“The Beach Boys are not a superstar group. The music is the superstar of the group.” –Dennis Wilson
He lived with celebrities from the time he was seventeen–his brothers and their band. But here are other recognizable people from his life.
September 12 — With other celebs
Al, Dennis, Mike, Carl, and Brian with the Maharishi Mahesh Yogi in 1967 ©Linda Eastman
Carl, Bruce, Princess Margaret, and Dennis at the Royal Albert Hall, 1970 (still looking for copyright attribution)
Then-girlfriend/fiancee Christine McVie and Dennis at the keyboards. ©Ed Roach
This one is just fun for me. The Grateful Dead and the Beach Boys jamming together at the Fillmore East in 1971. I don’t know who shot the photo (Ed Roach was there, but not sure if this is his photo); it’s SO SO Seventies. Dennis is one of the front men here. He was busier composing and singing for the band in that period, as was Carl, because Brian was less involved, plus injuries to Dennis’s hand/arm kept him off drums for a while.
Dennis with Paul McCartney, shot probably snagged from video of Brian Wilson’s birthday party in 1976, although Linda McCartney was shooting with her camera.
Below is a video of the band performing “Good Vibrations” live at two separate concerts, with Dennis hammering away at drums in both. I relish seeing Dennis and Carl working together this way, and I’m always happy when Brian is on stage, too. Interspersed with the concert footage is tape from Brian’s birthday party showing Dennis with then-wife Karen talking to Paul.
ETA 2022: This video is no longer available on YouTube.
It’s hard to imagine the sort of lifestyle such people experience. Completely alien.
I’m writing against the norm in the saga. I’ll elaborate on that someday.