History Music / DennisWilson

Wilson's personal life began to deteriorate sharply at the turn of TheEighties. He had been fighting his personal demons for years by then, and they were taking their toll on him. He never fully got over the abuse he sustained from his father as a child (along with [[Music/BrianWilson Brian]]) and he suffered from a complete lack of self-confidence in himself. His relationship with cousin and fellow Beach Boy Music/MikeLove in particular was infamously bad, with Love denouncing Dennis as "a drugged-out no-talent parasite who we've sacked". Dennis' relationship with his other band members were also generally strained, though he still got along with his brothers. He battled with alcohol abuse - and to a lesser extent drug abuse - and he had become generally unreliable on stage. At the end, on December 28, 1983, Dennis Wilson drowned at Marina Del Ray in UsefulNotes/LosAngeles. After a day of drinking and partying, Wilson had chosen to dive into the water where his old yacht used to be. He didn't come up, and his body was found several hours later. He was 39 years old.

* RealityIsUnrealistic:
** The fact that Dennis Wilson was at one stage friends with Charles Manson, and also that he co-wrote "You Are So Beautiful" with Billy Preston at a party in 1974.
** Also the fact that Dennis was the ''only'' surfer in The ''Beach'' Boys. Hell, his brother Carl ''hated'' water, just to add another layer of irony.

* AllDrummersAreAnimals: Dennis was known affectionately as a "clubber". During a performance of "I Get Around" at the ''Film/TAMIShow'', Dennis even shattered a drumstick mid-song. However, beyond this reputation, his skills never really advanced beyond the level of playing basic beats, which meant that on their most famous albums, Brian had Dennis sidelined and hired veteran session drummers Hal Blaine, Jim Gordon, and/or Earl Palmer to play the drums on the majority of the songs instead.

* TheCasanova: His reputation as one is legendary, and is far and away the biggest one of Music/TheBeachBoys. He had five wives, one of them being the ex-wife of Robert Lamm from Music/ChicagoBand. He also had a relationship with Christine [=McVie=] of Music/FleetwoodMac from 1979 to 1981.
* ChickMagnet: He had a large female fanbase, and the most popular member among women.
* HairTriggerTemper: Most everyone agreed that Dennis was usually a very sweet guy, but he had a nasty temper and would think nothing of engaging in a violent beatdown (including against Charles Manson when Manson threatened his children).

* RealityIsUnrealistic: The fact that Dennis Wilson was at one stage friends with Charles Manson, and also that he co-wrote "You Are So Beautiful" with Billy Preston at a party in 1974.

Despite his tragic ending and decades of his work being relatively obscure, in recent years Dennis Wilson and his work has been VindicatedByHistory, as evident by the expanded reissue of ''Music/PacificOceanBlue'' in 2008.

* HostilityOnTheSet: Dennis' behavioral problems led him to falling out with every bandmate with the exception of his brothers. He and his cousin Mike Love had an especially bad relationship. He was very nearly kicked out of the band and only Carl standing up for him kept him in.

* TheCasanova: His reputation as one is legendary, and is far and away the biggest one of Music/TheBeachBoys. He had five wives, one of them being the ex-wife of Robert Lamm from Music/{{Chicago}}. He also had a relationship with Christine [=McVie=] of Music/FleetwoodMac from 1979 to 1981.

* HostilityOnSet: Dennis' behavioral problems led him to falling out with every bandmate with the exception of his brothers. He and his cousin Mike Love had an especially bad relationship. He was very nearly kicked out of the band and only Carl standing up for him kept him in.