Eugene Landy was known as "psychologist to the stars" before being hired by The Beach Boys to treat Brian Wilson using unorthodox 24-hour therapy. While he was successful in limiting Wilson's drug use, he also took excessive control over the vulnerable Wilson for a number of years, even encroaching into Wilson's musical endeavors, co-writing and producing Wilson's epynonymous solo album . A second Landy-Wilson effort was unreleased due to the poor quality of the material.

Wilson's family eventually wrested control away from Landy in legal action. Landy had to surrender his license to practice psychology in California and agree never to contact Wilson again. Landy's hand appears in the second half of Wilson's autobiography, Wouldn't it be nice, in which Landy figures prominently and is depicted in near-messianic terms. Wilson, who is now being treated with conventional psychiatric intervention, refers to "the Landy years", acknowledging that Landy took inappropriate control (Larry King Live, 2004).