The Smiley Smile Message Board

It was on this day in 1983 that the music world lost a great talent, and the Beach Boys lost a brother and founding member.  Dennis Wilson, the real beach boy, helped to inspire the themes behind the music of the group, and later made some very beautiful music of his own.  He left this earth way too young.  A toast to Denny.  He will always be remembered....

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Rest in peace, brother. We love you and your music.

The Mechanic

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Best. Album. Cover. Ever.

WOW! What an album cover. Those thieves at Tripod should be ashamed, they ripped off Dennis!

Anyone want to post their memories of 28 December 1983. Mine aren't that special, but I do remember we were on a road trip as a teenager during the summer holidays (I'm in South Africa) with my family and I heard it on the radio news bulletin. Wasn't a fan then but I remember being surprised this would happen to one of the "squeaky clean" Beach Boys

It wasn't until the evening news that I heard about it.  I was 17 years old at the time...my first thought was shock and disbelief... then my heart sank and I just felt numb.  I went downstairs to my room and put on my Beach Boys LPs and listened for hours.  It was a very sad day.

No recollection. I was 7 years old, and probably playing with He-man action figures or something, it being a few days after Christmas.

I was born six months after this happened, so naturally, I have no recollection.

I was in my bedsit with 'Farewell My Friend' playing, eating baked beans on toast ( .. a delicacy for me at the time); when the news came on about Dennis.

Numb .. totally numb.

I remember it well . . .

I saw the Beach Boys perform in 1982 . . . and the only two guys missing were Brian and Dennis . . . for obvious reasons. A few months later, Dennis was dead. I was in high school at the time, and it hit me pretty hard. By then, I was well into my interest in the Beach Boys and Jan & Dean. I had just seen J&D perform the year before.

M.

I remember hearing about when he died when I was little (a LONG TIME later). I remember being angry because he was my favorite back then (the reason I brought a cheap car and surf tape when I was like eight just for Do You Wanna Dance). It seems there is certain people that are just bound to never be old. Sadly I think Dennis was one of them. I would have appreciated though having him stick around. I think he would have been a great solo artist. A lot of dreams died that day for sure. R.I.P. Denny.  

Well I guess I jus-a wadant may fo thee time

*double speed*

I removed myself from the news of Dennis's death back then..stayed stone cold and unemotional..might have mumbled "that's a shame" when I saw the news report on tv, and went on with my life. It wasn't til several years later that the full extent of the loss hit me squarely on the head, and I realized what a great talent he was, and what was lost so young.

Not a good Christmas: a close family friend (also called Dennis, eerily enough) had died on Boxing Day... then a few days later my radio alarm wakes me up with The News. Stumbled downstairs, into the kitchen, mumbled "Dennis is dead". "Yes, we know". "No, Dennis, Dennis Wilson". Right about then the phone rang and pretty much rung off the hook all day. I knew he wasn't in the best shape, but even so... hell, it was Dennis - he was indestructable.

Ok, I'm going to be honest here. This was my initial reaction, and I'm ashamed to admit it. But of course, when reality hit, I was very upset.  I was in my kitchen with my wife and the "news" came on.  I stopped cold in my tracks, totally freaked, because they said "one of the Beach Boys has died". All I could think of was that Brian was dead, and I started hyperventilating. Then as the picture went further, it was Dennis. I'm very sorry to say that I was relieved. I know...shoot me. I was always so worried about Brian that the shock just made me scared, then relieved. And then, of course, totally confused and frightened that this could even happen, the whole drowning thing. It was quite a shock, for sure. At the very least, I was grateful for seeing Dennis live several times. He was one of a kind indeed. And thankfully we have his wonderful music to treasure always.

I was completely bummed, but it didn't hit me to stick to eventually answer the 'where were you when this happened' question. I must have been WAY preoccupied with another part of my life- 10th grade and late puberty (bleeech!). It did however send me on a Beach Boy buying spree and deeper fascination of the cousins, friends, & brothers. I also recall all the major press attention his death brought on. For a guy that died at 39 (I believe?)- he looked far beyond his years. Amazing what substance abuse can do to one's body. Incredible loss. Damn shame.

In high school(class of '66) all the girls loved Denny-he was also the role model for alot of the guys as well-he was everyone's hero-and when I stsrted playin' music, I got to sing their music-later on I sang lead on Forever-but not untill I got to see Denny do it live many times-he was all about style-He was born with it-I even remember seeing them introduced as "Dennis Wilson and The Beach Boys". Fortunately, I got to meet him on several occasions-what a guy-there he was, the quinessential Beach Boy! The hero of my youth! I feel sorry for those who never got to see him live-it had nothing to do with him being a fantastic drummer or anything else-his just being there was all it took-

How's this for a groovy picture of Dennis? . . . The caption says "Denny's Drums, circa 1964 . . . how Picasso is that?" . . . From Dumb Angel #4: All Summer Long.

Yeah, I'd say we remember . . .

(http://www.jananddean-janberry.com/images/dennis-wilson-drums_dumb-angel.jpg)

M.

I never saw Dennis live, and while i remember hearing about his death, it didn't stick with me either.

My greatest Beach Boys-related regret is that i never met, or even saw, Dennis.  Or Carl, but the one that really grinds is Dennis.  Rest in peace, little surfer boy.

Awesome photo, Mark.  Thanks for posting that.   :)

When I was 10 I had the priveledge of seeing Denny with the BB's on 10.28.78. Show's over- the only encore was Denny. He came out half nekkid (hi Laurie!), soaking wet from sweat (hi again!), played about half of You Are So Beautiful on the piano, stood up on the piano and sang the rest of the song. Voice completely blown-out. He sounded terrible, but the crowd ate it up and went apeshit. Like Oldsurferdude says, it was just about him being there. I knew I was witnessing something special, but didn't know what it was- and in retrospect... I now understand what I didn't know at that time. Something about Denny was magic.
Here's my souvenir from that show- I also came away with a tourbook, some fond memories, and a contact high from the hippie sitting next to me.
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$8.50 to see the show. God I miss the past.

Thanks, Kevin.. I love reading about concert experiences like that.  You were so lucky to have seen him in concert.  Great memories... thanks for sharing.  :)

This recovered mag was with my ticket stub... I bought it when it hit the shelves in Jan '84
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Seeing this again makes me sad.  :'(

Not a good picture of Dennis, either...he looks bloaty and saggy.  Very, very sad.

Go back and watch the Knebworth DVD. It was a crappy performance only important for its "historical factor". But the one saving grace was Dennis. It was his first show back after a forced sabbatical and his obvious delight and joy at being a BB was infectous. Even seeing it on screen. The live band lost a lot when he died.

I think he looks good in that picture. At least he didnt look like alcoholic jesus as he did throughout much of the late 70's.

RIP Dennis. He made so much great music, some never to be heard.

It is fun to watch him -- the devious grin at Mike during Surfer Girl, the exhuberance at the piano as Help Me, Rhonda begins...good stuff. Too bad he sings absolutely terribly, even for him.

I just read the People cover again, thought this was odd- ..."ends the act of America's most troubled supergroup."
22 years later Mike is still flogging it with Bruce, only.

  His beautiful music lives on in the hearts and musical spirits of his loving fans.

YES! Well-said! (http://www.planetsmilies.com/smilies/love/love0084.gif)

i just got done reading Dumb Angel- Life & Music of Dennis Wilson, simply one of the best BB books i've read in a while

DENNIS WILSON- hes a clubber, a lover, and lives on within the hallowed digital remixed halls of the internet guru dev.

bamboozeled til he died.




P.S.- He and mr. melcher went down knowing the truth about the manson murders.
         i think mr.love knows more also, but he's not tellin'!!!

Pacific ocean blue album....his goodbye to us all.

I had just seen them live that summer and had remarked to my then-girlfriend that Dennis wouldn't last the year.  During the opening "California Girls" he had steadily sped the tempo up until the band was struggling to play it almost double the speed that it had started.  During "You Are So Beautiful" he sounded like you'd expect.  A lot of the rest of the show he just stumbled around onstage.

When the awful news came, I was sitting on my girlfriend's bed watching TV with her, and we saw the same eerie clip that Brian did, from the pier at Marina Del Rey, with the body covered up.  It was a horrible  feeling.  I was a freshman in college.  At the time I didn't really know anyone else (except my girlfriend) who would have cared.

I think I have that People magazine around somewhere, too.

I've been to the spot in Marina Del Rey to remember him.  There's a heavy feeling there.

I had a feeling it was coming...for a couple of years, Dennis looked worse everytime I saw him on TV, like on the Dick Clark special in late '81, and the Good Morning America show from 1980 that I didn't see until summer '83...and his voice just kept getting worse...and when I saw him in People Magazine that May, I remember saying to my buddy "Dennis looks like hell".  With him missing much of the touring, and all the publicity they were getting that year (Brian "shangahied" by Landy, the Jim Watt stuff, etc.)...I just had a funny feeling one of them would be gone by the year's end.  I could just sense it.

That December, away from home attending college, the local radio station announced Dennis' birthday, and played "I Can Hear Music" (I think it was a nationally syndicated show).  The week of Christmas, I'd been visiting my sister & brother-in-law with my folks...had just seen a cover band in a bar do a BBs medley, ending with "When I Grow Up".  And a couple days later...
I went to bed the night of the 28th, not having heard the news yet...and, as I had done often recently, I remembered Dennis in my prayers...asking God to help him with "whatever problems he may be having".  The next morning, I woke up early to watch something about Simon & Garfunkel on the "Today" show, and when they flashed that picture of Dennis (taken the year before), I felt a lump in my gut.  I just knew it, before they even announced it.  Later that day, I remember the radio news had some fan in Britain on talking about it (AGD?  Mike Grant?  wasn't familiar with those chaps then, so who knows), and they played "409".  Later that night, CNN had a report and showed clips from their preformance at the White House (Denny looking bloated and washed out behind the drums) and Atlantic City (Brian lunging with the bass and bellowing "Barbara Ann" into a mic with Carl).  I remember feeling scared for Brian.  But I guess he was stronger that I'd imagined. 

I'd better stop now.  Too many memories. 

As David Leaf said, "shocked, but not surprised".
C-Man

Dennis Loved Jesus Christ....his music on POB attested to this fact,
alot more than Mike Love blaspheming by saying all gurus and philosophies give praise
to the same GOD! on He Come Down...read the words

all this is that-beautiful song, but just as blasphemous im sorry to have to say.

i just hope Denny asked forgiveness and repented before he lost consciousness that fateful day.

John 3:16 kjv

I'm Christian but people like you annoy me. Don't use other people to push your views.

its cool, i thought i'd give it a go...i know probably this thread wouldn't be the most appropo,

but i figured it would touch a nerve so i went for it anyway.

i love yr reply to my Goin Pubic post, man.

I have no problem at all with your expression of faith and your comments on Dennis' music.  I don't think it's inappropriate.  But you have to realize that when you accuse people of blasphemy because you don't like their theology you risk playing into the worst paranoias people have these days about religious intolerance.  The best way to receive tolerance is to extend it- just my two cents.  Hope that wasn't too pompous, either.

This quote from Dec 28th, 2005:
WOW! What an album cover. Those thieves at Tripod should be ashamed, they ripped off Dennis!

I think AGD was making a subtle reference to Dennis' priapic tendencies (and no, I don't think that "Woody Woodpecker Symphony" was a reference, subtle or otherwise, to the same thing...........).
Dennis might have had a shortened life but it was probably a more exciting life than most lives tend to be.....................

monkee knutz, I still remember coming home from school, opening the mailbox, and seeing that People cover.  I was 12, and had been a BB fan most of my life.  I don't remember if I knew of Dennis's death before seeing that magazine.  However, standing in the street holding that magazine, I do remember feeling very, very sad.  I think that was my first realization that there's often more to celebrities than what they present through songs, TV appearances, etc., and that the Beach Boys had some dark, disturbed stuff under that beautiful music. 

I agree with every word.

No praises to me, you're actually agreeing w/ The Bible and His word.

I see no irony that a man as beautifully flawed/talented as Dennis Wilson, was all at once so in tune w/ his spiritual ineptness and wa so humble.  He could take all the B.S from the BB's and chuck it.

And we, the fans are all the more satisfied cause we were blessed to be able to hear Dennis' fragile tender songs on POB. Don't get me wrong--he knew he was a hard liver, tell me what cocky little punk out there nowadays has the humbleness and greatness of Dennis Or Brian....ZERO, if i should be so bold.

I'm glad that now Brian has publically acknowledged liking Jesus Christ as GOD.
i forget where, but it's a recent interview. But still, w/ Dennis , i pray for Brian Wilson,
that he does accept that Christ died for his sins, there he will find true peace and forgiveness.!!!

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I couldn't resist posting this picture (http://www.planetsmilies.com/smilies/love/love0010.gif)

From "the Sun" December 2005(Brian Wilson):

Are you religious?

I’m not religious, but I’ve always liked Jesus Christ. I like what Jesus Christ stood for and what his vibrations were all about.


Gotta love Brian's interviews, don't you?