When did Dennis lose his voice?

[MBE]

It's hard again to say when was the last really clear vocal. I just want to be able to date the first punch in the throat. I would certainly say that the September 1974 show to be the first really changed vocal, if I hadn't heard how bad his speaking voice souned on the Feburary 1974 interview. Who knows if he had given up cocaine and smoking it may have gone back to normal by 1975.

[Jay]

What was the September 1974 show?

[MBE]

I forgot the town but it was 9-1-74

[Sound of Free]

I think Rainbows is a very good vocal. For the Bambu tracks, I think Dennis sounds very good on Under the Moonlight and Constant Companion. Did Carli have a way of coaxing good vocals out of Dennis, or was it that his voice at this time was better suited for up-temp songs?

[Andrew G. Doe]

I forgot the town but it was 9-1-74

Indiana University, Bloomington IN [w/The Eagles and Kansas]

[MBE]

Thanks. Again he just seems to have more trouble holding notes and it sounds much deeper then even a few months previous.

[Jason]

I remember a TV appearance the Boys made in '81, when Carl was out of the group. It began with the group introducing themselves.

"Mike Love, Santa Barbara, California!"
"Al Jardine from Big Sur, California!"
"Bruce Johnston, Pacific Palisades, California!"
"DENNIS! FROM VENICE!"

Imagine the last line but in the most horrible bark you can think of. That's how Dennis sounded in 1981.

Then the bit in American Band from '83 in Costa Mesa where Dennis can barely breathe while he's talking, so all he can let out is a huff of words. That's the worst.

[MBE]

Domenic Priore told me about that TV show but I cannot find it anywhere. Was it a cheerleader comptition or something?

[mikeyj]

Then the bit in American Band from '83 in Costa Mesa where Dennis can barely breathe while he's talking, so all he can let out is a huff of words. That's the worst.

Yeah I have trouble holding back the tears whenever I see that... really sad

[jmc]

Who knows if he had given up cocaine and smoking it may have gone back to normal by 1975.

Do we know when Dennis started using cocaine?  Was it in 73' after Murry died?  Seems a lot changed for he and Brian at that point. 

[Andrew G. Doe]

Domenic Priore told me about that TV show but I cannot find it anywhere. Was it a cheerleader comptition or something?

National Collegiate Cheerleading Championships.

[The Heartical Don]

Didn't Dennis suffer from recurring polyps on his vocal chords? It would explain a lot, apart from the booze etc. Keef has been a happy 'user' all his life and never lost his voice the way Dennis did.

[MBE]

Who knows if he had given up cocaine and smoking it may have gone back to normal by 1975.

Do we know when Dennis started using cocaine?  Was it in 73' after Murry died?  Seems a lot changed for he and Brian at that point. 

Jon correct me if I am wrong but I think you told me once that the cocaine for Dennis first got bad after Murry died and that he cleaned up after meeting Karen. Apperently this even extended to booze as I have a 1975 article from the short lived magazine In The Know where a very handsome Dennis is seen holding a bottle of water and the caption says he doesn't touch liquer. I think by late 1976 he was getting heavy into cocaine again worse then before. From there we know what happened.

In an interview reproduced in the later edition of the book Back To The Beach there is an interview with Carl. He says for Brian the cocaine use first became noticable in Brian during the So Tough sessions. Again I am sure it got worse after Murry passed.

[MBE]

Domenic Priore told me about that TV show but I cannot find it anywhere. Was it a cheerleader comptition or something?

National Collegiate Cheerleading Championships.

I can't find it on the Gigs and Sessions when was it aired? Also when was the early River Song recorded that is found among many other places on the California Feelin boot on brother? I ask because that was the last studio cut I heard where Dennis sounds clear.

[MBE]

Didn't Dennis suffer from recurring polyps on his vocal chords? It would explain a lot, apart from the booze etc. Keef has been a happy 'user' all his life and never lost his voice the way Dennis did.

Dennis did have polyp surgery several times. I don't know if these were there because of his injury's or just his lifestyle. Ed Roach said the procedures ultimately did not help Dennis because he was supposed to keep silent for extended periods and never would.

As far as Keith he wasn't too happy during the mid seventies when his addiction to herion was raging and he was facing the threat of a long term jail sentence. 
He did have a major event that changed him but it was his face not his voice. Look at footage from the 1978 Stones tour and before and then footage from his 1979 solo tour and after. He looks like a different person. This happened because in the fall of 1978 he stayed up ten days and fell face first asleep into a speaker. He crushed his nose and apparently some of his facial structure. He has talked about this in interviews. That along with him not combing his hair anymore really made a change.

On to his voice it is very different from what it was. Listen to Coming Down Again, or You Got The Silver. Really smooth singing. In the studio he sounded pretty good through 1979 or so. The last thing I heard him sound great on was We Had It All which was an outtake from Emotional Rescue. On stage the 1975 tour found him rough already, so I would say he gradually lost his range from 75-79.

[Jonathan Blum]

Jon correct me if I am wrong but I think you told me once that the cocaine for Dennis first got bad after Murry died and that he cleaned up after meeting Karen.

...That's a bit astonishing, given what Karen got him into later!  What happened *there*?

Cheers,
Jon Blum

[MBE]

Again I could be wrong but from what I understand she found herion "chic" and looked down on cocaine.

[adamghost]

I remember a TV appearance the Boys made in '81, when Carl was out of the group. It began with the group introducing themselves.

"Mike Love, Santa Barbara, California!"
"Al Jardine from Big Sur, California!"
"Bruce Johnston, Pacific Palisades, California!"
"DENNIS! FROM VENICE!"

Imagine the last line but in the most horrible bark you can think of. That's how Dennis sounded in 1981.

Then the bit in American Band from '83 in Costa Mesa where Dennis can barely breathe while he's talking, so all he can let out is a huff of words. That's the worst.

I saw that one too!  They did the worst version ever of "Be True To Your School!"  I thought Dennis said "Dennis the menace."  Just goes to show you couldn't really understand what he was saying at that point...

I've heard a rumor that there are some recordings of Dennis in '82 where he sings and does OK.  I have not heard them and I don't know if it's true or not, but it's intriguing to say the least.

As far as his voice decline, I was shocked when I listened to PACIFIC OCEAN BLUE on the reissue and realized the quasi-falsetto part at the end of "Farewell My Friend" was Dennis' voice.

[Jay]

I remember a TV appearance the Boys made in '81, when Carl was out of the group. It began with the group introducing themselves.

"Mike Love, Santa Barbara, California!"
"Al Jardine from Big Sur, California!"
"Bruce Johnston, Pacific Palisades, California!"
"DENNIS! FROM VENICE!"

Imagine the last line but in the most horrible bark you can think of. That's how Dennis sounded in 1981.

Then the bit in American Band from '83 in Costa Mesa where Dennis can barely breathe while he's talking, so all he can let out is a huff of words. That's the worst.

I saw that one too!  They did the worst version ever of "Be True To Your School!"  I thought Dennis said "Dennis the menace."  Just goes to show you couldn't really understand what he was saying at that point...

I'd give my arm to be able to see a copy of that show. 

[TdHabib]

I've heard a rumor that there are some recordings of Dennis in '82 where he sings and does OK.  I have not heard them and I don't know if it's true or not, but it's intriguing to say the least.

I long to hear Dennis' studio recording 1982, "Labor Day," but I probably never will. Adam, or anybody: Have your heard this??

I have a feeling Stebbins could weigh in with some great notes here...[nudge][nudge]

[SBGIRL]

Jon correct me if I am wrong but I think you told me once that the cocaine for Dennis first got bad after Murry died and that he cleaned up after meeting Karen.

...That's a bit astonishing, given what Karen got him into later!  What happened *there*?

Cheers,
Jon Blum
[/q

[adamghost]

I've heard a rumor that there are some recordings of Dennis in '82 where he sings and does OK.  I have not heard them and I don't know if it's true or not, but it's intriguing to say the least.

I long to hear Dennis' studio recording 1982, "Labor Day," but I probably never will. Adam, or anybody: Have your heard this??

I have a feeling Stebbins could weigh in with some great notes here...[nudge][nudge]

I haven't heard it.  All I heard from a few different people around the time of the PACIFIC OCEAN BLUE rerelease was that there was quite a bit of post-BAMBU Dennis material in private hands.  I was shocked to hear this, but it would be good news if true.  Stebbins would know more I am sure. 

[MBE]

Dennis' music of the eighties is kind of hard for me to picture. I get the feeling music became gradually less important the last 5 years.

[Mr. Cohen]

The question that really pops up for me that I wish more people would ask is: how the hell did he make songs that good that fast? It's miraculous. How did he go from writing nothing to "Little Bird" and "Celebrate the News"? I swear, Brian had to be behind the scenes on some of those songs. We know he was involved in "Little Bird", but that's the only co-credit he'd have with Dennis. Eventually, it's obvious that Dennis came up with everything on his own, but I wonder on those early songs...

[Loaf]

The question that really pops up for me that I wish more people would ask is: how the hell did he make songs that good that fast? It's miraculous. How did he go from writing nothing to "Little Bird" and "Celebrate the News"? I swear, Brian had to be behind the scenes on some of those songs. We know he was involved in "Little Bird", but that's the only co-credit he'd have with Dennis. Eventually, it's obvious that Dennis came up with everything on his own, but I wonder on those early songs...

Kalinich, Jakobson (et al...) might wish to dispute that sweeping generalisation. I would also guess that Carl stepping up as a studio-hand (perhaps to the detriment of the development of his own writing) played a big part in helping Dennis realise the vision of his songs with the BBs. To me, the production is as much a part of the song as the written music/lyrics. Also, i'd imagine the joyfully incestuous nature of the BBs pulling together after Brian's decline contributed to the overall atmosphere (check out the credits for Sunflower). But this is just my opinion.