Charles Manson Biography

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Charles Manson Biography

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Charles Milles Manson (born November 12, 1934) is an United States convict and career criminal, most famous for his actions in the late 1960s. He has spent most of his adult life in prison, initially for offenses such as car theft, forgery and credit card fraud. He also worked some time as a pimp. In the late 1960s, he became the leader of a group known as "The Family", and masterminded several brutal murders, most notoriously that of movie actress Sharon Tate (wife of movie director Roman Polanski), who was eight and a half months pregnant at the time. He was convicted of conspiracy to commit murder in what came to be known as the "Tate-La Bianca case", named after the victims, although he was not accused of committing the murders in person. He is serving a life sentence in California's Corcoran State Prison, and will be up for parole in 2007 at the age of 73. Manson has always maintained his innocence of the crimes. Manson was also friends with several notable musicians before the murders were committed, including Dennis Wilson of The Beach Boys, and was a marginally successful musician himself who recorded several albums and whose songs have since been covered by many artists. Since his trial and conviction, Manson's name and image have been integrated into American pop culture, typically as a symbol of evil. Marilyn Manson (person) derived his last name from Charles Manson.
Early life



Manson was born Charles Milles Maddox at Cincinnati General Hospital in Cincinnati, Ohio, on November 12, 1934 to an 18-year-old girl named Kathleen Maddox (a scan of an official copy of Manson's birth certificate can be found in the External Links section below). Shortly before her son's birth, Kathleen married William Manson, who provided the last name by which he is now known. William Manson was Charles' stepfather, by all accounts Manson never knew his biological father. In 1939, his mother and his uncle, Luther Maddox, were convicted of sexual assault and the holdup of a gas station. Luther served five years in Moundsville prison, dying there in 1949. Manson attended Walnut Hills High School as a child. When he was thirteen, his mother (who had become an alcoholic) attempted to put him in a Foster care. When she was unable to find one for him, he ended up at Gibault School for Boys, a reform school in Terre Haute, Indiana, Indiana. Within a year he ran away and back to his mother, who rejected him. He began living on the streets, supporting himself by petty theft; in 1951, after a string of arrests and escapes, Manson fled to California, where he was apprehended and placed in the National Training School for Boys in Washington, D.C., a Federal juvenile facility, for driving a stolen car across state lines. At least one psychiatrist there observed marked anti-social tendencies, and in that same year, Manson raped another boy. By 1952, Manson already had eight assault charges against him. After being transferred to the Federal Reformatory in Petersburg, Virginia, and later to Chillicothe, Ohio, Manson became a model inmate, resulting in his parole in 1954 at the age of 20. Following his release, however, he continued along a criminal path. His crimes quickly escalated to major offenses, including Mann Act violations. Prior to the Tate-LaBianca murders, Manson had already spent more than half his life (approximately 17 years) in Federal prison — at one point in 1967 asking not to be released. In January 1955, Manson married 17-year-old Rosalie Jean Willis, and decided to move to California. Soon after the wedding, Manson stole a car and was arrested. Willis became pregnant in April. Manson's parole was revoked in 1956 when he missed a court date. Soon after his arrest, Willis gave birth to their son, Charles Milles Manson, Jr. She then left town with a truck driver and Charles Jr., who committed suicide in 1993. Manson's prison and probation reports showed a consistent theme: : (1950-52) "Tries to give the impression of trying hard although actually not putting forth any effort ...marked degree of rejection, instability and psychic Psychological trauma ... constantly striving for status ... a fairly slick institutionalized youth who has not given up in terms of securing some kind of love and affection from the world ... dangerous ... should not be trusted across the street ... assaultive tendencies ... safe only under supervision ... unpredictable ... in spite of his age he is criminally sophisticated and grossly unsuited for retention in an open reformatory type institution"; (1958-59) "Almost without exception he will let down anyone who went to bat for him ... an almost classic case of correctional institutional inmate ... a very difficult case and it is almost impossible to predict his future adjustment ... a very shaky probationer and it seems just a matter of time before he gets into further trouble". Manson was paroled in 1958 after serving two years of a three-year sentence. In 1959, he was arrested again for passing stolen checks. Once again, he was given probation, which was revoked nine months later. On June 1, 1960, Manson was arrested for solicitation of prostitution. He was ordered to serve his 10-year suspended sentence for passing stolen checks at the federal prison on McNeil Island in Washington state. While at McNeil, Manson was a cellmate of notorious 1930s bank robber Alvin Karpis who taught Manson to read music and to play the guitar. It is interesting what Karpis wrote about Manson in his memoirs "On the Rock: Twenty-five Years at Alcatraz" (written with Robert Livesey, published in 1980): : "This kid approaches me to request music lessons. He wants to learn guitar and become a music star. 'Little Charlie' is so lazy and shiftless, I doubt if he'll put the time required to learn. The youngster has been in institutions all of his life--first orphanages, then reformatories, and finally federal prison. His mother, a prostitute, was never around to look after him. I decide it's time someone did something for him, and to my surprise, he learns quickly. He has a pleasant voice and a pleasing personality, although he's unusually meek and mild for a convict. He never has a harsh word to say and is never involved in even an argument." : After Manson had become somewhat proficient on the guitar, he asked Karpis for help in getting a job playing in Las Vegas as Karpis had contacts with nightclub and casino owners there. Manson even told him he would be bigger than the Beatles, but in the end Karpis decided to leave Manson on his own regarding his music career. Manson was moved to a Los Angeles facility in 1967, a step which proved to be one of the most ominous prison transfers ever. Later Karpis added "The history of crime in the United States might have been considerably altered if 'Little Charlie' had been given the opportunity to find fame and fortune in the music industry." Manson was finally released March 21, 1967, against his own expressed wish to remain in prison. While either in prison or on probation, he had, among other things, raped another inmate at razor point, stolen cars, pimp inmates, and forgery federal checks. His prison reports continued with the same message: : (1961-1962) "He hides his resentment and hostility behind a mask of superficial ingratiation ... even his cries for help represent a desire for attention with only superficial meaning"; (1964) "Pattern of instability continues ... intense need to call attention to himself ... fanatical interests"; then finally, (1966) "Manson is about to complete his ten-year term. He has a pattern of criminal behavior and confinement that dates to his teen years ... little can be expected in the way of change."
The Killings

The Manson Family was responsible for several murders, known collectively as the Tate-LaBianca murders.

The Tate murders

On the night of August 9, 1969, Manson directed some members of the Family, including Charles "Tex" Watson, Patricia Krenwinkel, Susan Atkins, and Linda Kasabian to go to the former residence of an acquaintance, record producer Terry Melcher, and kill whoever was on the premises. It was stated at trial that others, including Catherine Gillies (aka "Gypsy"), wanted to go as well, but didn't because there "was no room in the car." There is no proof that they were under influence of drugs or that any of them challenged Manson’s wishes. They left their Spahn Ranch compound and arrived at midnight at the grounds of the Beverly Hills home of the film director Roman Polanski and his wife Sharon Tate. Polanski, highly acclaimed for his recent hit Rosemary's Baby, was in London working on his next film and had asked friends to stay with Tate, who was eight and a half months pregnant. Before entering the house, the Manson family members shot dead Steven Parent, an 18-year-old friend of Tate's gardener, who was leaving the property and had unwittingly seen the intruders while getting in his car. Kasabian, who was acting as the getaway driver, expressed horror at the murder of Parent and was told to remain outside and keep watch while the others entered the house. The quotation, "I am the devil, and I have come to do the devil's work" has been attributed to Watson when Wojciech Frykowski awoke from his slumber on the living room couch. They assembled the four occupants of the house into the living room. The intruders asked if anyone had money, and, in replying that she did, Abigail Folger, heiress to the Folgers Coffee Company, was led to her bedroom to empty her purse. She was led back to the living room where the the four occupants of the house were tied together. Jay Sebring, a noted hairstylist and friend of the Polanskis was visiting, and when he attempted to defend Tate, he was shot by Watson, who then kicked him several times in the face. Wojciech Frykowski and Abigail Folger, who were staying in the house until Polanski's return from London, were able to escape from the living room and were each pursued as they ran onto the front lawn. Quickly overtaken by the attackers, Frykowski was stabbed fifty-one times, shot twice, and pistol-whipped 13 times in the head; Folger was stabbed twenty-eight times. Tate remained in the living room and begged for the life of her unborn baby. Susan Atkins later testified that she had replied, "Look bitch, I don't care about you. I don't care if you are having a baby. You are going to die and I don't feel a thing about it", before stabbing her to death. Before leaving the house Atkins used a towel to soak up some of Sharon Tate's blood and then used it to write "PIG" on the front door. This was allegedly inspired by the Beatles song Piggies. Linda Kasabian later received immunity (legal) for submitting evidence against the group. She told Manson, "I'm not like you, I can't kill," and evinced shock and horror at finally seeing the pictures of the killings in court.

The LaBianca murders

The following night in the Los Feliz, Los Angeles, California section of Los Angeles, California, California, wealthy supermarket executive Leno LaBianca and his wife Rosemary were killed in their home, once again by members of the Family (Watson, Krenwinkel and Leslie Van Houten). On this occasion, Manson apparently went along to "show them how to do it" with less tumult, and pacified the victims, tying them up before returning to the car to tell his followers to commit the killings. Watson apparently killed Mr. LaBianca, and Krenwinkel and Van Houten took turns stabbing Mrs. LaBianca when she began to struggle. Between them, the two girls stabbed Mrs. LaBianca 41 times, including more than 20 stab wounds made after the woman was dead. Krenwinkel then added to the butchery, using a carving fork to cut the word "WAR" into Mr. LaBianca's stomach. She then left the fork embedded in his stomach, soaking up some blood on a piece of paper and writing the phrases "RISE" and "DEATH TO PIGS" on the walls, as well as the misspelled "HEALTER SKELTER" on the refrigerator. There was a strong link between the "Tate" and "La-Bianca" murders: motive; the instigator (Manson); the two main assassins (Watson and Krenwinkel); and witnesses common to both cases. The witnesses included police, medical and scientific witnesses, and civilian witnesses. All of the crimes committed on both nights were prosecuted by Los Angeles assistant district attorney Vincent Bugliosi in a single combined trial.

Other murders

Members of the Manson Family had previously been responsible for the death of Gary Hinman, a high school music teacher in nearby Topanga, California. Manson ordered the killing of Hinman after he denied the Manson Family money that Charlie claimed Hinman owed them. Bobby Beausoleil was arrested for Hinman's murder a few days before the Tate slaying; later Susan Atkins confessed her part in the plot. On August 16, 1969, Los Angeles County sheriff's deputies descended upon Spahn Ranch and arrested Manson and most of the Family members on suspicion of auto theft (the Family were not, as yet, suspected of the Tate or LaBianca killings). Ranch hand Donald "Shorty" Shea offered to tell the deputies what he knew about the Family's activities, but disappeared before he could give them a statement. It is believed that on August 25 or 26, after the Family members were released due to lack of evidence, Manson directed Family members, including Steve "Clem Tufts" Grogan, to kill Shea. One of the enduring Family myths, presumably used to frighten members into submission, was that Shea was dismembered and his body parts buried in different places around the ranch. In 1977, the incarcerated and extremely remorseful Grogan directed law enforcement officials to Shea's body, and it was found in one piece, contrary to the horror story passed down through the Family. Grogan, who was paroled in 1985, is still the only former Family member to have been paroled after being convicted of a Manson-ordered murder. They claimed a total of some 35 killings, but most were not tried either for lack of evidence or because the perpetrators were already sentenced to life for the Tate/La Bianca killings.

Capture

Barker Ranch, in California's Mojave Desert, is known as the last hideout of Manson and "the Family" after the gruesome Los Angeles murder spree. The local county sheriff's department and National Park Service officers had arrested Manson and his group in 1969 on suspicion of trespassing and vandalism. At the time of the Manson arrests, the officers were unaware of other criminal actions by those they had in custody. They wanted to apprehend and prosecute the persons responsible for vandalizing road repair equipment in Death Valley National Park farther north, not knowing that they had Manson and his followers. Manson was ultimately discovered hiding beneath a sink in the Barker Ranch bathroom.
Possible motives

The murders initially seemed random, but some key motives were later identified: # Manson was hostile towards society; Manson got a "kick" out of death and control. During the trial, one witness commented that "he Manson doesn't know about love... love is not his trip. Death is his trip". # Manson had been rejected by the music industry and wanted revenge. In the spring of 1968, Manson was introduced to record producer Terry Melcher, son of actress Doris Day, by Dennis Wilson of the The Beach Boys, who had picked up a couple of the Family members as they were hitchhiking. Manson and the Family moved into Wilson's house, where they lived for a year, and the Beach Boys recorded a song Manson wrote, calling it 'Never Learn Not To Love'. At the time, Melcher and his girlfriend, actress Candice Bergen, were living at the Tate house, and it was there Manson met him. Manson auditioned for Melcher, but Melcher decided not to sign him to a contract. Although Manson knew that Melcher and Bergen had moved to Malibu, California, Bugliosi suggested that he target the house because it represented his rejection by the show business community he wanted to enter, and that it was of no interest to him who his actual victims would be. It has also been rumored that Manson unsuccessfully auditioned for the Monkees, but this is an urban legend as he was in prison at the time of the auditions in 1965-66. # The killers were attempting to clear the blame from Bobby Beausoleil, who had been arrested a few days earlier as a suspect in the Gary Hinman murder. This was a motive stated by the killers during interviews with them, featured in a 1972 Manson film documentary film. They claimed that the motive for the murders was to clear fellow Family member Bobby Beausoleil, whom they described as a brother to them. Stating that they were willing to sacrifice their lives, (meaning the death penalty) to clear his name, they committed copycat murders to cast doubt on Beausoleil's guilt. This motive was substantially discredited during the penalty phase of the trial, where it became apparent that the "free Beausoleil" motive was contradicted by other testimony of the killers. Additionally, despite declaring they would die for Manson, the other accused claim to have waited until the main trial was over and the death penalty was being discussed, and then only on redirect examination, to introduce this as a motive. It was dismissed by the prosecution as an attempt to clear Manson by means of the other defendants taking the blame. # Manson had come to believe Armageddon was imminent, in the form of a global race war, and believed he was destined to be the ultimate beneficiary of it. Manson viewed race war as imminent, describing it as Helter Skelter, "all the wars that have ever been fought, piled on top of each other". He told his followers that this was imminent, but that there was a secret underground world reached by a hole underneath the desert, where they would wait out the war in bliss. He described this many times, and it was a part of their communal belief, so much so that they stocked up supplies and searched for the hole prior to the crimes. Blacks would win the war, but be unfit to run the world, and the Family would therefore emerge and run it for them as a benevolent autocracy, with Manson at the head of this new world order. The war would be triggered by "some black people coming out of the ghetto and doing atrocious crimes... killings... writing things in blood." However, by summer 1969, Manson was heard to say that the blacks did not know how to start their role in this war, so he would have to show them. # FBI agent John Douglas, who spent significant time interviewing Manson during his tenure as a special agent, submitted in his series of books chronicling his life as an FBI agent the theory that Manson really was innocent of plotting the initial set of murders. Douglas believes that initially, Manson's sole goal in leading "The Family" was to live out the rest of his days as an isolated demi-god ruling over a group of impressionable young people who would do his every bidding. In order to ensure that they remained loyal to him, Manson convinced them that he really was a deitic figure who would protect them during the coming armageddon and rule over them in a peaceful society afterwards. Douglas' theory goes on to state that Manson's followers took his prophesying more literally than intended and carried out the Sharon Tate murders in order to spark armageddon. According to Douglas, once Manson learned about the Tate murders, he felt he had no choice but to act as if he were still in control and go along with the LaBianca killings in order to protect his image and prevent his followers from turning on him. Although all five were possible motives, in the trial the prosecutor, Vincent Bugliosi, placed the fourth as the main motive.
Investigation and trial

The two cases were not well investigated by police, principally due to rivalries between the Tate team (older) and the La Bianca team (younger): the Tate team were not open to suggestions that the two cases were connected. As a result of this, Bugliosi himself played a significant and active role in gathering the evidence needed to convict. Ronald Hughes, a young lawyer with an extensive knowledge of 1960s counterculture but no trial experience, was the final state-appointed attorney for defendants Manson and Van Houten (several other attorneys were appointed and then dismissed during the trial). He suggested to Manson that he should obtain a different attorney for himself, Irving Kanarek, and continued to defend Van Houten, apparently feeling that he could defend Van Houten more effectively. He hoped to show that Van Houten was acting under the influence of Manson, and to portray Manson as controlling her actions. This may have cost Hughes his life. In late November 1970, Hughes went camping near Sespe Hot Springs. He disappeared, and his decomposed body was discovered four months later. It is thought that other members of the Family killed him in reprisal for impugning Manson in court. One member of the Family described this as "the first of the retaliation killings". During the trial, Manson and his followers courted media attention. Manson appeared at the trial with an "X" he had carved into his forehead with a knife. This was copied by his followers the next day. The pattern was modified several times and copied by his followers each time. Eventually the pattern was turned into a swastika and is now a permanent scar. At one point during the trial, Manson shaved his head, his followers again mimicking. The defendants, acting in concert with each other, deliberately disrupted the proceedings to the point where Judge Charles Older had them removed from the courtroom on several occasions. A monitor system was rigged up in the lockup so that the defendants could follow the proceedings. On several occasions, Manson verbally threatened both the judge and prosecutor Bugliosi in court, and at one point attempted to physically attack the judge. The defendants eventually became so disruptive that Judge Older banned them from the courtroom altogether. Manson's followers tried to dissuade an estranged follower, Barbara Hoyt, from testifying against Manson at the trial by giving her a free trip to Hawaii - and a hamburger laced with LSD once she arrived there (the conspirators were under the mistaken belief that an LSD overdose was fatal). Hoyt was found in a drugged semi-stupor on a street near a Honolulu beach, hospitalized, and identified herself as a witness in the Tate-LaBianca trial once she recovered from her LSD trip. The involuntary overdose ultimately made Hoyt an even stronger witness for the prosecution, and she testified about Family discussions about the murders. Although Manson himself was not present at the Tate/La Bianca killings, he was convicted on seven counts of murder and one count of conspiracy to commit murder on January 25, 1971, for ordering and directing them, and on March 29, 1971 was sentenced to death. Atkins and Krenwinkel were convicted on the same counts, as was Watson (who was tried separately from the others due to extradition problems), and Van Houten was convicted of two counts of murder and one count of conspiracy. Some members of Manson's "Family" have claimed that the killers tried to implicate Manson in order to appear less guilty themselves. The death sentence was automatically commuted to life in prison after the California Supreme Court's People v. Anderson decision resulted in the invalidation of all Capital punishment in the United States imposed in California prior to 1972. The killers, giggling in court, were asked if they felt remorse, and gave answers that indicated they did not.
Aftermath

On March 6, 1970, Manson released an album titled Lie: The Love & Terror Cult to help finance his defense. The album was put out by ESP-Disk Records and included the song that had previously been recorded by the Beach Boys. The Family survived the incarceration of Manson. After his arrest, Lynette Fromme, one of Manson's shrewdest, toughest and most obedient followers, effectively took command of the management of the Family in his absence. With a handful of other followers, mostly women, she perched on the steps of the Los Angeles courthouse during the trial, shaved her head to protest his conviction and, copying Manson, gouged an X into her forehead as a sign of loyalty. She later explained: "We have X'ed ourselves out of this world." In 1970 the Charles Manson family recorded an album titled The Family Jams of songs written by Manson, although he didn't appear on the album. On November 13, 1972, Michael Monfort, James Craig, Priscilla Cooper, Nancy Laura Pitman and Lynnette Alice "Squeaky" Fromme were held for the murder of James T. Willett and his wife. By 1974, the original Manson "family" had dwindled to only Fromme and Sandra Good. Motivated by Manson's new ideology, they sent a series of threatening letters to heads of corporations, making threats unless they stopped polluting the environment. On September 5, 1975, Fromme unsuccessfully attempted to assassinate U.S. President Gerald R. Ford in Sacramento, California http://www.charliemanson.com/news-archive/news-1975-09-15.htm. It appears that, although she managed to get close to Ford, by mistake the chamber of her Colt .45 pistol was empty. She was heard to say, "It didn't go off. Can you believe it? It didn't go off!" She stated she had committed the crime so that Manson would appear as a witness at her trial, and thus have a worldwide platform from which to talk about his apocalyptic vision. She escaped prison in December 1987, apparently to try to reach Manson, but was recaptured two days later. Manson gave two notable interviews in the 1980s: the first on June 13, 1981 at California Medical Facility by Tom Snyder for NBC's The Tomorrow Show, and the second at San Quentin Prison by Charlie Rose for CBS News Nightwatch (aired March 7, 1986). Rose's interview won the national news Emmy Award for "Best Interview" in 1987. http://www.nathanslunch.com/diary_aprilmay_2005.htm Manson remains imprisoned, currently incarcerated in California's Corcoran State Prison. All of his applications for parole have been denied, most notably in 1986 when he appeared before the parole board with a swastika evident on his forehead. He is known for his theatrics when given the opportunity to appear in the media, and in one taped parole hearing said he wanted to go to the moon. He has been overheard in conversations with at least one of his former "Family" members saying that it doesn't matter what he says or does because he knows he will be kept in prison for the rest of his life, implying that at least some of his fanatical behavior is deliberate. During his imprisonment, Manson has received more mail than any other prisoner in the United States prison system. It is said that he gets over 60,000 pieces of mail a year, much of it fan mail from young people hoping to join the Family. In January 2000, Manson was publishing messages on a now-defunct website run by Manson followers St. George and Sandra Good. : News cuttings and other material related to the Manson family and the activities of its members from 1969 - 2005 here.
Parole Hearings

In 2000, a judge ordered the parole board to justify Van Houten's continued incarceration, citing that sentencing her to life without parole was, in effect, not an authorized sentence. An appeal court found that the seriousness of the crime had been appropriately weighed by the parole board, and upheld the denial of parole on that occasion. The 4th District Court of Appeal ruled that the state Board of Prison Terms had made a "serious, deliberate and thoughtful" decision in June of 2000 when it denied Van Houten parole for the 12th time. The appeals court said that the board had used the correct standard when it found that the seriousness of Van Houten's crime, which she committed when she was 19, outweighed her rehabilitation behind bars. "We find ample evidence that the crime was of such a heinous, atrocious and cruel character that this factor alone justified the board's determination that Van Houten was unsuitable for parole," the court said. In 2006, Van Houten was denied parole for the 16th time. As in past hearings, Van Houten apologized to the victims' families, but the parole board wasn't swayed. Board members determined she was an "unacceptable public safety risk and a danger to society" and unsuitable for parole, said board spokesman Tip Kindel. Although the ruling keeps her in prison, Van Houten won a small victory when the board decided that she may reapply for parole in one year rather than the usual two. Fromme, eligible for parole since 1985 following the 1975 incident, has consistently waived her right to a hearing. Manson was entitled to a parole hearing in 2002, and was denied early release, in particular due to a "litany" of offenses ranging from drug trafficking to arson to assaulting guards. He is next eligible for parole in 2007.
Musical influence

Manson himself was involved in the production of several music albums including his Lie: The Love & Terror Cult (Performance 1970). One of the first artists to reference Manson was noise music innovator and occult specialist Boyd Rice, a native of California, who had included many references to Manson in his early live performances in the mid-late 1970s. He later visited Manson in jail in the late 1980s and caused a stir when he was searched on one such visit and was found to be in possession of a single gun bullet, although he claimed it was a good luck talisman. However, the authorities thought that there was a plan to get Manson out of jail. Boyd Rice was also a consultant and editor to the book "The Manson File" (hence the prison visits to Manson). Brian Warner (aka Marilyn Manson (person) deriving his last name from Charles), probably the most notable artist interested in Manson and the Family, has composed several songs related to Manson. Marilyn Manson's first album, Portrait of an American Family, was partly recorded in the former Tate residence, which has since been demolished. Many musicians have recorded songs related to Manson. These include: Sonic Youth in their album Death Valley '69; Neil Young's "Revolution Blues"; Klaatu's in "Mister Manson"; The Flaming Lips' "Charlie Manson Blues"; The Ramones' "Glad To See You Go", the opening track of their 1977 album Leave Home; and The Jackalopes' "Cielo '69" from their 2003 "Jacksploitation" album. Manson is often referred to in rap music as well, most notably by Ice Cube in the title track of the N.W.A. album Straight Outta Compton ( "Here's a murder rap to keep you dancin'/With a crime record like Charles Manson.") Also he is mentioned in another Ice Cube song with Dr Dre in Natural Born Killaz ( "So fuck Charlie Manson, I'll snatch him out of his truck, Hit 'em with a brick then I'm dancin'") and the long-rumored Ice Cube/Dr. Dre collaborative effort was supposed to be titled Helter Skelter. In 2006 Los Angeles rapper Knife did a song about Manson on the album So Satan titled "Charlie Manson You Were Right". Underground Death Rapper Necro often quotes from Manson in his songs, including "Reflection of Children."
Covers and tributes

  • In 1976, Throbbing Gristle, the avant-garde noise group and former performance artists who were based in London, made a film entitled "After Cease To Exist", inspired by a Manson song title, which they used as a backdrop in some live performances, they also referenced a Manson lyric on the cover of their 1980 album "Heathen Earth" and also made reference to a Manson lyric from his song "Sick City" on the same album. They had also used a photograph of Manson as a teenager, on one of their flyers to promote one of their performances. Psychic TV, the group formed by ex-Throbbing Gristle members included the Manson song "Always Is Always Forever" on their "Dreams Less Sweet" album from 1983.
  • Devo have been accused of plagiarism portions of Manson's song "Mechanical Man" for their song of the same name. In 1982, Boston hardcore punk band Negative FX featured a picture of Charles Manson, with their logo digitally "carved" into his head, on their self-titled LP. It also featured pictures of Manson family members on the back.
  • Sonic Youth, in cooperation with director Richard Kern, produced a video clip for their song "Death Valley '69," in which some of the band members acted out gory scenes reminiscent of the Tate/LaBianca murders.
  • UK underground electronic music pioneers, Cabaret Voltaire (band), used Manson's voice from various radio interviews, which they used in their tracks "Hell's Home", "Kickback" and "Golden Halos" featured on their album "The Covenant, The Sword And The Arm Of The Lord" released in 1985.
  • White Zombie (band) attempted to incorporate samples from Manson's interview with Geraldo Rivera on their La Sexorcisto: Devil Music, Vol. 1 album track "Warp Asylum", but were denied permission to use them, reportedly by Manson's lawyers.
  • System of a Down wrote the song "ATWA" on their Toxicity (album) album about the media's viewpoints on Manson. (ATWA is an acronym used by Manson, meaning both "Air-Trees-Water-Animals" and "all the way alive."). Band member Daron Malakian has admitted to having a fascination with Charles Manson.
  • Ozzy Osbourne recorded "Bloodbath in Paradise" on his No Rest for the Wicked (Ozzy) album about the California murders.
  • Dan Bern wrote the song Krautmeyer speculating about what would have happened if Charles Manson's birth name had been Charles Krautmeyer.
  • The music video for "Gave Up" by Nine Inch Nails was shot entirely at 10050 Cielo Drive in the summer of 1993 while its lead singer, Trent Reznor, leased the property in Benedict Canyon from Rudi Altobelli. The video shoot was done in the living room of the main house and also includes some exterior shots of the house and grounds. Also in the video is a young Marilyn Manson, who also shot a video at Cielo. Incidentally, while Reznor claimed to have no knowledge of the slaughter that took place at the house, he did dub the studio "Le Pig" and recorded the album The Downward Spiral there, on which two of the tracks were named "Piggy" and "March of the Pigs".
  • In 1969, months prior to the Tate-LaBianca murders, The Beach Boys covered "Cease to Exist", retitling it "Never Learn Not to Love" and releasing it on the album 20/20 (with sole songwriting credit given to Dennis Wilson).
  • John Moran and Iggy Pop collaborated on The Manson Family: An Opera with Iggy Pop, which was produced by Philip Glass.
  • Alternative singer/songwriter/pianist Tori Amos cryptically mentions Manson in the song "Tear in Your Hand" from her debut record Little Earthquakes: "I don't believe you're leaving cause/Me and Charles Manson like the same ice cream."
  • Crispin Glover performs a cover of "Always is Always Forever" on his album "The Big Problem"
  • Devendra Banhart covers "Home Is Where You're Happy" as a part of a medley with Lauryn Hill's Doo Wop (That Thing). He performed it at Bonnaroo and the Pitchfork Music Festival in 2006.
  • Guns n' Roses covers a Manson song on thier album " The Spagettii Inncodent." All though this song does not apear on the track listings of the cd, it is a "secret song" that plays at the end of the last track. At the end of the song Axl thanks Manson, stating "thanks Chaz"
    Pop culture references and parodies

  • horrorcore artist Necro utilizes the image and voice of Charles Manson quite frequently in his work. He is also known to reference the Tate-La Biance murders on many of his songs. Most notably, the album The Pre-Fix For Death features an intro by Manson himself, whose presence is maintained throughout the whole of the album.
  • The Tate-La Bianca Murders have been dramatized in movies several times, most notably in 1976's Helter Skelter (film), starring Steve Railsback as Manson, and its 2004 TV movie remake, which starred Jeremy Davies (actor) as Manson, Bruno Kirby as Bugliosi, and Clea DuVall as Kasabian.
  • Manson appeared as a cartoon character in a South Park episode, " Merry Christmas Charlie Manson!", in which Manson returns to jail willingly after seeing several Christmas specials.
  • Over the course of several years, Jim Van Bebber created his own largely self-financed film about Manson and his family, named Charlie's Family (later retitled The Manson Family for theatrical and video release).
  • On the TV show Futurama one of the characters talks about an attempt by mechanics to build an evil car by using "the most evil parts of the most evil cars in the world", one of those parts was the left turn signal from Charles Manson's Volkswagen.
  • The metal band Slipknot recorded an instrumental called 742617000027, in which a clip for a Charles Manson interview is played over and over again with the phrase: "The whole thing, I think, is sick. The whole thing, I think, is shit." is played against Craig "133" Jones's techno mix.
  • In an episode of Family Guy, there is a scene where Peter Griffin flashes back to a time when he lived with Charles Manson's Family: "Hey, I've been invited to a party at Sharon Tate's house! You guys can come, but you gotta promise not to embarrass me."
  • In the episode of the Adult Swim show The Venture Bros, titled ¡Viva los Muertos!, the parody of Fred Jones (fictional character), of Scooby-Doo fame, named Ted was based on Manson, Ted Bundy, and David Koresh.
  • Silent Hill 4 antagonist Walter Sullivan seems to be modeled after Manson's murders and actions. In the tech support episode of Neurotically Yours Foamy mentions Charles Manson by saying the operating system is as unstable as Charles Manson
    Discography



    Albums

  • Lie: The Love & Terror Cult (LP, Performance, 1970. Reissued on LP/CD/MC on various labels). Recorded in 1968.
  • Manson Family Sings The Songs Of Charles Manson (). Performed by Steve Grogan as lead singer, along with Red, Blue, Gypsy, Brenda, Ouisch and Capistrano. Manson himself is not on this 1970 recording.
  • White Rasta (MC). Contains the same tracks as Live At San Quentin, in a different order.
  • Poor Old Prisoner Boy : The 55th Anniversary Album (LP, Remote Control Records). Contains 55 minutes of jail recordings. Edition of 555 copies.
  • Son Of Man (LP, 1992). The A side contains jail recordings, while the B side is etched with a reproduction of a drawing of faces done by Manson. Also includes liner notes of poetry attributed to Manson.
  • Live At San Quentin (CD, Grey Matter, 1993). Songs and improvisations recorded in jail in 1983. Cover art apes The Beach Boys' Pet Sounds album.
  • Charles Manson (CD, Grey Matter, 1993). A combination of Lie and The Manson Family Sings, packaged to look like The Beatles' White Album.
  • Commemoration (CD, White Devil Records, 1994). Released to commemorate Manson's 60th birthday and "sixty years of struggle against cowardice, stupidity and lies".
  • Manson Speaks (2CD, White Devil Records, 1995). Contains one disc of recitals by Manson of poetry and the Bible and one disc of Manson's opinions of actual events at the time of the release.
  • Family Jams (2CD, 1997). Contains all the music on Manson Family Sings The Songs Of Charles Manson on the first CD, plus new and unreleased material on the second CD.
  • The Way Of The Wolf (CD, Pale Horse, 1998). Music and some bonus conversation recorded in jail in the 1980's.
  • Unplugged 9.11.67 Volume 1 (CD, Archer C.A.T. Productions Inc.). Recordings done by Manson in 1967 as well as spoken words between Manson and some people at the recording session.
  • A Taste of Freedom (CD-R, 2000(?)). Contains telephone conversations with Charles Manson recorded in late 1999 and early 2000.
  • All The Way Alive (CD, People's Temple Records, 2003). Previously unreleased studio recordings from 1967. Edition of 1000 copies.
  • One Mind (CD, FamilyJams.com, 2005). New recordings of songs, guitar, impromptu poetry and words.
  • Sings (CD, ESP Disk, 2006). Digitally remastered combination of Lie and 12 of the 13 tracks on All The Way Alive.

    Singles

  • "I'm On Fire" (a.k.a. "My Feelings Begin To Growing") / "The Hallways of Always" (7", White Devil Records). Tracks taken from Live At San Quentin and Commemoration respectively.
  • "Look At Your Game, Girl" / "Your Home Is There You're Happy" (7", White Devil Records)

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    Courtesy of: http://www.wikipedia.org/

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