Bugliosi 's book was the basis for the 1976 television film '' Helter Skelter '' . The film 's popularity in the US ensured that the song , and the White Album generally , received a new wave of attention . As a result , Capitol planned to issue " Helter Skelter " as the A-side of the single from '' Rock 'n' Roll Music '' but relented , realising that to exploit its association with Manson would be in poor taste . In the final interview he gave before his murder in December 1980 , Lennon dismissed Manson as " just an extreme version " of the type of listener who read false messages in the Beatles ' lyrics , such as those behind the 1969 " Paul is dead " rumour . Lennon also said : " All that Manson stuff was built around George 's song about pigs ' Piggies ' and this one , Paul 's song about an English fairground . It has nothing to do with anything , and least of all to do with '' me '' . " Reflecting on " Helter Skelter " and its appropriation by the Manson Family in his 1997 authorised biography , '' Many Years from Now '' , McCartney said , " Unfortunately , it inspired people to do evil deeds " and that the song had acquired " all sorts of ominous overtones because Manson picked it up as an anthem " . Author Devin McKinney describes the White Album as " also a black album " in that it is " haunted by race " . He writes that , in spite of McCartney 's comments about the song 's meaning , the recording conveys a violent subtext typical of much of the album and that " Here as ever in Beatle music , performance determines meaning ; and as the adrenalized guitars run riot , the meaning is simple , dreadful , inarticulate , and instantly understood : '' She 's coming down fast . '' " In her 1979 collection of essays about the 1960s , titled '' The White Album '' , Joan Didion wrote that many people in Los Angeles cite the moment that news arrived of the Manson Family 's killing spree in August 1969 as having marked the end of the decade . According to author Doyle Greene , the Beatles ' " Helter Skelter " effectively captured the " crises of 1968 " , which contrasted sharply with the previous year 's Summer of Love ethos . He adds : " While ' Revolution ' posited a forthcoming unity as far as social change , ' Helter Skelter ' signified a chaotic and overwhelming sense of falling apart occurring throughout the world politically and , not unrelated , the falling apart of the Beatles as a working band and the counterculture dream they represented . " Writing for MusicHound in 1999 , '' Guitar World '' editor Christopher Scapelliti grouped " Helter Skelter " with " While My Guitar Gently Weeps " and " Happiness Is a Warm Gun " as the White Album 's three " fascinating standouts " . Coinciding with the 50th anniversary of the album 's release , Jacob Stolworthy of '' The Independent '' listed the same three songs as its best tracks , with " Helter Skelter " ranked at number 3 . Stolworthy described it as " one of the best rock songs ever recorded " and concluded : " The fiercest , most blistering track that arguably paved the way for heavy metal is far removed from the tame love songs people were used to from McCartney . " Writing in 2014 , Ian Fortnam of '' Classic Rock '' magazine cited " Helter Skelter " as one of the four songs that made the Beatles ' White Album an " enduring blueprint for rock " , along with " While My Guitar Gently Weeps " , " Yer Blues " and " Do n't Pass Me By " , in that together they contained " every one of rock 's key ingredients " . In the case of McCartney 's song , he said that the track was " one of the prime progenitors of heavy metal " and a major influence on 1970s punk rock
murder in December 1980
Murder of John Lennon
Helter Skelter (song)