Charles Manson
Charles Manson (born 1934) was a delusional cult leader in the 1960s, with strong messianic tendencies. He believed that "Helter Skelter", by the Beatles, along with some of their other songs, was a coded order to start a racial uprising in the United States. As a result of this insanity, he led his cult, known as the "Family", on a murder spree at Roman Polanski's home (Roman was in France at the time). One of their victims was his pregnant wife, Sharon Tate. His initial death sentence was commuted to life in prison when California briefly outlawed capital punishment. He remains in prison for these crimes to this day, periodically coming up before a parole board, which quite sensibly leaves him where he is. Another of his Family members, "Squeaky" Fromme, is known for her failed attempt to assassinate US President Gerald Ford.
Helter Skelter is the title of prosecutor Vincent Bugliosi's book chronicling his pursuit of the monstrous crimes committed by Manson and his Family. (Bugliosi has also published a book promoting the prosecution of George W. Bush for various crimes against humanity and the U.S. Constitution.)
Prior to his founding the "Family", he was an aspiring musician and composer. A number of his musical recordings are circulating across the internet and among collectors of music and "Mansonia". Early work consists of demos he made before the Tate-LaBianca murders, others were recorded in prison on cassette tapes smuggled in and out of his cell. While he does have some talent for bottle neck blues guitar, his composed lyrics are often incoherent.
In a bizarre example of crank magnetism, Charles Manson also has a small cult following among some U.S. neo-Nazis particularly those of the third positionist ilk.