The meeting between John Lennon and Brian Wilson took place during the Grammy Awards in 1974
Alice Cooper, at the height of his 75 years, he has remembered fabulous stories from the 70s, especially when he brought together his group that became known as the Hollywood Vampires, with John Lennon, Ringo Starr, Harry Nilsson, Keith Moon, Micky Dolenz and guests such as Elton John .
One of them is when I was backstage at the 1974 Grammys, with John Lennon e Bernie TaupinElton John’s lyricist, when he noticed the presence of Brian Wilson Also at the scene, the Beach Boys member at the time already had mental health problems.
“I was backstage after the 1974 Grammys with Bernie Taupin (Elton John’s lyricist) and John Lennon. This was when Brian was going through some mental issues,” Cooper said.
Brian, when approaching Cooper, made a surprising request that scared the rocker
“During the conversation, I noticed Brian watching us from different angles. Finally, he came to the table, leaned in and whispered in my ear, ‘Hey, Alice, introduce me to John Lennon.’ I couldn’t believe these two had never met! They were practically neck and neck in the 60s as the biggest bands on the planet. I’m sure they must have crossed paths at some point. But then I thought, ‘Wow, I’m going to be the guy to introduce them and be part of rock history!’
Cindy Lang, Alice Cooper, John Lennon and May Pang.
It was then that Alice courteously presented Brian Wilson a Lennon.
“I just said, ‘Brian Wilson, this is John Lennon. John Lennon, this is Brian Wilson.’ Lennon was very cordial, saying things like ‘Hi Brian, I’ve always wanted to meet you. I’ve always admired his work, and Paul and I consider Pet Sounds one of the best albums ever made.’ Brian thanked him and walked away. Moment when Lennon returned to the conversation as if nothing had happened.”
However, the mental health problems were more serious than Alice Cooper and Lennon imagined, and Brian returned to the table again.
“About ten minutes later, Brian walked by our table again, whispered something to Bernie, and suddenly, Bernie was saying, ‘Brian Wilson, this is John Lennon. John Lennon, Brian Wilson.’ Lennon was as warm and polite as the first time, saying essentially the same thing about always wanting to meet him.”
And Alice concluded:
“As soon as Brian walked away, John looked at both of us and casually said in his typical Liverpool accent, ‘I’ve known him hundreds of times. He’s not well, you know.’ We were impressed by John’s empathy and kindness in dealing with Brian, and we are grateful that Brian has found some mental stability after tumultuous times.”
Brian Wilson Mental Health.
Brian Wilson in the 60s.
Brian Wilson began to have mental problems in 1964. The diagnosis was schizophrenia, panic syndrome, and problems with the frontal lobes, exacerbated by drug use. The condition prevented Brian from having cohesion in his actions, and created a deficiency in planning and execution, in addition to a lack of cognitive capacity.
The musician had several quirks and eccentricities, for example, during the recordings of Pet Sounds they had to place the piano in a tank of sand, and the musicians had to wear firefighter helmets. Or another time he freaked out on a flight and the band had to cancel several shows.
Smile finished 30 years later.
In 1967, after finalizing the elements of the album Smile, Brian Wilson didn’t know what to do with the material, due to a complete lack of clue, even though he was still 25 years old. He abandoned the project because he did not have the emotional capacity to complete it. Smile It was only released in 2004, so it took the musician more than 30 years to complete the album.
Only from the 90s onwards, with the support of his friends’ wife, and with the advancement of psychiatric treatments, was Brian Wilson able to lead a more peaceful life.
Brian Wilson today. Disclosure.
In recent years Brian, who is now 81 years old, has even performed live. And it was surprising when in Trump’s 2020 election race he even criticized Mike Love for using the Beach Boys’ name in support of the presidential candidate.
“We have absolutely nothing to do with today’s Trump event in Newport Beach. Zero. We didn’t even know about it and were very surprised to read about it in the Los Angeles Times.” So said the note signed by Brian Wilson and Al Jardine to Variety magazine.
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