Inherent Vice: Times Online Review

[Robin Landseadel]

On Jul 25, 2009, at 6:53 AM, Robin Landseadel wrote:

>  the events of August 4th, 1969 deflated just about everybody's ballon

My bad, the Manson "Family" killings at Roman Polanski's rented home  
were on August 9th, not 4th.

Curious note: The Who, Thunderclap Newman and the Bonzo Dog Band had a  
concert on August 4th, 1969 at the Pavilion in Bath.

http://www.whocollection.com/1967-1969.htm

The release schedule of Inherent Vice [following the usual roll-out of  
"New Product" in the book industry] is on a Tuesday, so this is as  
close as the author or publisher wanted to get to August 9th.

	Roman Polanski (Rosemary's Baby, Chinatown, The Pianist),
	was not the cult leader's intended target. Manson, an aspiring
	musician, chose the Polanski house because he had once
	unsuccessfully tried to get a recording deal from a producer
	who used to live there. Polanski was out of town at the time of
	the murders, but his wife and her friends, including coffee
	heiress Abigail Folger, were shot or stabbed to death. Manson
	stayed out of the Polanski house on the night of the crime and
	didn’t take part in the LaBianca killings either. However, he
	would later be charged with murder on the grounds he had
	influenced his followers and masterminded the crimes.

http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history.do?action=Article&id=52746

The record producer that used to live at what was to become Roman  
Polanski's home was Terry Melcher, Doris Day's son.

Fans of the Paranoids should take note:

	In the early 1960s, Terry Melcher and Bruce Johnston formed
	the vocal duet Bruce & Terry. The duo had hits like "Custom
	Machine" and "Summer Means Fun". Melcher and Johnston
	also created another band together, The Rip Chords, that had a
	Top 10 hit "Hey, Little Cobra". Later, Bruce Johnston would join
	The Beach Boys. By the mid-60s, Melcher had joined the staff of
	Columbia Records and went on to work with The Byrds. He
	produced their song, "Turn, Turn, Turn", and helped them to
	produce their version of Bob Dylan's, "Mr. Tambourine Man".
	Due to conflicts with the band, Melcher was replaced. He later
	worked with Paul Revere and the Raiders, Wayne Newton,
	Frankie Laine, Jimmy Boyd, Pat Boone, Glen Campbell, Mark
	Lindsay and The Mamas & The Papas. Melcher was
	instrumental in signing another near-legendary L.A. band, the
	Rising Sons led by Taj Mahal and Ry Cooder. Melcher also
	performed on the Beach Boys album Pet Sounds, as a
	background vocalist, and introduced Brian Wilson to Van Dyke
	Parks in February 1966, beginning their partnership on the ill-
	fated SMiLE project. He was also a board member of the
	Monterey Pop Foundation and a producer of the Monterey Pop
	Festival in 1967.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Terry_Melcher