Beach Boys – Surfin’ U.S.A.

“Surfin’ U.S.A.” -Single by the Beach Boys from the album Surfin’ U.S.A. Released on March 4, 1963.

The lyrics are basically a guide to good surf locations, but the “Surfin’ U.S.A.” music was based on Chuck Berry’s 1958 hit “Sweet Little Sixteen.” The Beach Boys did it as a tribute to Berry, but didn’t get his permission first – maybe because Berry was in jail for transporting a minor across state lines. When Berry threatened to sue, The Beach Boys agreed to give him most of the royalties and list him as the song’s composer. The song also helped build Berry’s legend while he served his time.

Embed

Copy and paste this HTML code into your webpage to embed.

Beach Boys - Surfin' U.S.A.02:16

The single peaked at number two on the chart of the Music Vendor trade paper (within a year renamed Record World) and at number three on the Billboard and Cash Box charts. Billboard ranked “Surfin’ U.S.A.” the number 1 song of 1963: although it was Billboard’s original number 1 song of the year, later lists from Billboard rank “Sugar Shack” by Jimmy Gilmer and the Fireballs as the number 1 song of 1963. It has since become emblematic of the California Sound, and “Surfin’ U.S.A”‘s depiction of California is emblematic of the genre.

In the United Kingdom, the single was released in June 1963. The third single by the band to be issued in the UK, it became the first single to chart. It peaked at 34 (28 in the New Musical Express).

Video on the top

The Beach Boys performing “Surfin’ USA” at Live Aid in front of 100,000 people in the John F. Kennedy Stadium, Philadelphia USA on the July 13th , 1985.

Visits: 4