What the hell (literally) is the tie between the song and Charles Manson?

Why did they use that song for the movie?

What's the deal?

If you ever see the movie, they do a good job of explaining the connection. Anyway, Manson thought the Beatles were speaking to him through songs on the White Album. Most famously, Helter Skelter and Piggies. He took them as being the four horsemen or angels from the bible that bring on the Apocalypse or something to that effect. And he was the fifth angel. According to him, Revolution 9 was refering to Revelations, chapter 9 in the bible that talks about the angels and so on. He was trying to start a race war that he thought they spoke of in certain songs, (Revolution 1, Blackbird, etc.) that would end up, I think, with people looking to Manson to save them and he would become almighty. Or something like that. It's mental. Anyway, his disgusting family members wrote the words Helter Skelter and Piggies on the walls of their victims using thier own blood. I think they mispelled Helter as Healter or something. Sick. It's too bad they had to be associated at all with such a mindless tragedy. I hope no one's offended at me stating the facts about what happened. If I got them wrong, sorry. I'm going by memory of what I've read and from what was presented in the movie. Anyway, I'm sure if you do a search, you'll find plenty of info on it. It's quite insane.

yeah I saw some of the movie once.

They wrote something like "PIG" or something like that.

In my opinion, Manson was a complete nutcase and anything would have set him off. If it wasn't the White Album, it would be any album from any band.

Mairi's pretty much right. The Revelations 9/Revolution 9 thing, Manson believed that the Beatles were telling him of a Holocaust of sorts that was imminent. Helter Skelter was 'coming down fast', political Piggies needed to be snuffed, Blackbird was the uprising and ensuing power of the Black Power Movement/Black Panthers, and he was going to take his followers out to the desert (Spahn Ranch), wait until everyone pretty much killed each other off and would take over power from there. They took the blood of the LaBianca's and scrawled 'Piggies' and 'Helter Scelter' (sic) on the wall and carved 'Pig' in Leo LaBianca's skin.

Interesting detail: The Beach Boys recorded at least one song that Manson wrote.

"Never Learn Not To Love" (from the "20/20" album) was written by Manson as "Cease To Excist". It is credited to Dennis Wilson, but he has more than once admitted that Manson actually wrote it and that he just slightly changed the lyrics.

"Be With Me" and "All I Want To Do" (both from the same album) are also rumored to be (co-) written by Manson, but that's never been proven.

Yeah, I heard that too, BP. Iit was the b-side to some hit... so technically Manson had a top ten song. Or something like that.

He scavenged off of Dennis Wilson for awhile. I think he may have lived at the house for a short time. Terry Melcher, Doris Day's Son, was involved in that whole scene as well. Its a fascinating book. Vincent Bugliosi is an absolute genius putting together the whole case from nothing.

Quoted from juniorsfarm

He scavenged off of Dennis Wilson for awhile. I think he may have lived at the house for a short time. Terry Melcher, Doris Day's Son, was involved in that whole scene as well. Its a fascinating book. Vincent Bugliosi is an absolute genius putting together the whole case from nothing.

Terry Melcher used to live in the house where the first Manson murders took place. So some think that they were really after Melcher. Manson also showed up at Dennis Wilson's house with a gun once, but Dennis was on tour.

Quoted from Mairi

Yeah, I heard that too, BP. Iit was the b-side to some hit... so technically Manson had a top ten song. Or something like that.

It was the B-side of "Bluebirds Over The Mountain", which wasn't a huge hit, but it did get Manson into the charts...

And I must say that I think "Never Learn Not To Love" is a pretty good song... Weird, creepy, hypnothizing... Not bad at all.

Guns and Roses did one of his songs on the "Spaghetti Incident".

I've heard that "Helter skelter" inspired him to kill, at least he told this. Which is quite ridicolous from a phychotic person.

That was just his exuse to kill if anything. Just like the dog that told Son of Sam to kill. They need something to justify their sick urges I guess. Manson was in and out of prison from a very young age. I think he was even said to have killed already a few times by then. The movie was very well done, it expalains a lot about what was going on and why this actually happened. I remember my parents had the book when I was a kid. I think I read bits of it when I was like 10. The pictures where a bit much though. Bugliosi was a gifted D.A. Too bad he wasn't around for the O.J. case.

I remember hearing something about one of the beach boys promsing manson a record deal and he never got it so he went pretty nuts,, something along those lines