The yay & nay of the Surfin USA lp

[kookadams]

Its well known that the BBs second album Surfin USA put surf music in the mainstream and there were the dolts that tried to say the BBs weren't a legitimate surf group, thats absolute malarkey cuz that album is SOLID all the way thru and just as good as any "surf" group.

[Andrew G. Doe]

You really don't know much about the history of surf music, do you ?

[kookadams]

Yeah, I just make everything up as I go along cuz I wasnt there so anything I post doesn't mean anything cuz Im not 70 yrs old, so if I was then I could find posts by dudes thatre half my age and undermine them to build myself up.

[Andrew G. Doe]

Its well known that the BBs second album Surfin USA put surf music in the mainstream...

So the "Surfin' Safari" single of June 1962 hitting #14 on Billboard had a negligible impact ?

Also:

cuz Im not 70 yrs old, so if I was then I could find posts by dudes thatre half my age

Despite appearances I'm not seventy for another ten years, and if you want to be taken seriously, may I respectfully suggest...

checking your "well known" facts...

learning some basic grammar skills...

and dialing back on the incontinent posting.

[kookadams]

Im not saying you specifically, I respect your resource knowledge thats a given, I just mean taking certain things outta context when Im just trying to get input. Of course I know the history of surf rock, I was just referring to how some dolts undermined how well the BBs played instro surf rock and how Surfin USA was a pinnacle. You know what I mean.

[JK]

It seems one of your "dolts" is Stephen McParland. If you have Abbott's Back to the Beach, check out pages 22-25.

I do agree with you about the Surfin' USA album being solid----the Carl-Dave machine in full flight...   

[Freddie French-Pounce]

Honky Tonk is a load of Garbage.

[JK]

Honky Tonk is a load of Garbage.

Aww. I much prefer the more upbeat BB version to the original...

[Douchepool]

Honestly, as one of the first examples of vocal surf music, the Surfin' USA album is pretty tops. Surf music purists can f*** off. If it's good then it's good.

[Jon Stebbins]

Absolutely, the BB's SUSA LP was massive, and turned millions on to Dick Dale, and the intro surf sound. Sure there were surf hits before it, but that album went totally mainstream and I can't emphasize what a giant commercial hit that it was. It made the "Beach Boys", and "surf music" in general, a household term.

[donald]

Its well known that the BBs second album Surfin USA put surf music in the mainstream...

So the "Surfin' Safari" single of June 1962 hitting #14 on Billboard had a negligible impact ?

Also:

cuz Im not 70 yrs old, so if I was then I could find posts by dudes thatre half my age

Despite appearances I'm not seventy for another ten years, and if you want to be taken seriously, may I respectfully suggest...

checking your "well known" facts...

learning some basic grammar skills...

and dialing back on the incontinent posting.

Andrew, is incontinent posting what one does when one posts while on the crapper ?   That kind of multitasking can lead to some messy results!!

[Larry Franz]

Its well known that the BBs second album Surfin USA put surf music in the mainstream and there were the dolts that tried to say the BBs weren't a legitimate surf group, thats absolute malarkey cuz that album is SOLID all the way thru and just as good as any "surf" group.

Billboard's numbers:

"Surfin' Safari" #14 as a single and #32 as an album.  "Surfin' USA" #3 as a single and #2 as an album.

With "Surfin' USA", the Beach Boys effectively changed the definition of "surf music" to be "music that sounds like the Beach Boys". Unfortunately, that made people (the wider public) think of the Beach Boys' music as "surf music" forever after.

[donald]

the original surf music didn't have FF harmony.   the Beachboys created a hybrid sound.    for real surf music checkout Dick Dale and company.

[Larry Franz]

the original surf music didn't have FF harmony.   the Beachboys created a hybrid sound.    for real surf music checkout Dick Dale and company.

Of course. By the way, we should include "Surfer Girl" (#7 and #7) as having a big, mainstream impact too.

[Lee Marshall]

Surfin USA was a quantum leap forward from Surfin Safari.  The 'boys' had pretty quickly zeroed in on their patented 'sound'...and it was outstandingly good.  The album was on the lp charts in Toronto from the very first week they had a top 5 album chart in May [27] 1963...[and the double sided hit 45 'Surfin' USA and Shutdown' was enjoying the 2nd week at number 2 on that date]...until December 1st 1963.  26 weeks. 

It was the 3rd Beach Boys album I bought because IT WAS ALWAYS SOLD OUT.  [I actually got Little Deuce Coupe second...and it was, as it turned out, an even better album]  While Surfin USA rode the Toronto album charts...peaking at number 1 June 24 and again for a couple of weeks in the first half of August...and spending 9 weeks at #2 and a further 7 weeks at number 3...the singles Surfer Girl/Little Duece Coupe also came and went and Be True to Your School was a week shy of entering the Top 10.

Pretty impressive.

For an album with 5 instrumentals...it was still way more than pretty darned good.  Surfin USA, Farmer's Daughter, Lonely Sea and Shut Down made side one sizzle.  While Noble Surfer, Lana and Finders Keepers couldn't offset the 3 instrumental 'fillers' on side 2 they were still much better songs than those on the first album.  All and all a very impressive spot from which to move forward which I think they did with Little Deuce Coupe after faltering ever-so-slightly with the Surfer Girl album which borrowed heavily from the Little Deuce Coupe roster of songs.  Take 3 or 4 of the instrumentals off of Surfin USA...add the best surf songs from Surfer Girl...and you've got pure magic.

It all pretty much worked out though didn't it?.  I'd say the "YAYS" have it by a substantial margin....like 50 to 1.

[Larry Franz]

Hey Add Some -- I know I'm a year older than you and neither one of us is 70 yet. What I can't decide is whether my fake picture or your real picture makes us look older than we are.

But the Surfer Girl album (which I agree wasn't as exciting as its predecessor) came out 3 weeks before the Little Deuce Coupe album, right? (In the US anyway.) So the borrowing went the other way, although that didn't stop the car album from doing even better (#4). I guess Capitol saw a way to cash in with the automotive theme and wanted to do it as quickly as possible. But three weeks between albums is a bit fast, even if you use a lot of the same songs.

[Lee Marshall]

Hey Add Some -- I know I'm a year older than you and neither one of us is 70 yet. What I can't decide is whether my fake picture or your real picture makes us look older than we are.

But the Surfer Girl album (which I agree wasn't as exciting as its predecessor) came out 3 weeks before the Little Deuce Coupe album, right? So the borrowing went the other way, although that didn't stop the car album from doing even better (#4). I guess Capitol saw a way to cash in with the automotive theme and wanted to do it as quickly as possible. But three weeks between albums is a bit fast, even if you use a lot of the same songs.

Larry...ya old fart!!!  Brian produced both albums.  His first 2 after Nick Venet did the first 2 albums...SS and SUSA.  Brian and the Boys worked on both albums at the same time.  He just ran out of Surfin Songs...and, as such, he felt he had to include the latest single too [which I would think he figured would be a double sided hit like the previous 2 releases].  He put In My Room on the first album 'cause it wasn't a car song but HAD to hold off on Be True to Your School [even if it wasn't the hit version but does mentioned cruisin' around the other parts of the town] because it wouldn't make chronological sense to put that on Surfer Girl and ahead of Little Deuce Coupe.  Side A of Surfer Girl is surfin stuff...except for Little Deuce Coupe.  He only had one surfin song left to make up side 2 so he had to go and borrow material from the Little Deuce Coupe album to fill out Surfer Girl.  Preferably...Surfin USA, Surfer Girl and Little Deuce Coupe should have been TWO albums...not 3.  But heh!!!

And THAT was the end of surfin with the Beach Boys...yet they still can't shake the image after just 2 and almost a half albums...and only about 18 months.

It's enough to turn your hair white.  [and mine too ]

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

It just hit me...Brian colours his hair.  He HAS too.

Brian!!!

[Larry Franz]

Gosh, I didn't realize Brian's life was so damn complicated! 

[the professor]

Jon will tell you the story of how Dick Dale worked hard to get all 5 BB to sign his copy of Surfin USA. That says a lot. I can listen to that album every day, over and over and often do. It sounds amazing when you play it at the beach.

Absolutely, the BB's SUSA LP was massive, and turned millions on to Dick Dale, and the intro surf sound. Sure there were surf hits before it, but that album went totally mainstream and I can't emphasize what a giant commercial hit that it was. It made the "Beach Boys", and "surf music" in general, a household term.

[stack-o-tracks]

We probably wouldn't have the rest of the Beach Boys discography if it weren't for Surfin' U.S.A. That includes everything from Pet Sounds to Summer In Paradise.


Brian would have been forced to bum a job from his cousin Mike Love at the service station he worked, and would have spent the rest of his short life topping off Fords & Chevys and checking tire pressures and seeing how far up the dipstick the oil goes.

[joshferrell]

I'm not a fan of the instrumentals... I like the rest of the album though... I see what they were trying to go for trying to get surfers into their music by placing those surf instruments..IMO Surf instrumentation's sound generic to my ears so I'm glad they only did them on this album..

[Watch a Cave]

I love the Surfin' USA album.. Love it!

Noble Surfer, Finders Keepers, Lana, Farmers Daughter .. All really fun tracks with super youthful Brian vocals.  Love it!

Not to mention Shut Down, the most rockingest car song ever..

Did I mention I love this record?

[donald]

the Surfin USA LP cover is one of my favorites.    the only non-signed LP on my walls. (The number one surfing group in the country!)

[halblaineisgood]

the Surfin USA LP cover is one of my favorites.    the only non-signed LP on my walls. (The number one surfing group in the country!)

The Analogue Productions reissue cover is one of the most beautiful things I've ever seen.

[kookadams]

The only people that think the BB are surf rock are referring to jus those first three albums. I would call the BBs genuine rockNroll.