section_path: 1975–1982: "Brian's Back!"/Hospitalizations and "cocaine sessions"
section_name: Hospitalizations and "cocaine sessions"
paragraph_text: Hospitalizations and "cocaine sessions"
  
  After a disastrous Australian tour in 1978, Wilson regressed and began secretly acquiring cocaine and barbiturates. In mid-1978, following an overdose, he hitchhiked in West Hollywood, eventually arriving at a gay bar where he played piano for drinks. A bar patron then drove him to Mexico, after which he hitchhiked to San Diego. Days later, police found him in Balboa Park without shoes, money, or a wallet, and he was taken to Alvarado Hospital to detox from alcohol poisoning. Wilson rejoined his bandmates for the recording of L.A. (Light Album) (March 1979), but after producing demos and early recordings, he asked that Bruce Johnston take over the project.
  
  With his marriage unraveling, Wilson left his mansion in Beverly Hills for a modest home on Sunset Boulevard, where his alcoholism worsened. After attacking his doctor, he was institutionalized at Brotzman Memorial Hospital —initially admitted in November 1978 for three months, discharged for one month, then readmitted. In January 1979, while hospitalized, his caregivers Stan Love and Rocky Pamplin were dismissed. Wilson was released in March. He rented a house in Santa Monica and was cared for by a "round-the-clock" psychiatric nursing team. Later, he purchased a home in Pacific Palisades. Although his bandmates urged him to produce their next album, Keepin' the Summer Alive (March 1980), he was unable or unwilling to do so.
  
  Wilson continued his overeating and drug habits. To motivate Wilson in his musical endeavors, Dennis occasionally provided him with McDonald's hamburgers and cocaine. Jon Stebbins 's biography of Dennis describes clandestine recording sessions between the brothers, which were hidden due to efforts by "certain members of the Beach Boys clan" to keep them apart. Discovering their collaboration often led to a halt in the proceedings. Bootlegged tapes of the brothers' collaborations—produced in 1980 and 1981 at the Venice Beach home studio of musicologist and film executive Garby Leon—later became known among fans as the " cocaine sessions " or "hamburger sessions".
  
  In early 1981, Pamplin and Stan Love were convicted of assaulting Dennis after learning he had been providing Wilson with drugs. In early 1982, Wilson signed a trust document granting Carl control of his finances and voting power in the band's corporate structure, and he was involuntarily admitted for a three-day stay at St. John's Hospital in Santa Monica. By the end of the year, his weight exceeded 340 pounds (150 kg).
  
  After a disastrous Australian tour in 1978, Wilson regressed and began secretly acquiring cocaine and barbiturates. In mid-1978, following an overdose, he hitchhiked in West Hollywood, eventually arriving at a gay bar where he played piano for drinks. A bar patron then drove him to Mexico, after which he hitchhiked to San Diego. Days later, police found him in Balboa Park without shoes, money, or a wallet, and he was taken to Alvarado Hospital to detox from alcohol poisoning. Wilson rejoined his bandmates for the recording of L.A. (Light Album) (March 1979), but after producing demos and early recordings, he asked that Bruce Johnston take over the project.
  
  With his marriage unraveling, Wilson left his mansion in Beverly Hills for a modest home on Sunset Boulevard, where his alcoholism worsened. After attacking his doctor, he was institutionalized at Brotzman Memorial Hospital —initially admitted in November 1978 for three months, discharged for one month, then readmitted. In January 1979, while hospitalized, his caregivers Stan Love and Rocky Pamplin were dismissed. Wilson was released in March. He rented a house in Santa Monica and was cared for by a "round-the-clock" psychiatric nursing team. Later, he purchased a home in Pacific Palisades. Although his bandmates urged him to produce their next album, Keepin' the Summer Alive (March 1980), he was unable or unwilling to do so.
  
  Wilson continued his overeating and drug habits. To motivate Wilson in his musical endeavors, Dennis occasionally provided him with McDonald's hamburgers and cocaine. Jon Stebbins 's biography of Dennis describes clandestine recording sessions between the brothers, which were hidden due to efforts by "certain members of the Beach Boys clan" to keep them apart. Discovering their collaboration often led to a halt in the proceedings. Bootlegged tapes of the brothers' collaborations—produced in 1980 and 1981 at the Venice Beach home studio of musicologist and film executive Garby Leon—later became known among fans as the " cocaine sessions " or "hamburger sessions".
  
  In early 1981, Pamplin and Stan Love were convicted of assaulting Dennis after learning he had been providing Wilson with drugs. In early 1982, Wilson signed a trust document granting Carl control of his finances and voting power in the band's corporate structure, and he was involuntarily admitted for a three-day stay at St. John's Hospital in Santa Monica. By the end of the year, his weight exceeded 340 pounds (150 kg).