Never Learn Not to Love

in 1968 In late spring 1968, Dennis Wilson struck a friendship with cult leader Charles Manson. At the time, Manson was an ex-convict seeking a career as a singer-songwriter, and Wilson, convinced of his talents, was interested in signing him as an artist on the band's Brother Records label. Music journalist Dan Caffrey commented that "it's understandable to see why Wilson felt a musical kinship with Manson", and while using Wilson's recent "Little Bird" and "Be Still" as examples, explained that Manson and Wilson shared a similar unprofessional approach and an interest in "fraying the edges of traditional forms". Manson discussed and presented Wilson some of his self-penned material, and in exchange, Wilson paid for studio time to record songs performed by Manson. That summer, Manson booked a session at Brian Wilson's home studio for several tracks that were co-produced by Brian and Carl Wilson. Much of the recordings were not demos, but rather polished studio productions of songs that possibly included "Cease to Exist". These recordings remain unavailable to the public. ==Composition and authorship==

According to Manson, he had penned "Cease to Exist" specifically for the Beach Boys to record. He explained, "[The Beach Boys] were fighting amongst themselves, so I wrote that song to bring them together. 'Submission is a gift, give it to your brother.' Dennis has true soul, but his brothers couldn’t accept it." Manson Family member Squeaky Fromme said of the song, "Charlie made up a song for Dennis, and we wrote down the words. Part of it was from a man to a woman, and part from a man to his brothers." Fromme added, "Dennis would later talk the Beach Boys into recording the song, but someone would talk him into changing the rhythm and words, and failing to even mention Charlie." Mike Love claimed that he was not aware of the song's author at the time, and assumed that Dennis had written it. Manson was not given a label credit for the song. In exchange for the publishing rights to "Cease to Exist", he received a sum of cash and a BSA motorcycle which he later gave to Family member Paul Watkins. Asked in a 1971 interview as to why he did not credit Manson, Wilson answered, "He didn't want that. He wanted money instead. I gave him about a hundred thousand dollars' worth of stuff." Conversely, band engineer Stephen Desper stated that the decision to leave Manson uncredited was retribution for "the stuff of value that Manson ripped off from Dennis". Desper continued, "If Manson had been a decent person, the Beach Boy organization would have given him credit and treasure, as they did with other writers. But Manson was a thief and did not play by civil rules. By those rules, he was compensated as far as they were concerned." Conversely, Desper credited "all the added vocal arrangement throughout the entire song" to Brian and Carl Wilson. After realizing Manson's growing erratic behavior, Wilson ended his friendship with him soon after. ==Recording==

The Beach Boys recorded "Never Learn Not to Love" at their private studio on September 11 and 16–18, 1968. In December 1968, Wilson recorded cymbal sounds, titled "The Gong", that were later reversed and added to the beginning of the 20/20 version of "Never Learn Not to Love". Other parts of the session were dedicated to a spoken-word monologue that went unreleased until the 2018 compilation I Can Hear Music: The 20/20 Sessions. Desper said that "Manson was only in the studio one evening, by himself and his silent girls. He never conferred or worked in any way with the group." ==Release and reception==

"Never Learn Not to Love" was released as the B-side to "Bluebirds over the Mountain" on December 2, 1968. The A-side reached number 61 on the Billboard Hot 100 and number 33 on the UK Singles Chart. On April 1, the group performed the song during their appearance on The Mike Douglas Show. The episode was broadcast on April 9. In his retrospective assessment of the song, Richie Unterberger commented "Never Learn Not to Love" is far more notorious for its relation to Manson, not the music itself which he describes as "average". Colin Larkin, in The Encyclopedia of Popular Music, wrote the track "had the ironic distinction of putting Charles Manson in the charts". Journalist Nathan Jolly called the song "softer but still eerie", also noting how fans of the Beach Boys who listened to the song over the years "had no idea of the inherent evil of its actual composer". ==Lie: The Love and Terror Cult version==

{{listen|filename=Cease to Exist.ogg |title= "Cease to Exist" |description=Excerpt from Manson's 1968 recording of "Cease to Exist", as released in 1970 for Lie: The Love and Terror Cult. During Manson's trial for the murders of seven people, his debut album, Lie: The Love and Terror Cult, was released in March 1970. Consisting of 13 tracks recorded between 1967 and 1968, it included Manson's original arrangement of "Cease to Exist". In an AllMusic review of Manson's album, his rendition of "Cease to Exist" was regarded by Theodor Grenier as "one of Manson's signature performances, and has justifiably invited comparison with Jim Croce and José Feliciano". He also wrote that Manson's raw, stripped-down take "gives the song an impressive lo-fi immediacy that is a million miles away from the Beach Boys' treatment". ==Personnel==

Per Craig Slowinski. The Beach Boys • Al Jardine – backing vocals • Bruce Johnston – backing vocals • Mike Love – backing vocals • Brian Wilson – backing vocals • Carl Wilson – backing vocals, bass, guitar • Dennis Wilson – lead and backing vocals, piano Session musicians • John Guerin – drums, percussion, sleigh bells • Don Randi – piano, organ • Lyle Ritz – upright bass ==Cover versions==

• 1994: Sean MacReavy, Dumb Angel • 2020: Psychic Ills, Never Learn Not to Love / Cease to Exist 7" single == See also ==