcvie and about two dozen other of Dennis' friends and family members who are on the record that Dennis told them he helped Preston write the song back in the '70's? Are they part of a conspiracy to rewrite history? Rewriting history is not easy at all when there is an evidence trail going back to 1974. BTW...when i stumbled upon this story in 1998 or so, I thought it was REALLY hard to swallow, but the deeper I dug, the more credible it became.

I don't think there is any reason to accuse you, Hinsche or anyone else you mentioned of lying.  I'm more than willing to believe that the story is either entirely true or at least partially true.  It definitely sounds like a song Dennis would write.  That being said, it isn't unfair to suggest that there is some elbow room in this story to question it.  Especially in this day and age, it's extremely easy to take something you merely want to believe is true, and run with it like its fact written in stone.  Just trying to look at it objectively.  Did Preston himself ever really comment on it?

[I. Spaceman]

Did Preston himself ever really comment on it?

Yes, he denied the story.

[KittyKat]

I'm not sure what Dennis supposedly contributed. Was it lyrics, melody, or what? Did Billy already have the song started or did Dennis start it?   People say it fits Dennis's style, but it also fits Billy's style on slow songs (I'm thinking of "That's the Way God Planned It"). I'm wondering if Billy wrote the song in a gospel style and Dennis contributed a different style of rhythm.  There's a version that Billy performed on Jools Holland's show that's up on YouTube, and Billy performed it in a more gospel type of style. Though the change in style may have come from whoever played keyboards on the Cocker version and neither Billy or Dennis had anything to do with that.

[Awesoman]

Supposedly Pete Best drummed on it.  Mwaahaahaah!!

[Rocky Raccoon]

Is Billy Preston a skull of Dick Reising that even today he won't acknowledge the truth when asked? Is he even still alive? I'm not even going to check.

Wow, Billy Preston was an incredibly talented singer and a great piano player and yes, unfortunately he passed in 2006.  Just because he didn't remember Dennis Wilson contributing to "You Are So Beautiful" doesn't make him a horrible person.  We don't even know if he contributed that much or if he did at all.  It could just be one of those legends that gets around.  It's common for people to create and believe false memories.  I'm not saying that Dennis didn't have a hand in writing it but we don't know for sure that he did either.

[adamghost]

Is Billy Preston a skull of Dick Reising that even today he won't acknowledge the truth when asked? Is he even still alive? I'm not even going to check.

Wow, Billy Preston was an incredibly talented singer and a great piano player and yes, unfortunately he passed in 2006.  Just because he didn't remember Dennis Wilson contributing to "You Are So Beautiful" doesn't make him a horrible person.  We don't even know if he contributed that much or if he did at all.  It could just be one of those legends that gets around.  It's common for people to create and believe false memories.  I'm not saying that Dennis didn't have a hand in writing it but we don't know for sure that he did either.

Or, considering the amount of substances being consumed, it's conceivable that everyone's telling the truth as far as they know it.  Memories of composition at a party could well be hazy to non-existent, but if there was a demo tape made of the song, it wouldn't matter in terms of preserving the idea and recording it properly later.

[♩♬🐸 Billy C ♯♫♩🐇]

Good point Adam.