409 by The Beach Boys

409

1962

The Beach Boys

I'm sitting here, looking at the calendar, and realizing two things. 1) we're well into the 'wind-down' phase of the Summer of 2014, and 2) I haven't mentioned a certain little group from SoCal known as 'The Beach Boys'.

I covered their first three Top 20 hits...all surfing songs...last summer, so I'll touch on yet another category of tunes they were known for in this sextet of classics...car songs. Now, all three of the Beach Boys first Top 20 hits were surfing songs, and all three had an interesting trait in common. The 'B' sides of all three were car songs...and the first of those 'B' side car tunes was actually supposed to be their first single, and therefore, was supposed to be the 'A' side. But it didn't work out that way.

409 was the Beach Boys first single that, well, wasn't their first single. It was on the demo tape that got farmed around to various labels (Dot and Liberty Records earned the dubious title of 'The Labels That Turned Down The Beach Boys') and Capitol heard it, liked it, and summarily signed them to a seven year contract. And when I say that the suits in charge at Capitol Records heard and liked '409', I mean that they they wanted it to be the first single, with a little tune called Surfin' Safari as the B-side.

And that's how it was originally released...technically, 409 actually was The Beach Boys first single. Of course, when D.J.s heard the two tunes they fell head over heels for 'Surfin' Safari', flipped the record, and played the 'B' side instead, and Surfin Safari actually became the Beach Boys' first single...and first hit. (And created a rare relic worth several pockets full of change while they were at it. Surfin Safari became the single's 'A' side, and that's how the great majority of the singles were pressed. Very few singles with 409 listed as the 'A' side were pressed, and if you have one in good shape, hang on to it for dear life. It could be worth a few Benjamins, it could!)

Because of this '409' actually wasn't a huge hit for them...While it cracked the Billboard Hot 100, it only made it to #76 and only stayed there for a single week. This happened in October of 1962, and most songs that stay on the upper end of the Hot 100 sort of fade into obscurity by the time 52 years have passed, but '409' seemed to have struck a happy-nerve with a lot of people who were teens a half century and change back. The then and still legitimately awesome ride the song was written as a tribute to may have something to do with that.

That ride would be the 1961 Chevy Bel Aire Sports Coupe with a massive 409 cubic inch V-8 residing under the hood. This was in the days of sub-40 cents-per-gallon gas, so the fact that you could all but watch the needle on the gas gauge move towards that big 'E' when you mashed the 'Go' pedal was of little concern. The car was meant to be fast, and indeed, was, with timed quarter mile runs of 12.22 seconds at 115 MPH. Thats stock, BTW. That particular mill churned out 360 HP in it's stock version. Let a hot rodder skilled in the fine art of engine tuning play around with it, and it could flirt with a HP per cubic inch or better.

Supposedly. Brian Wilson and good friend and talented music scribe Gary Usher were cruising around looking for a part for Usher's ride (Depending on the version of the story you hear, it was either one of the titular 409s, or a '58 Chevy with a 348 under the hood). The two of them started talking about writing a car song, and the aforementioned already legendary Chevy engine came up as the subject of said song (It was during this convo that the 'Giddy-yup Giggy-yup 409' chorus was created).

The engine sound at the beginning of and throughout the song was also finalized during this rolling discussion. Thing is, when they went to record the engine sound, they didn't have a 409...instead they used Usher's 348, with open headers. (A fact that leads me to lean very strongly towards a Chevy with a 348 as the site of the aforementioned discussion). Brian had a Wollensack reel-to-reel tape recorder, and they slipped the mike beneath the car as it sat in the Wilson's driveway, fired her up, and recorded the sweet sound of open headers.

Supposedly, this occurred at the deeply Oh-Dark-Hundred hour of 3AM. The neighbors were not amused, nor did they care that a legend was in the process of being created. That being the case, the cops got involved in the song-writing process, sort of. The engine sounds were gotten in a single take.

'409' may have only made it to 76 on the Hot 100, and may have been demoted to 'B' side of The Beach Boys' first single, but it's still managed to hang on in the hearts and minds of the masses. Listen to any Oldies station for a week or so, and I can just about guarantee you you'll hear it.

Hey, It's The Beach Boys...their songs'll still be around after all of us are long gone!

So enjoy!! '409' by The Beach Boys!


And as a bonus...Back in '96., legitimately awesome Country crooner Junior Brown covered '409 , playing his unique Guit-Steel guitar, with The Beach Boys holding down both Harmony and Backing Vocal duties. Sounded awesome! (And was included on The Beach Boys '96 album,  'Stars and Stripes Vol 1')

Shut Down by The Beach Boys

Shut Down

1963

The Beach Boys

Brian Wilson didn't surf, didn't particularly like the beach, and knew next to nothing about cars...so just how the heck did he manage to write or co-write a sting of hits that became classics about all of the above???

We can thank both Gary Usher, who was deeply tuned in to both the early 60s SoCal Surfing and car cultures, as well as a legendary L.A. Radio personality named Roger Christian, who was also an early Car Geek.

'Shut Down' was, as legend has it, shortened from a longer poem that had been penned by Roger Christian, with he, Brian, and Mike Love turning the poem into The 'Boys classic tune about a street race that pitted a '63 Corvette Stingray, against a '62 'Superstock Dodge' 413...we'll get to the reason reason why I put that in semi-quotes in a minute, BTW.

'Shut Down' became part of the second disc of a trio of early career Surfing Song A Side/Car Song B Side singles when it was released as Surfin' USA's 'B' side. It very handily kicked '409's ass on the charts by peaking at #23 nine weeks after it's late April, '63 debut date and staying there for a single week before dropping off the charts altogether four weeks later for a thirteen week chart run.

Afore we continue, we have to get a bit if terminology straight. Remember 'Superstock Dodge' being in quotes? There's a reason for that, that reason being the fact that there was no 'Superstock Dodge'. 'Superstock' was a Plymouth moniker, while 'Ramcharger' was Dodge's moniker for their version of this legitimate street-rocket. Both Plymouths and Dodges were, of course, available with Mopar's legendary 413, but to be entirely accurate, the song-car would have had to have been a 'Superstock Fury', or maybe 'Superstock Belvedere' ...neither of which would have exactly flowed smoothely with the melody. At. All. (Superstock Belvedere?? Really? I mean, Really???) Thus it became 'Superstock Dodge...and 'Shutdown's not the only song that the mythical 'Superstock Dodge' appeared in, ether. As we may recall, a certain elderly Pasadena resident also owned one of these rides.

Shut Down's well and fondly remembered, as are Beach Boys tunes in general, but this particular tune has the distinction of causing everything from heated discourse to impromptu on-the-spot drag races (As well as the sanctioned variety) for a shade more than half a century now. The subject, of course, being who would have actually won the race...The 'Vette, or the Mopar. Magazine articles have been written about that very subject....seriously, try to find a car mag that hasn't, at some point, published an article in which a '62 Dodge with a 413 under the hood and a 63 Corvette Stingray faced off.

As for the song...listen closely and you realize that you're never sure who won it...the song ends before the race does. That race will be run on oldies stations for generations to come, as it should be.. As to who I think won it? I have no opinion on that one...I'm a Ford man!

So Enjoy! Shut Down by The Beach boys...the video features both of the classic rides mentioned, BTW!

And as a bonus, The Boy's rock out in a live performance...unknown where or when other that it was in 1964. (Really wish we could get the venue and date on these classic performances!)

Little Deuce Coupe by The Beach Boys

Little Deuce Coupe

1963

The Beach Boys

Back in 1932, Henry Ford's fabled company introduced a flathead V-8 powered ride that would, a decade and a half or so hence, begin it's reign as the most modified, most beloved of all hot rods...the 1932 Ford Model 'B' coupe, or as it's more popularly known the Deuce Coupe. Usually chopped, channeled, lowered, and boasting either a Flathead that's been modified to the point that its a flathead in only the basic design of the block, or more commonly, the biggest, meanest V-8 that the owner could both afford and mount in the engine compartment...generally a Small Block Chevy. Note I didn't say 'Under The Hood'. Traditionally, hot rods, be they Deuce Coupes, or other brands of ride, had their engines exposed, and displayed, with the block painted to coordinate with the body color, with as much chrome as was practical and possible. Well-executed, they were and are awesomely beautiful machines.

Another decade and a half or so down the road, in 1963, Brian Wilson and Roger Christian set out to write a tune about that very ride, and in doing so they preceded to knock out yet another classic. Brian Wilson handled the music, and Roger Christian penned the lyrics, and they recorded it at the very same recording session where a little tune called 'Surfer Girl' was knocked out. Surfer Girl would be the single's 'A' side, and would be one of The Beach Boy's first Top 10 hits. Little Deuce Coupe was tapped to be the 'B' side, and became the The 'Boys highest charting 'B' side (as well as the third and final 'Surfing Song A Side/Car Song B Side' single) when it shot up the charts to snag #15 on the Hot 100 seven weeks after it's Mid-August '63 release. It'd stay there for a single week before dropping off of the Hot 100 four weeks later.

The concept of the song's pretty simple...the owner of one of these classic street rods listing the tech details and performance figures for his own 'Little Deuce Coupe' as he boasts about his ride. (We can thank Roger Christian for the accurate technical nomenclature, and Brian for so seamlessly adding the Beach Boys' signature sound to the lyrics when he put them to music). Of course, the song became a legitimate classic and is to this day a staple of Oldies stations everywhere. It popped up on Richmond's own 107.3 a couple of times over the last week. It'll be 'Walking a Thunderbird Like She's Standin' Still for decades to come, trust me on this!

So Enjoy! Little Deuce Coupe by The Beach Boys.

  

And as a bonus...Same classic arrangement but featuring one of the most modified...and, IMHO, best looking...of all the 'Little Deuce Coupes...Clarence Catello's ride, now owned by his son Kurt.


For a history of Kurt's ride, Click Here

I Get Around by The Beach Boys

I Get Around

1964

The Beach Boys

The first Beach Boys hit to snag the top spot on the Hot 100 got there because Brian Wilson and his dad/band manager Murray Wilson were tired of playing second fiddle on the U.S. Charts. Or actually, third, or forth fiddle. Oh, they'd managed to get songs into the Top 10, but none had made it past #3. The likes of The Beatles, The Four Seasons, and Jan and Dean (Jan and Dean, BTW, snagged the top spot with Surf City...a song written by Brian Wilson) kept crowding them out of that coveted #1.

So Brian Wilson and Mike Love set out to correct this, penning a song that many fans and music critics alike consider to be their best work. The instrumentals and vocals were recorded in two different sessions a week or so apart...I know, that's not unusual at all when recording music, but there's a reason I'm mentioning this, and that reason is Dadager Murray. If you've read my post about Fun Fun Fun, you know that The Beach boys perpetuated some highly uncomfortable Dinnertimes at the Wilson Household by letting him go...Murray Wilson was an extremely conservative, extremely controlling sort of dude who did not think that The Beach Boys' music...particularly 'Fun Fun Fun'...was at all appropriate. (Really?? If he thought 'Fun Fun Fun',was inappropriate, he'd have probably had a freakin' stroke over a certain Miss Cyrus' 2013 VMA performance).

The clash between his conservatism and the bands creativity and music apparently came to a head during the instrumental recording session on April 2^nd , 1964, and Brian (Who was the song's producer) basically fired his dad as the band's manager. (Bet that was an interestin' conversation!)

Modern media has always affected music, and TV was as modern as it got back in '63. Seems a cat named Dick Clark had a little TeeVee show he (And a few million weekly viewers, most of them music-loving teens) liked to call American Bandstand. And on April 18^th '64, The Beach Boys appeared on that iconically classic show to perform their as of yet unreleased, unheard new single. Capitol Records released it on May 23^rd, '64, and from the first time Mike Love belted out 'Round round, round round, I get around...' the kids went wild for it. The Beach Boys were already popular, and new singles were as anticipated then as they are now, maybe even more so as there wasn't any Internet back then (And wouldn't be for about 30 years) so if you wanted to sample pending new releases you had to either hope it got some radio airplay or go to an ancient emporium called a 'Record Store'

This 'Build The Anticipation' tactic worked for The Beach boys, and Capitol Records, in a big way. Capitol Released the single (With 'Don't Worry Baby' on the 'B' side) on May 23^rd '64, and three weeks later it cracked the Top Ten on the Billboard Hot 100, then finally snagged the coveted '#1' spot for The 'Boys just in time for fireworks and such, on the 4^th of July. It stayed at #1 for two weeks, then dropped down two notches to hang around the #3 spot for two more weeks, then spent two more weeks on the top 10 before fading in to the big number end of the Hot 100, finally dropping off the chart at the end of August for a 15 week chart run...two of 'em at #1 and nine of 'em in the Top Ten.

Many people really have no clue just how much the Beach Boys influenced modern Rock and Pop music. They were a huge influence on The Beatles (Even as The Beatles denied them that elusive #1 spot.) Not necessarily the lyrics...The Beach Boys' lyrics were always fairly simplistic, especially their early songs, and this was fine, because Beach Boys music was written to do one basic thing...be uber-fun to listen to, sing along with, and dance to, and it did that well. But the instrumentals...thats' where the 'Boys were way ahead of their time. Ever heard of fuzzed guitar, and reverb? If you're deeply into music, of course you have. Both are as much a part of Rock music as cup-holders are a part of a modern car. Wanna make a guess on what band was the first to use it? If ya guessed The Beach boys, you're absolutely correct.

They very subtly included both effects in I Get Around, at least three years before the likes of Jimi Hendrix, Eric Clapton and Keith Richards made it an industry standard. Speaking of Industry Standards and icons, a certain Alice Cooper considers The Beach Boys to be his favorite band. He is a huge Sixties Pop fan, with The Beach boys being his favorite band from that era, and this here very song being his fave of the bunch. 
 
Alice Cooper's just way up on the list of those who consider I Get Around to be their favorite song. I Get Around was a classic from the instant it was released (The Beach boys had a knack for doing that) and it's still greatly loved by the now aging Baby boomers who were teens back in April '64. It's one of those songs that brings back memories (Just as the hits of The Seventies do for us Seventies Kids) and it lives on at every Oldies station in America. Trust me, listen to any Oldies Station for a day or so and you'll hear Mike Love belt out 'Get Around Get Around I Get Around' at least a couple of times!

So Enjoy 'I Get Around, by The Beach Boys

A couple of bonuses for this one! First, The Beach Boys performing 'I Get Around' live on 'The T.A.M.I. Show at the Santa Monica Civic Auditorium on October 28^th, 1964. (Back in the day, BTW, bands typically used a venues sound system, such as it was, rather than high-end sound equipment such as was found in s studio, and it really shows here...note the way Dennis Wilson's drums all but totally wash out both Al Jardine and Carl Wilson's guitars)

ANd the second Bonus, the Red Hot Chili Peppers covered 'I Get Around a few years back at the Musicares tribuute to Brian Wilson...they did a pretty decent job with it, but The Beach Boys still own it!

Fun Fun Fun by The Beach Boys

 Fun Fun Fun
1964

The Beach Boys

Back in late 1963 Mike Love and Brian Wilson asked themselves, and each other 'What if we wrote a tune about a rebellious young lady ridin' around in her dad's brand new T-bird while she's supposed to be studyin' at the library...and if we did so, would said song sell??'

The answer, of course, was 'Yes...it will most certainly and definitely sell'. Fun Fun Fun became a classic pretty much from the instant DJs started spinning it and kids of the Sixties first heard that frenetic, high-energy, Chuck Berryesque guitar intro. Everyone knows the story (And has heard the song)...a teenage girl, the allegedly angelic apple of her daddy's eye, asks if she can drive his new Thunderbird to the library so she can study...and instead precedes to take it to the local hangout. Seems she also challenges several guys to a race, and wins said races handily. I've always, BTW, pictured the girl as being pretty, California tanned and Cali-blond and the car as a convertible, either red or white.

Brian Wilson and Mike Love penned this one (With Mike love writing most of the lyrics and suggesting that third of a minute of Guitar intro awesomeness that kicks it off), and The 'Boys recorded it on New Years Day 1964. They released it unto the masses on Feb 6^th. '64, and it cracked the Billboard Hot 100 Top 10 on it's 4^th week before peaking at #5 two weeks later, on March 21^st staying there for a single week. Fun Fun Fun hung around the Top 10 for 4 of it's 11 week chart run.

Wild thing is, it would've probably made it to at least the runner-up spot if not #1 if it hadn't been for four things, and their names were John, Paul, George, and Ringo. The week Fun Fun Fun hit #5, The Beatles held three of the top five spots (1, 2, and 4), and The Four Seasons held down the #3 spot...had it not been for the gents from Liverpool, two legitimate American pop classics would have battled it out for #1...Fun Fun Fun's worthy opponent would have been 'Dawn (Go Away)'.

Another interesting little factoid...Fun Fun Fun almost wasn't released. The Beach Boys' manager... who also happened to be Brian and Dennis Wilson's dad...was a very very conservative guy, and a song about a young girl lying to her dad and essentially committing unauthorized use of a motor vehicle just did not set well with him, so he took his concerns to the band, told then that they would not release the song,...and they over-ruled him and, to the joy of '60s music fans the world over, went ahead and released it anyway. It's said that Murray Wilson, on top of being conservative, was also a very control-oriented kinda guy, and the band was just about fed up with his control issues. His attempt to derail what would become a top ten hit (As well as a classic) was apparently the last straw...they released him as manager a shade over two months after 'Fun Fun Fun was released. Good business decision, but I have a feeling it made for some awkward dinnertime conversation for a while. 

And the fun continues! Fun Fun Fun also gave the world one of the most asked, most researched questions in Pop Music history, that answerless (So far, at any rate) question being 'Just who was this young lady who boldly misrepresented her intentions RE: borrowing Daddy’s T-bird'?

In an interview some years back, Mike Love said that she was based on ‘No one in particular…she was a product of our imaginations’, so I guess that's the official answer. The wild thing is, though, if this young lady is based on a real live girl,  there are at least two good candidates.

One of them was not only one of Dennis Wilson's classmates at Hawthorne High, she was also his girlfriend for a while, and supposedly the ‘Fun Fun Fun Till Daddy Takes The T-Bird Away’ hook came from something he said to her in jest while she was hanging out at their house one evening.

 Then, as a variation o the same theme, supposedly the dad of another young and lovely classmate of the Wilsons owned a Ford dealership…when a customer not too polite refused delivery of a brand spankin' new T-Bird because it was the wrong color (That color being pink) this ambitious and optimistic young lady begged dad to give her the mis-hued ride. Supposedly she got the car. Unknown if she used it to cruise ‘Through the hamburger stand now’ or how being given the car morphed into the classic song.

Confused yet? Good…because it gets better

There is yet another candidate for Subject Of The Song who, if she does indeed exist, may be the best candidate of the bunch.  That’d be the daughter of the manager of a Salt Lake City radio station who was a big fan and big supporter of The Beach Boys. Likewise his daughter was a big fan as well. So, when The ‘Boys were at the station for an on-air promo, she got to be there to meet them.

One minor problem… Dad owned a T-bird that his daughter asked to borrow a couple of nights earlier…wanna make a guess where she was supposed to be going? And where she actually did go?? (If you guessed anything other than 'Library' and 'Hamburger Stand', you haven't been paying attention) And yes, she got caught, did in fact have her keys taken away from her, and was indeed bemoaning her fate at the station at the same day the Beach Boys were there. As the story goes, Brian Wilson and Mike Love knocked out the lyrics on the way to the airport after overhearing her sad, sad tale.

Of course we may never know for sure just who this spunky and slightly rebellious little lady was if she does exist, and a big part of me says that if she did exist we'd know who she was by now. (Being the subject of one of the best loved classics by one of the best loved bands that's every strummed a guitar string and sung a note wouldn't be a bad legacy at all, IMHO.)

The Beach Boys music was all about fun, and Fun Fun Fun is way up there on the 'Fun To Listen To' scale. Admit it...you hear the afore mentioned guitar intro and you smile a bit, start bopping a bit , and start off on 'Well she got her daddy's car and she cruised through the hamburger stand now!' right on cue. Don't even try to deny it!

I have a sneakin' suspicion that Daddy's T-Bird'll be making the rounds of that unnamed hamburger stand (Until it's driver gets her keys taken away) for generations to come...and that's a good thing!

SO Enjoy! Fun Fun Fun by The Beach Boys!

And as a bonus...The 'Boys perform Fun Fun Fun at some unnamed venue n some unknown date shortly after the song as released...wish they'd at least tell us when it was!

Little Honda by The Beach Boys

Little Honda

1964

The Beach Boys/The Hondells

Ok, this one's just for fun! Which Beach Boys was supposedly written as a commercial for a vehicle, actually did boost the sales of the ride it was written about, but was never used used in a commercial by the company that made said vehicle.? Another hint...the song was covered by another group whose version was actually way more successful that the Beach boys version.

Figured it out yet? The answer'd be 'Little Honda', originally by The Beach boys, who released it on October 17^th, '64 and took it to # 65 on the Hot 100 on it's fifth and final week on the chart. The song was also covered by The Hondells, whose cover of the tune was released on September 12^th, '64 and peaked at #9 eight weeks in to a twelve week chart run.

I know...Whoa Rob...if The Hondells covered the song, how the heck did they release it before The Beach Boys??? Truth of the matter is, I'm trying to figure that one out myself, and what Info I could find was kinda confusing, at best. Brian Wilson supposedly wrote it as a jingle for Honda, to promote their insanely popular (And still in production) Honda Supercub, but Honda decided not to use it. (Their iconic ‘You Meet The Nicest People On A Honda’ ad campaign was used instead)  The song was however included on both their album 'All Summer Long' and a 4-song EP, '4 By The Beach Boys’…both released during the summer of ’64. 'All Summer Long' was released in Mid-July of '64, and 'Little Honda was one of the tracks that DJ's liked to spin...but it wasn't released as a single off the album. It was however, ultimately released as a single off of the E.P. And to be honest, it kind of sounds like their hand got forced…  inadvertently…by one of their own.

Somewhere along the way, Gary Usher buttonholed Brian Wilson and asked him if he'd sing lead with a group of session musicians on a cover of the song, as a single for an as of yet unnamed group. (Interesting little factoid…among those session musicians was a then not yet well known fella named Glen Campbell.) They recorded it, the song was released under the name 'The Hondells (Who, again, didn't actually exist as a group yet) and the song shot up the charts to #9.

Why do I have the feeling that Brian Wilson may have heard something like 'Let me get this straight...you helped another group crack the Top Ten with our song?!?' The 'Boys version was on both their album, and the just-released EP, so they released their original version of ‘Little Honda’ almost a month after the Hondells released their cover version…on the same day, ironically,  that it cracked the Hot 100’s Top 20.

SOOOO, even though The Beach Boys' version was the original, it actually looked like a cover...and performed like one, too. The two versions sounded pretty similar as well, at least to the untrained ear, and The Beach Boys' version had been all over the radio during the wind-down half of the summer of ‘64 so it wouldn't surprise me if some people actually thought The Hondells' version was The Beach Boys at first (Especially with Brain singing lead). Of course, one difference was the instrumentals...the Fuzzy Guitar that was becoming a Beach Boys trademark was included in their version of 'Little Honda', but their version was and in fact still is over-shadowed by The Hondells version. You'll Hear the song fairly regularly on Oldies stations...and it's usually the Hondells version that you hear!

Its still a fun, peppy, catchy little tune, no matter which band you hear singing it...and you will hear it if you listen to Oldies stations long enough. And it's still just as much fun to listen to now as it was 50 years ago!

So Enjoy...The Beach Boys Usurped Single! Little Honda by The Beach Boys! 

 

And as a bonus...The Hondells' actually much more successful cover of 'Little Honda'

Surfin' Safari By The Beach Boys

Surfin' Safari

1963

The Beach Boys

There are certain songs that just remind you of 'Summer', no matter when you hear them,,,especially if those songs are about, oh, I don't know...surfing! This was probably one of the many thoughts being discussed back in 1961 when a trio of brothers...Brian, Dennis, and Carl Wilson...got hold of a cousin named Mike Love, and a friend of theirs named Al Jardine, asked their dad to manage them, formed a band, named it 'The Beach Boys', and started recording hit records about the Early '60s Southern California lifestyle...Surfing, Cars, and Girls. And on this post, I'm going to feature three of 'em...their first three Top 20 hits, two of which cracked the top 10

Ok, the Beach Boy Fanatics among you are screaming “WHOA ROB!!!!. That's not exactly the way it happened, and besides...David Marks replaced Al Jardine before their first big hit.

Ahhh, true that. But he was in the band when they recorded their first hit...well minor hit in the rest of the US, but a HUGE hit in Cali. It was called 'Surfin', was recorded under the 'small 'Candix Records'' label, and sold about 40, 000 copies, reaching # 75 in the US, but going all the way to #3 in Southern California. Oh...and they recorded it as 'The Pendletons, not The Beach Boys. The ultimately very fortuitous name change was courtesy of a promotions worker who made the change to better tie them in with the Surf Music scene.

To make a long story short, they wrote and recorded a couple more songs, made demos, auditioned and were turned down by Dot and Liberty Records (How'd you like to be known as 'The Guy Who Turned Down The Beach Boys'???), then signed a seven year contract with Capitol Records...and started churning out hits.

Their first Top 20 hit was 'Surfin' Safari', and when it was originally recorded Al Jardine actually was on guitar...but that version, recorded on Feb 8, 1962, wasn't released until the late '60s. The version that hit #14 on The Hot 100 was recorded on April 19^th, 1962, after Dave Marks joined the group. He played guitar along with Carl Wilson, Brian Wilson was on Bass Guitar, Dennis Wilson on drums, and Mike Love sang Lead Vocals...the basic recipe for that legendary Beach Boys sound that everyone grew to know and love.

They added it to the demo tape along with '409' and a couple of other songs...you don't become a major record label like Capitol without having people who can recognize talent when they hear it...Capitol listened to it, went 'WOW!', and signed them to the aforementioned contract before someone else got smart and beat them to it.

The 'B' side of 'Surfin' Safari' was another Beach Boy's tune that everyone's heard...'409',...and supposedly That's the one that Capitol actually wanted to be the 'A' side of the record when it was released on June 4^th, 1962. DJs liked 'Surfin' Safari better though...so they flipped the record and played it rather than '409'. (By the way, if you find an original single with '409' as the 'A' side, hang on to it for dear life...there are none known to be in existence, so I have a feeling it'd be worth a few bucks).

'Surfin' Safari' made it to #14 on The Hot 100 and almost...but not quite...earned them their first Gold Record, with sales of a bit over 900,000. Interestingly enough, the biggest order for copies of the single came from New York City...about as far from the world of surfing as you can get.

Beach boys songs will never disappear from ''Oldies' stations...if they did it'd have to be a sign of The Apocalypse! This one (Along with both of the other Beach Boy's classics I'm featuring this week)have been staples on the radio since they were released, you still hear 'em now (especially in the summer) and our kids and grand kids 'll hearing them long after we're gone.

If you're gonna blog post a video of 'Surfin' Safari, ya gotta find one with surfing footage on it...and I managed to find one with some awesome footage! So enjoy! 'Surfin' Safari' by The Beach Boys! (And don't even try to tell me that you weren't at least lip-syncin' to it! ;) )

As a bonus...remember the original recording of Surfin' Safari...recorded in February '62 back when Al Jardine was still part of 'The Beach Boys? Here it is! There are some subtle differences in the lyrics...see if you can catch 'em

And as a second bonus...with more awesome surfing pics...The first ever Beach boys song, recorded when they were still The Pendletons' (But released as The Beach Boys) 'Surfin', by The Pendletons/The Beach Boys

Surfin' USA by The Beach Boys

Surfin' USA

1963

The Beach Boys

If you asked a hundred people who grew up on the music of the Sixties and Seventies what song they think of immediately when they think 'Beach Boys', 'Surfin' USA' would be way up there in the numbers in the songs they named. Thing is, it really wasn't The Beach Boys' song...not completely anyway.

Brian Wilson wrote the lyrics...but Chuck Berry originally wrote the music, when he wrote a early Rock and Roll classic called Sweet Little Sixteen. The Beach Boy's Brian Wilson was hanging out with his girlfriend Judy Bowles and her brother, and they were talking about the best places to surf, when 'Sweet Little Sixteen' played on the radio. Brian started humming along with it, and realized that names of surf spots would fit perfectly where the names of the cities were in the lyrics for Sweet Little Sixteen. He and Judy's brother came up with a list of surfing spots, Brian added other lyrics, and set them to Sweet Little Sixteen's music, the Beach Boys recorded it, it was released as a single (With 'Shut Down' as the B side) on March 4^th, 1963, and all but immediately became a hit, climbing to #3 on The Billbaord Hot 100...everyone was happy and all was well with the world...well almost everyone.

See Brian Wilson was listed as the sole and only composer. Arc Music, which was Chuck Berry's publisher, was not amused. Lawsuits were threatened, negotiations were held (As Kids bopped to the music while they crooned 'Ev'rybody's Gone Suuuuurrrrrfin'...Surfin' USA!!!!') and agreements were made...and Chuck Berry was listed as one of the composers on every single and album from 1966 on. In fact, Arc Music actually holds the Copyright to the song...Brian Wilson's lyrics and all.

Surfin' USA was the group's follow-up to Surfin' Safari, and their first Top 10 hit. It wouldn't be the last...it started a string of top 10 hits...interrupted occasionally by one that only cracked the top 20...that would span three years, and include 13 top 10 hits...three of 'em making it all the way to #1

The song just clicked with everyone...it was high energy, catchy, and just made for summer and the beach...so much so that it was re-released in July 1974 and made it to #36 on The Hot 100. I remember it constantly being on the radio that summer, (Q-94 in Richmond...then and to this day Richmond. Va’s Premiere Top 40 station) and we liked it then just as much as the kids had ten years earlier, in 1963

Surfin' USA is another one that will probably be around long after all of us are gone...it's just one of those songs that just screams 'SUMMER. When you're listening to an Oldies station, and you hear that distinctive guitar riff kicking' it off, and your head starts bobbing, you KNOW you're going to end up belting out the lyrics right along with Mike Love...and that it'll be stuck in your head for the rest of the day.

If you're gonna have a video for Surfin USA it's just got to include surfing footage or pictures...I truly think that's mandated by Federal Law...or if it isn't it should be, because it actually took me forever to find one. When I did, though, I managed to find a good one!

So enjoy! Fifty years, hard as it is to believe, after it hit #3 on the Hot 100...Surfin' USA By The Beach Boys.

Surfin' USA wasn't finished with the charts yet! It's been covered by more than a dozen artists, but Leif Garret had the most successful cover of Surfin' USA when he took it to #20 on the Hot 100 in 1977. He didn't do a bad job with it all...but The Beach Boys still own it!

So, as a bonus...The original music video of Leif Garrett's cover of 'Surfin' USA'

And finally...Chuck Berry's 'Sweet Little Sixteen...the song that birthed Surfin' USA. Take a listen and see how close the two really are musically.

A couple of quick Surfin' USA Fun Facts.

Even though their first four singles...three of 'em Top 20, and two of those Top 10...were about surfing, Dennis Wilson was the only Beach boy who actually surfed.

Like the song itself, the recording session for Surfin' USA was very upbeat and happy, according to David Marks...he said that the energy and good vibes during the session were a one of a kind thing, and it really comes through when you listen to the song.

The surfing spots mentioned in the song, in the order that they're mentioned:

Del Mar" - Del Mar, San Diego County, California

"Ventura County Line" - Ventura County, California

"Santa Cruz" - Santa Cruz, Santa Cruz County, California

"Trestles" - San Onofre State Park, San Diego County, California

"Australia's Narrabeen" - Narrabeen, New South Wales

"Manhattan" - Manhattan Beach, Los Angeles County, California

"Doheny" - Doheny Beach, Dana Point, Orange County, California

"Haggerty's" - Palos Verdes Estates, Los Angeles County, California

"Swami's" - Swami's Beach, Encinitas, San Diego County, California

"Pacific Palisades" - Pacific Palisades, Los Angeles County, California

"San Onofre" - San Onofre State Park, San Diego County, California

"Sunset" - Sunset Beach, Oahu, Hawaii - or - Sunset Beach, Orange County, California

"Redondo Beach" - Redondo Beach, Los Angeles County, California

"L.A." - Los Angeles, Los Angeles County, California

"La Jolla" - La Jolla, San Diego County, California

"Waimea Bay" - Waimea Bay, Hawaii

Surfer Girl by The Beach Boys

Surfer Girl

1963

The Beach Boys

For the third early Beach Boys surfing tune...finish the lyric: 'Do You Love Me, do You ​'

If you guessed anything than than 'Surfer Girl', you've never ever listened to Oldies, and definitely weren't born in the Fifties, and more than likely not the Sixties either.

This was the first Beach Boys tune that Brian Wilson got full credit on...composing, arranging, and producing. The tune, and some of the lyrics came to him, of all places, in his car as he was riding to a hot dog stand. He bought his 'dog, returned to his house, and finished what was ultimately to be another Beach boys Classic. The story since it was written was that the tune was for his first girlfriend, Judy Bowles but Brian has said that he actually didn't have anyone in mind when he wrote it....the lyrics just came to him as he hummed the melody, which was actually inspired by the Dion And The Belmont's version of 'When You Wish Upon A Star'.

It was the closest thing to a ballad the Beach Boys would ever record...Surfer Girl was actually one of the earliest Beach boy songs, but the original recording wasn't released until much later. The version we all know and love was recorded on June 12^th, 1963, and released on July 22^nd '63. It peaked at #7 on The Billboard Hot 100 on September 14, 1963, becoming the Beach Boys' second top 10 hit.

Like 'Surfin' Safari' and 'Surfin' USA', Surfer Girl's a classic...And like the other two tunes. It's been a staple on Top 40, then Oldies stations (Especially Oldies stations near the beach on either coast) for 50 years. I mean what can be better than the beach on a summer afternoon.

Also like the other two, if you're gonna Blog post a video for the song, it better have surfing in it! And if it's about 'Surfer Girls'...well, enjoy! Surfer Girl, by The Beach Boys. And don't even tell me you weren't singing along with it! ;)