To him, the album was filled with secret codes that only he could decipher. Each song belonged to a different member, making a fractured, albeit brilliant, masterpiece. Released in November 1968, The Beatles (also known as “ The White Album”) isn’t just a seminal work by the world’s biggest rock group, it was the work of four separate artists following their muses without an editor. Manson thought 'The White Album' held the secret to Helter Skelter To keep their octogenarian landlord happy Fromme became Spahn’s primary caretaker, cooking and cleaning for him as well as making sure he stayed satisfied. After a while the Manson Family made themselves known when Lynne “Squeaky” Fromme approached George and spun a yarn about being stranded after their car broke down. Once a popular set for western films, the Ranch was now a dilapidated skeleton of its former self by the late '60s, acting as a set for B-movies. It’s believed that the Family was living on Spahn Ranch long before its owner knew about their presence. It’s here that Manson’s group coalesced from a group of acid-gobbling hippies into a militant unit of former flower children who were ready to jumpstart a race war inspired by The Beatles' “White Album.” Unlike the rest of the Bohemians in Southern California, the Manson Family wanted to help the world descend into chaos so they could rebuild it in Charlie’s image. The Manson cult lived on an old film setĪfter being kicked out of Wilson’s house, the Manson family moved to Spahn Ranch, named for its owner, the 80-year-old George Spahn. After Manson’s falling out with his only connections to the rarified air of Hollywood stardom, he left the city and followed a depraved path to brutality. Wilson and Melcher were just at the wrong place at the wrong time.
Manson didn’t need Wilson and Melcher to set him off with his temper, he would have found a way to ruin whatever shot he had regardless of the celebrity who offered to lend him a hand. Melcher and Wilson aren’t responsible for the unspeakable violence that occurred on Cielo Drive - they only gave Manson a glimmer of hope that he could attain the rock god status that he so desperately wanted. Like Wilson, Melcher left Manson behind after a while. Melcher tried to work with Manson on a demo, but Manson was too hard to deal with and unwilling to compromise. He distanced himself from Manson and never saw him again. When Manson showed that he was on a cult leader trip, that he was more interested in ripping apart the world that Wilson belonged to, the drummer split. They attempted to collaborate on music, and Wilson even introduced Manson to Terry Melcher, a the producer for The Byrds. Manson leeched off Wilson’s fame while Wilson slept with the Manson girls. Manson reportedly knelt down and kissed the feet of the Beach Boys drummer, and for the next few months the two were inseparable. In the summer of 1968, Beach Boy Dennis Wilson picked up a pair of young hitchhikers, Patricia Krenwinkel and and Ella Jo Bailey, members of the Manson Family, and dropped them off after taking them home for “milk and cookies.”Īfter meeting the girls again, Wilson was introduced to Manson at a party at his own home in the Pacific Palisades. The story of Manson’s attempt to take over the Hollywood music scene of the 1960s is well trod territory, and the early chapters set up a standard rags to riches story.