Was Dennis in the Wrong Group?

[retrokid67]

I know that the original 5 were perfect and everything.  Brian didn't really need a group to make his music; and I'm sure most of you would say that the group needed him more than he needed them.  But couldn't the same be said about Dennis?  I mean he certainly stood out from the rest of them and his presence made them all look "cool".  If he wasn't there, would they have gotten as far as they did in the early days? Probably not.  I think he could've been in any other rock group and he probably would've gotten more recognition as an artist instead of just being labeled as "the dumb blonde surfer boy"...any thoughts?

[runnersdialzero]

I don't think anyone thinks of Dennis as "the dumb blonde surfer boy."

[Pretty Funky]

No.

[Cyncie]

I guess that depends on whether there was another band that would have taken on a drummer  who looked cool but couldn't actually play drums. When they decided to be a band, Dennis wasn't much of a musician, yet. The talent was there, but he had never developed it.  He learned his craft on-the-job, so to speak. The Dennis who recorded POB was the product of years of learning on the go, being in The Beach Boys, and being in the studio with Brian. Dennis may have felt constrained by the band by the time POB came along, but like it or not, he was also a product of it.

That goes for all of them. Brian needed the boys. They needed him and each other.  Change anything, and you don't have the Beach Boys, and without the Beach Boys, none of this would have happened for any of them.

[retrokid67]

I don't think anyone thinks of Dennis as "the dumb blonde surfer boy."

Maybe not in those exact words but saying he was just there to attract fans and then how when he started writing songs, he wasn't taken seriously.

[18thofMay]

No maybe's about it!

[runnersdialzero]

I don't think anyone thinks of Dennis as "the dumb blonde surfer boy."

Maybe not in those exact words but saying he was just there to attract fans and then how when he started writing songs, he wasn't taken seriously.

I don't think Dennis was there solely to make girls like the band, and by the time Dennis was writing songs, no one was taking any member of the Beach Boys seriously.

[Smilin Ed H]

No.

[stack-o-tracks]

I think if Dennis Wilson wasn't in The Beach Boys, he would probably have spent a lot of his life in jail.


Definitely he was in the right band, and the only band, that is for Dennis Wilson to be in.

[Niko]

How many times have you seen the line: "The Beach Boys died with Dennis."

He was not in the wrong group.

[The Shift]

I don't think Dennis would have gone into music had he not joined the Beach Boys. Seems we have his mum, Audree, to thank for that.

[stack-o-tracks]

I don't think Dennis would have gone into music had he not joined the Beach Boys. Seems we have his mum, Audree, to thank for that.

Don't forget his big brother for showing him the way. 

[Andrew G. Doe]

Hmmm... lessee...

Last name Wilson...

Surfs...

Played the drums some...

Have to say, he was a shoe-in for The Beach Boys. 

[Micha]

You mean "shoo-in"? God, Endlish is tougher than I thought, especially if you need a dictionary like I do.

[Andrew G. Doe]

True, dat - I've been speaking it for almost 60 years, and I'm still struggling. 

[Micha]

You mean "shoo-in"? God, Endlish is tougher than I thought, especially if you need a dictionary like I do.

I can't even SPELL "English"!

[elnombre]

I think if Dennis Wilson wasn't in The Beach Boys, he would probably have spent a lot of his life in jail.


Definitely he was in the right band, and the only band, that is for Dennis Wilson to be in.

Give this man a coconut.

[Micha]

I think if Dennis Wilson wasn't in The Beach Boys, he would probably have spent a lot of his life in jail.


Definitely he was in the right band, and the only band, that is for Dennis Wilson to be in.

Give this man a coconut.

For him to eat it or do you want to throw it at his head?

[beatnickle]

Ha. Was Harpo Marx in the wrong group.

[filledeplage]

I know that the original 5 were perfect and everything.  Brian didn't really need a group to make his music; and I'm sure most of you would say that the group needed him more than he needed them.  But couldn't the same be said about Dennis?  I mean he certainly stood out from the rest of them and his presence made them all look "cool".  If he wasn't there, would they have gotten as far as they did in the early days? Probably not.  I think he could've been in any other rock group and he probably would've gotten more recognition as an artist instead of just being labeled as "the dumb blonde surfer boy"...any thoughts?

Actually six, including both Al and Dave, and they appear to have had a synergy where it appears they learned from each other and each brought something different to the table.    

To answer the question, Dennis was in exactly the correct band! 

[bluesno1fann]

I don't think anyone thinks of Dennis as "the dumb blonde surfer boy."

At least not these days. But back in the 60's...

[Lee Marshall]

Dennis, I think, clearly suggested that HE felt he was in the wrong band.  And I think he did it a number of times.  And I also think it may well have been his own 'band-mates' who considered him to be the "dumb, blond, surfer".

Was it the substance abuse which caused his behavioral problems?  Likely.  But what caused the substance abuse?  Could be a number of different things.  Murry for starters.  Denny was a rebel from before he started throwing garbage and stuff on the neighbour's lawn across the street.  Welcome to the neighbourhood David Marks.  Being disrespected by his own band-mates must have been a real kick in the nuts...which they delivered over and over.  While Dennis remained closer to Brian...he clearly had little respect for his cousin.  For Carl and the others?  I don't know.

Denny, as far as I'm concerned, was musically gifted...and next to Brian, as things evolved...the MOST talented Beach Boy in the group.  Yet he couldn't get his songs included on albums?  [at least not in the numbers deserving of the actual tuneage]  Why?  Because he was just Denny...the dumb, blond surfer?  Then the 'Boy's do up the 'Love You' album and Denny, at the very, VERY least, equals it in terms of success, sales, critical acclaim and content with Pacific Ocean Blue.  None of THAT was good enough for the Beach Boys?

By that point Denny was in a downward spiral that would only get worse and worse.  He held his best stuff back from the group...saving it for his solo project[ s ]...like the upcoming Bamboo album.  Denny began to miss shows...whether he was physically there and chose not to participate/couldn't participate or whether he didn't even bother to show up in the alotted town.  His physical appearance and generally healthy 'look' slowly dissipated.  He was only 39 when he passed.  He looked like he was closer to 59.

I'd say that Dennis Wilson was in the wrong group...for the ultimate good of Dennis Wilson...from around Surf's Up...on.  I think, among other things, that being a Beach Boy...killed him.

[The LEGENDARY OSD]

Yeah, he was definitely in the right place. What other musical configuration could he have thrived in for as long as he did?

[Lee Marshall]

Yeah, he was definitely in the right place. What other musical configuration could he have thrived in for as long as he did?

Well...there IS that.

[Niko]

I don't think anyone thinks of Dennis as "the dumb blonde surfer boy."

At least not these days. But back in the 60's...

It might be easy to form this kind of opinion about Dennis because of how the music he made appeared to be regarded by the rest of the group...but he got a lot of his songs onto Beach Boys albums (Sunflower has four!), even if just as many stayed unreleased, unrecorded or put out without much publicity.

BUT. He was clearly the most appealing to the ladies, he had a great voice with a decent number of leads early on AND was integral in both founding and defining The Beach Boys image into what they became famous for.

From my perspective, most real music fans see Dennis as he was - a great artist.