Before the murderous rampage that shattered the serene climate of Southern California, aspiring musician Charles Manson repeatedly failed in his attempts to obtain a recording contract. His earliest journey to the state took place during the mid-'50s, after which he endured another prison term—having already spent half his life incarcerated by age 30. Following a stretch in Washington State, Manson reached Southern California in 1967 intent on establishing himself as a singer/songwriter. While based in Topanga Canyon, the would-be prophet encountered several leading L.A. figures, among them Neil Young, Dennis Wilson, and producer Terry Melcher, son of Doris Day.
That Manson mingled with a Beach Boy and Doris Day’s son underscored the disoriented atmosphere then prevailing across Southern California. Although his music and outlook are readily dismissed today, contemporaries including Neil Young once placed sufficient faith in Manson to pursue a record deal on his behalf. Across 1968, Manson recorded demo tapes alongside Gregg Jakobson and Terry Melcher; under Dennis Wilson’s guidance, he nearly signed with Brother Records, the Beach Boys’ own label. The band itself reworked Manson’s “Cease to Exist,” retitling the track “Never Learn Not to Love” and placing it on their 20/20 LP. By 1969, however, Manson and his circle of outsiders had driven off every prospective contract through escalating erratic conduct, leaving Manson without any album issued during his time as a free man.
Following his arrest, the intense trial coverage sparked curiosity about Manson’s recordings, though for misguided motives, prompting fringe imprints Performance and White Devil to issue albums such as Lie and Commemoration. One of his compositions later appeared on a release by the era’s foremost rock band when Guns N’ Roses featured the poorly received track on their 1993 covers collection, The Spaghetti Incident?
