httpss://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v4qZB2ytq10
Half a century ago, a few years before Charles Manson ordered his followers to kill a houseful of people in 1969, the young guitarist was serving time in prison for forging checks, writing folk songs by the dozen.
Now, ahead of an ABC documentary on Manson airing Friday, a tape he made while at San Quentin prison in the 1980s is available as a limited vinyl package.
“With me, t’s a huge fascination with uncovering these lost nuggets, especially from what’s come to be known as ‘outsider artists.’ I think Charles Manson is probably the ultimate outsider: He is now near our society or our reality.”
Hammond, whom Manson nicknamed Gray Wolf decades ago, tells Billboard that while Manson continues to create “Beautiful melodies and powerful songs,” he never writes them down.
The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation restricts inmates from selling “Written and artistic material,” so Manson cannot recoup sales on Walking in the Truth or any other recordings available on sites like CharliesArts.com, which Wolf runs.
Despite the stigma attached to collecting Manson’s music, Tent says the vinyl release receives “Overwhelmingly positive” reaction at record stores, w he’s sold about 500 copies so far.