What was the first song you heard from the Beach Boys? (the first you remember!)

[Steve Mayo]

same here....1963...surfin usa
to this day i recall "bushy bushy blonde hairdo"
loved it then and still do.....

[Ovi]

I used to be a die-hard Aerosmith fan (I still am, but in a smaller manner) and Steven Tyler once mentioned 'Vegetables' from Smiley Smile as one of his all-time favourite songs. I liked it from the very first time.

[SBonilla]

I grew up in Sacramento, so I was hearing their stuff from the get-go. My older cousin was buying the singles and albums as they came out. I don't remember my exact first impression, though. They were just 'in the air,' part of my life. I do remember that my cousin's friends (they were in high school; I was in grade school) would talk about the difference between the Surfers and the Hards; it had to do with hair styles and tennis shoes versus pointy leather shoes.

[Alex]

Circa 1991/92, at about age 6, one day my mom decided to put on her well worn copy of Endless Summer...she always started it on side 4, which meant my first BBs song was California Girls. I also recall seeing the Lovester doing BTTYS on Full House around that same time period.

[Amanda Hart]

The first one I remember was in 1991 when I was five; "Surfin' USA". We sang it as the finale for my kindergarten play.

[NHC]

Surf City. 

Really, probably Surfin' Safari when it first hit the radio.  I was 12. It's still one of my favorite BB songs along with 409, Shut Down, Surfer Girl and Don't Worry Baby.

[Al Jardine: Pick Up Artist]

Honestly, probably Little Saint Nick, because I was born about a week before Christmas and we had it on an Xmas hits album. Besides that, probably CA Girls, Surfin USA, or Surfin Safari on the radio. Some part of me wants to say Surfin USA, mostly because the sound of the "everybody's going surfin', SURFIN USA" always had an effect on me. The first album I ever put on was Endless Summer, because I had found my grandma's vinyl and was looking for names I recognized. The first song I probably sat down and listened to, again and again, was GV.

[Sie W]

When my parents got a CD player in 1986 I was given a Bush portable record player and a pile of records.

In between the K-tel and Top of the Pops compilations was a mint copy of the 1966 Best of The Beach Boys, I played that album all through the six weeks holiday that summer. Also out that summer was the film Flight of the Navigator, fond memories of singing along to I Get Around in the cinema.

Still have both player and record, had the player refurbished but the vinyl has seen better times!

[Newguy562]

I remember as a kid my parents taking me to Johnny Rockets (diner) and while we were waiting on out food and i heard "Wouldnt it be Nice" on the jukebox machine :] from that day on i was interested in everything by the beach boys did.
Thank goodness i didn't hear any of the surfing ones first or i would've dismissed them completely.

[Iron Horse-Apples]

"Persil Automatic Washes Whiter"

To the tune of Wouldn't it be nice.

Cheers Murry

[TonyW]

Around '64/65, aged 8 or 9, curled up in bed listening to my dad's transistor radio under the blankets and I heard Wendy, that falsetto did something to me. Fast Forward a few year and I'm around 13 or 14 and hear that falsetto again, HOOKED FOR LIFE!!

Thank you Mr Wilson

That's Why I Love The Radio!

[dumbangel76]

for me was All Summer Long from the American Graffiti soundtrack when I was 2 years old!

[pixletwin]

Good Vibrations because of the Sunkist commercial. I was about 5.

Ditto this. I was 5 as well (1974 was a good year I guess) I even found the dumb commercial on youtube. I was surprised to hear that it wasn't the Beach Boys at all and probably why it took me 30 years to overcome my anti-Beach Boys bias.

http://youtu.be/i-OvnkRVsF8

[cube_monkey]

My first memory of any music  that  i would actually pay attention to ,  was at the baby sitters house.  She had a big record collection.   I was  probably 11.  And she had lots of records, but she had The Beach Boys Shut Down
Vol 2.   I was fascinated with it.  Loved the harmonies (not that i understood anything) , and the beat.  I had to be the easiest kid to babysit as I sat in her room and listened to records all day...no need to go outside and play. lol.  And the record always skipped in one part on Why Do Fools Fall In Love.  It is so ingrained in me now, when i hear their version, I still "hear" the skip.    The Beach Boys kept me off the streets!!!!!!!  She gave me her copy of it. which I wore out.   I remember trying to figure out about the space between songs. lmao.  i thought they just were quiet and started the next song. HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH

[Wilson Love]

The first songs I remember hearing was in 1964 when my older brother bought the Fun Fun Fun/Why Do Fools Fall In Love 45 single. We wore it out quickly on both sides. My brother playing WDFFIL and me with Fun 3x. I was 6 years old at the time, my bro was 15.

Whoa, doctor. Eerily similar to my story. I was also 6 and my older bro was 15 as well. But, the single was "I Get Around"/ "Don't Worry Baby". I know I knew of the band before then, but this was the record that I really took notice of and made me a fan.

[Magic Transistor Radio]

Surfin Safari. In 1991 I was looking through my dad's cd's and found Endless Summer.

[runnersdialzero]

Born in 85, heard the standard stuff as a youngun - "Fun Fun Fun", "Kokomo", "Surfin' USA", "Little Deuce Coupe", wasn't particularly into any of them or found them annoying. I will say I remember "Santa's Beard" being on one of my mom's endless True Value Christmas cassettes when I was about 3 and really enjoying it, although it'd be about 20 more years later until I'd realize it was the Beach Boys.

In 2008, I'd heard about the Beach Boys endlessly and, thinking back to the previously named songs, was baffled when folks would go on about the "genius" of the Beach Boys. I saw an interview with Rivers Cuomo of Weezer praising "I Just Wasn't Made For These Times", gave it a shot, and after repeated listens I really liked it. At *the fucking world's* recommendation, I followed up by listening to the rest of Pet Sounds, because that's the best place to start always no exceptions it's the best album ever it will hook you immediately. Wasn't much into it sans "Wouldn't It Be Nice?" (which I knew I heard before, too), "God Only Knows" (which I'd strangely never heard before), and "I Just Wasn't Made For These Times".

After this, I downloaded a few Smile bootlegs and got really into it from there. "Heroes And Villains" in particular was the first of those batch of songs that stood out to me and I found would not get out of my head not matter how hard I tried. Also should note here that I'm fairly certain I never heard "Good Vibrations" before 2008, either. From there, Smiley Smile (which I loved and took to immediately), a few other stray songs that I read about that sounded interesting, bought Pet Sounds and after repeated listens loved it, too, etc. etc. etc. etc. etc. etc. etc.

[SMiLE Brian]

Watched American graffitti in 2010, got hooked when I found the full Today! album on youtube.

[LetHimRun]

Mine had to be a car song because my Dad took me to numerous classic car shows and they always play I Get Around, Little Deuce Coupe, 409, and Shut Down. Could have also been Help Me Rhonda, Surfin' USA, or Surfin' Safari as they are played pretty heavily at those types of shows. If I had to narrow it down to one I really took notice of, it would probably be I Get Around or Little Deuce Coupe.

[NHC]

same here....1963...surfin usa
to this day i recall "bushy bushy blonde hairdo"
loved it then and still do.....

Yep.

[NHC]

Mine had to be a car song because my Dad took me to numerous classic car shows and they always play I Get Around, Little Deuce Coupe, 409, and Shut Down. Could have also been Help Me Rhonda, Surfin' USA, or Surfin' Safari as they are played pretty heavily at those types of shows. If I had to narrow it down to one I really took notice of, it would probably be I Get Around or Little Deuce Coupe.

Nothing better than a hot rod show with 409 or Surfin' Safari et. al. playing over the PA.

[CarCrazyCutie]

Technically not the first one I ever heard, but the first to leave an impression was Fun, Fun, Fun when I was about 4 (which now that I think about it probably explains my obsession with Thunderbirds )

[Mentalist]

I know I must have heard some of the surfing stuff before but the first time I consciously listened to the band was the summer of 1973.

The only music we had to listen to was a single cassette my brother had. On one side was the first Roxy Music album, the other was Beach Boys Greatest hits (the UK LP). I think when my brother taped it, he must have flipped the sides as I always remember 'Do It Again' as being the first track and so the first BB song I really listened to. As a result, although my obsession began much, much later, it has always remained one of my favourite BB songs, along with H & V.

I always found it curious as to why, for what was in effect a 1966-and beyond compilation (apart from a few non-surfing earlier ones), that 'Wouldn't It Be Nice' was not included.

[sparkydog1725]

probably 409.

[bossaroo]

I'm sure I'd heard a few songs and the Sunkist commercial as well but "Catch A Wave" is the one that really stands out in my memory. I had a couple friends and we would rock out playing air guitar and drums to one of their dad's record collection. 'Endless Summer' was the album that got played, and I remember being pretty confused and a maybe little bit frightened by all the bearded faces on the cover.

"Surfin USA" sticks out in my memory too and also the first verse of "Wouldn't It Be Nice" which was featured on another TV commercial selling a greatest hits album. There was also the Beach Boys medley 45 that my dad picked up around the same time.

I was really into Def Leppard and Quiet Riot around that time, but there was something about the Beach Boys.....!