The most promoted album by The Beach Boys, onstage and on television.

[metal flake paint]

For those who are interested in such things, I present a ranking of albums according to the degree of contemporaneous promotion afforded to them, performance-wise. Suggestions/additions/corrections welcome.

Ranking - Percentage of songs from the album performed - Songs performed out of total (exclusive) tracks - Album

    1. 90.0% - 9/10 - Surf's Up      
    2. 85.7% - 6/7   - Still Cruisin'            
    3. 80.0% - 8/10 - KTSA                        
    4. 77.8% - 7/9   - Holland                      
    5. 75.0% - 6/8   - CATP
  =6. 60.0% - 9/15 - 15BO
  =6. 60.0% - 6/10 - LA
    8. 58.3% - 7/12 - 20/20          
    9. 50.0% - 6/12 - Sunflower          
=10. 45.5% - 5/11 - Wild Honey
=10. 45.5% - 5/11 - Beach Boys '85
=12. 41.7% - 5/12 - Surfin' U.S.A.
=12. 41.7% - 5/12 - All Summer Long
=12. 41.7% - 5/12 - Summer In Paradise
=12. 41.7% - 5/12 - Summer Days
=16. 33.3% - 4/12 - Friends
=16. 33.3% - 4/12 - Surfin' Safari
=16. 33.3% - 4/12 - Surfer Girl
=16. 33.3% - 4/12 - Today
  20. 28.6% - 4/14 - Love You
  21. 27.3% - 3/11 - Smiley Smile
=22. 25.0% - 3/12 - Shut Down Vol. 2
=22. 25.0% - 3/12 - Pet Sounds
=22. 25.0% - 3/12 - TWGMTR
=25. 16.7% - 2/12 - Beach Boys Party
=25. 16.7% - 2/12 - Christmas Album
  27. 12.5% - 1/8   - Little Deuce Coupe
  28.   8.3% - 1/12 - MIU
  




Surfin’ Safari - 4/12, 33.3%
Surfin’ Safari
Ten Little Indians
409
Surfin’

Surfin’ USA - 5/12, 41.7%
Surfin’ USA
Farmer’s Daughter
Shut Down
Honky Tonk
Let’s Go Trippin’

Surfer Girl - 4/12, 33.3%
Surfer Girl
Little Deuce Coupe
In My Room
Hawaii

Little Deuce Coupe - 1/8, 12.5%
Be True To Your School (debatable as they performed it as the single, not the album, version)

Shut Down Vol. 2 – 3/12, 25%   
Fun, Fun, Fun
Don’t Worry, Baby
Louie, Louie (368 days between album release and song's first documented performance)

All Summer Long – 5/12, 41.7%
I Get Around
Hushabye
Little Honda
Wendy
Don’t Back Down

Beach Boys’ Christmas Album - 2/12, 16.7%
Little Saint Nick
We Three Kings of Orient Are

The Beach Boys Today! - 4/12, 33.3%
Do You Wanna Dance
When I Grow Up (To Be A Man)
Dance, Dance, Dance
Please Let Me Wonder

Summer Days (and Summer Nights!!!) - 5/12, 41.7%
Help Me, Rhonda
California Girls
Girl, Don’t Tell Me
Then I Kissed Her
You’re So Good To Me (383 days between album release and song's first documented performance)

Beach Boys’ Party – 2/12, 16.7%   
You’ve Got To Hide Your Love Away
Barbara Ann

Pet Sounds – 3/12, 25%
Wouldn’t It Be Nice
Sloop John B
God Only Knows

Smiley Smile – 3/11, 27.3%
Heroes and Villains
Good Vibrations
Getting’ Hungry

Wild Honey – 5/11, 45.5%
Wild Honey
Aren’t You Glad (356 days between album release and song's first documented performance)
Country Air
Darlin’
How She Boogalooed It

Friends – 4/12, 33.3%
Friends
Wake The World
Little Bird
Transcendental Meditation

20/20 – 7/12, 58.3%
Do It Again
I Can Hear Music
Bluebirds Over The Mountain
All I Want To Do
The Nearest Faraway Place
Cottonfields
Never Learn Not To Love

Sunflower – 6/12, 50%
Slip On Through
Add Some Music To Your Day
It’s About Time
Tears In The Morning
Forever
Cool, Cool Water

Surf’s Up – 9/10, 90%
Don’t Go Near The Water
Long Promised Road
Take A Load Off Your Feet
Disney Girls
Student Demonstration Time
Feel Flows
Lookin’ At Tomorrow
A Day In The Life Of A Tree
Surf’s Up

Carl And The Passions-So Tough – 6/8, 75%
You Need A Mess Of Help To Stand Alone
Here She Comes
He Come Down
Marcella
Hold On, Dear Brother
Cuddle Up

Holland – 7/9, 77.8%
Sail On Sailor
California Saga/Big Sur
California Saga/California
The Trader
Leaving This Town
Only With You
Funky Pretty

15 Big Ones – 9/15, 60%
Rock And Roll Music
It’s O.K.
Everyone’s In Love With You
Palisades Park
Susie Cincinnati
A Casual Look
Back Home
TM Song
That Same Song

The Beach Boys Love You – 4/14, 28.6%
Roller Skating Child
Honkin’ Down The Highway
Airplane
Love Is A Woman

MIU – 1/12, 8.3%
Peggy Sue

LA – 6/10, 60%
Good Timin’
Lady Lynda
Angel Come Home
Sumahama
Here Comes The Night
Shortenin’ Bread

Keepin’ The Summer Alive – 8/10, 80%
Keepin’ The Summer Alive
Oh Darlin’
Some Of Your Love
Livin’ With A Heartache
School Days
Goin’ On
Sunshine
Santa Ana Winds

The Beach Boys – 5/11, 45.5%   
Getcha Back
It’s Getting’ Late
Crack At Your Love
She Believes In Love Again
California Calling

Still Cruisin’ – 6/7, 85.7%
Still Cruisin’
Somewhere Near Japan
Kokomo
Wipeout
In My Car
Island Girl (341 days between album release and song's first documented performance)

Summer In Paradise – 5/12, 41.7%
Hot Fun In The Summertime
Surfin’
Under The Boardwalk
Summer In Paradise (317 days between album release and song's first documented performance)
Forever

TWGMTR - 3/12, 25%
That's Why God Made The Radio
Isn't It Time
Summer's Gone

References

Aniversario, E. (2012). The Beach Boys setlist archive. Retrieved from http://fun_fun_fun.tripod.com/setlists.html

Doe, A. G. (2013). Bellagio 10452: Take all the time you need… a Beach Boys reference site. Retrieved from http://www.esquarterly.com/bellagio/index.html

Rusten, I. (2009). The Beach Boys: Television and film – 1961-1976. Endless Summer Quarterly, 21(83), 14-41.

Rusten, I. (2010). The Beach Boys: TV and film part II – 1977-1998. Endless Summer Quarterly, 23(88), 15-43.

Rusten, I., & Stebbins, J. (2013). The Beach Boys in concert: The ultimate history of America’s band on tour and onstage. Milwaukee: Backbeat Books

[STE]

Love statistics! What kind of period are considering as valid?

At a quick glance Island Girl, In My Car and Come Go With Me may be missing from the list?

[Sheriff John Stone]

"That Same Song"? From the NBC-TV special?

[metal flake paint]

Love statistics! What kind of period are considering as valid?

At a quick glance Island Girl, In My Car and Come Go With Me may be missing from the list?

Thanks for your input. Obviously, some of the songs, particularly singles, were performed shortly before the album was released. Others were generally performed right after the relevant album's release. There were several instances where a song wasn't introduced until almost a year after the album's release! These have been highlighted in the original list. I wouldn't consider Come Go With Me as promoting MIU as the first documented performance of it occurred in December 4, 1981, and the fact that it was released as a single to promote Ten Years Of Harmony.

Island Girl and In My Car have been added!

[metal flake paint]

"That Same Song"? From the NBC-TV special?

Good catch! I cannot believe I missed that one as it's one of my favourite filmed performances.

[Fall Breaks]

Great work! Interesting to see that there seems to be no correlation between chart performance and number of live performed songs.

[Rob Dean]

Please add 'Til I Die , Good To My Baby and Here Today, saw M&B Band do it in the UK.

Also I'm Waiting For The Day and In The Back Of My Mind, circ 1974/5

Caroline No and You Still Believe In Me

[Nicko1234]

Please add 'Til I Die , Good To My Baby and Here Today, saw M&B Band do it in the UK.

Also I'm Waiting For The Day and In The Back Of My Mind, circ 1974/5

Caroline No

I think the OP is only talking about contemporary shows.

[metal flake paint]

Please add 'Til I Die , Good To My Baby and Here Today, saw M&B Band do it in the UK.

Also I'm Waiting For The Day and In The Back Of My Mind, circ 1974/5

Caroline No and You Still Believe In Me

Sorry, Rob. No go (showboat) 

[metal flake paint]

Please add 'Til I Die , Good To My Baby and Here Today, saw M&B Band do it in the UK.

Also I'm Waiting For The Day and In The Back Of My Mind, circ 1974/5

Caroline No

I think the OP is only talking about contemporary shows.

That is correct. As it is, I'm stretching the requirements by including You're So Good To Me 

[MBE]

Still Cruisin’ – 6/10, 60%
Well we really can't count three against them on this album because the total includes the much performed old songs.

[metal flake paint]

Little Deuce Coupe has a similar scenario 

[MBE]

Little Deuce Coupe has a similar scenario 

Yes, very true. It just can't be counted percentage wise so I would just pretend the LPs have 7 and 8 cuts respectively.

[Sheriff John Stone]

In one of the documentaries, there is a short snippet of Brian performing "It's Just A Matter Of Time". I'm not sure if that was a BW solo performance or if it was a Beach Boy show. It briefly shows Brian running of the stage at the end of the song so I'm not sure.

[metal flake paint]

In one of the documentaries, there is a short snippet of Brian performing "It's Just A Matter Of Time". I'm not sure if that was a BW solo performance or if it was a Beach Boy show. It briefly shows Brian running of the stage at the end of the song so I'm not sure.

Correct. Rusten (2010) dates that Beach Boys show as August 3, 1983 (p. 24), almost two years before Beach Boys '85 was released. A little early, methinks, to qualify for promoting said album 

[Sheriff John Stone]

In one of the documentaries, there is a short snippet of Brian performing "It's Just A Matter Of Time". I'm not sure if that was a BW solo performance or if it was a Beach Boy show. It briefly shows Brian running of the stage at the end of the song so I'm not sure.

Correct. Rusten (2010) dates that Beach Boys show as August 3, 1983 (p. 24), almost two years before Beach Boys '85 was released. A little early, methinks, to qualify for promoting said album 

Thanks for the clarification. I've always been curious about that performance.

[metal flake paint]

No worries.

The ranking has been amended to reflect Mike Eder's suggestion re: duplication of tracks on LDC and Still Cruisin'. Hence, the latter has shot to second spot from equal fifth and the former's placing remains unchanged, despite a rise in percentage.

[Cam Mott]

Wouldn't the ranking be 7th after a tie for 6th etc.? 

[MBE]

Thanks for implanting my idea. I just thought it gave a better picture of how they saw the new material and fit better within the guidelines setup

[metal flake paint]

Wouldn't the ranking be 7th after a tie for 6th etc.? 

No 

I refer to someone who would know:

http://smileysmile.net/board/index.php/topic,14647.msg336661.html#msg336661

[Jason]

Actually, Surf's Up has had every song performed in concert by the Beach Boys.

[metal flake paint]

Actually, Surf's Up has had every song performed in concert by the Beach Boys.

Yes, although they finally performed the song in question over 33 years after the release of the Surf's Up LP  

http://members.tripod.com/~fun_fun_fun/11-7-04.html

[Sheriff John Stone]

I'm enjoying this thread; it makes you think. I'm curious how you handled/addressed the Our Team documentary. There were a couple of songs featured, but not really "performed" in that documentary such as (from memory ) "Pitter Patter", "Kona Coast", "Belles Of Paris", and "My Diane".

[Ian]

Should note that according to the review I referenced in my recent book-the BBs played one other Friends song at least once-May 4 1968 Transcendental Meditation.

[metal flake paint]

I'm enjoying this thread; it makes you think. I'm curious how you handled/addressed the Our Team documentary. There were a couple of songs featured, but not really "performed" in that documentary such as (from memory ) "Pitter Patter", "Kona Coast", "Belles Of Paris", and "My Diane".

Glad that you're enjoying the thread; although I think that it probably has limited appeal to most smileysmilers

Had the Our Team documentary been broadcast, I would have considered it as a promotional piece; similar to how the Goin' Platinum program promoted KTSA, hence the inclusion of Sunshine and Oh Darlin'. Consequently, MIU's would've benefited from three, maybe four more tracks (considering Belles Of Paris is only a 28 second snippet), ranking it at =16th.