Like heat from a blast furnace: The sheer raw force of Beach Boy Dennis Wilson

Four Beach Boys experts investigate coolest band member Dennis Wilson’s troubled childhood, most gut-wrenching composition, whether jealousy clouded the abandonment of “Pacific Ocean Blue’s” intended follow-up “Bambu,” final birthday, soundly put the myth to bed that the multi-instrumentalist did not play on sessions, and fondly recall two serendipitous summits with the emotionally intense songwriter. Seen above at a Beach Boys gig in 1979, the self-taught, open-handed drummer sports a vintage 1976 Venice red T-shirt and faded blue jeans behind a Remo Gold Crown drum kit. Image Credit: Beach Boys Legacy Twitter / Brother Records

It is tough to reconcile Dennis Wilson no longer being among the living. The heart and soul of the Beach Boys emerged as their most undervalued songwriter, producer, and vocalist by 1970’s Sunflower. Born on December 4, 1944, to Murry and Audree Wilson in sunny Hawthorne, California, the primal, self-taught, open-handed drummer tragically passed away at age…