The Surfaris

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Wipe out on Princess 50-B with indication of the source DFS Records

The Surfaris (not to be confused with The Original Surfaris ) is an American surf rock band from Glendora , California , formed in 1962 by Bob Berryhill ( electric guitar ), Pat Connolly ( electric bass ), Jim Fuller (electric guitar) and Ron Wilson ( drums ). With their hit Wipe Out , they reached number two on the Billboard charts in the USA in 1963 , number five in Great Britain and number 45 in Germany . After the end of the Surfaris in 1967 there were several revivals with different line-ups.

biography

The story of the surfaris began in the fall of 1962. Pat Connolly asked friends Bob Berryhill and Jim Fuller if they were interested in appearing at a Pomona Catholic High School party after a football game . On this gig, Ron Wilson came on as drummer, and the teenage band The Surfaris was born. To earn some money for new amplifiers , the band decided to record a single with Jim Pash and distribute it themselves. In January 1963, the band members met (Jim Pash was absent because he had to help his father with his work) at the Pal Recording Studio in Cucamonga , California to implement the drummer's idea for Surfer Joe . For the B-side of the single, the song Wipe Out was written on site with the participation of studio owner Paul Buff and Bob Berrywood's father within 15 minutes .

Richard Delvy , drummer for the band The Challengers , offered the Surfaris to distribute the single on his own record label Princess Records . After the Dot Records label released the single, it went up to number two on the Billboard charts. After some disputes over the release and performance rights of the single with Dot Records and further trouble with the band The Impacts , who claimed the song Wipe Out , the Surfaris had to defend their naming rights in a legal battle with a band of the same name. The Surfaris won the trial and the other band played under the name The Original Surfaris . On the 1963 LP Wipe Out only the titles Surfer Joe and Wipe Out were recorded by the Surfaris. The remaining titles were played by the Challengers.

After the second single Point Panic reached number 49 in the charts, the Surfaris began touring Japan , Hawaii , Australia and the USA with other artists such as Roy Orbison , The Beach Boys , The Crystals , Bobby Vinton , The Righteous Brothers , Jay and the Americans , The Turtles , Paul Revere & the Raiders, and The Ventures .

The Surfaris' third album, Hit City (1964), and all other albums were recorded with producer Gary Usher with the help of various studio musicians. With the British Invasion in the mid-1960s, the Surfaris changed their style and landed a No. 2 hit in Japan with the folk-rock single Karen . After Connolly was replaced by Ken Forssi on bass, the Surfaris stopped recording the unsuccessful album It Ain't Me Babe . After the end of the contract with Usher, the band broke up. Forssi had another hit with the single My Little Red Book and the band Love.

Ron Wilson died of a brain aneurysm in May 1989 . The other members of the Surfaris are still active today with occasional appearances.

Discography

Albums

year Title
music label
Top ranking, total weeks, awardChart placementsChart placements
(Year, title, music label , placements, weeks, awards, notes)
Remarks
DE DE UK UK US US
1963 Wipe Out
Dot Records 25535
- - US15 (50 weeks)
US
First published: August 1963
Producers: Richard Delvy , John Marascalco
The Surfaris Play
Decca Records 4470
- - US94 (11 weeks)
US
First published: November 1963
Producer: Charles "Bud" Dant
1964 Hit City '64
Decca Records 4487
- - US120 (5 weeks)
US
First published: February 1964

More albums

  • 1964: Fun City, USA
  • 1965: Hit City '65
  • 1965: It Ain't Me, Babe
  • 1973: Yesterdays Pop Scene
  • 1976: Surfers Rule
  • 1977: Gone with the Wave
  • 1983: The Best of the Surfaris Live!

Compilations

  • 1973: Wipe Out, Surfer Joe & Other Great Hits
  • 1983: Surf Party !: The Best of the Surfaris Live!
  • 1987: Wipe Out (The Singles Album 1963-1967)
  • 1994: Wipe Out! The best of the surfaris
  • 1995: Surfaris Stomp
  • 1998: Surfers Rule / Gone with the Wave (2 CDs)
  • 2002: Wipe Out / The Surfaris Play (2 CDs)
  • 2003: Basic Tracks
  • 2005: Hit City '64 / Fun City USA (2 CDs)
  • 2008: The Best of the Surfaris

Singles

year Title
album
Top ranking, total weeks, awardChart placementsChart placements
(Year, title, album , rankings, weeks, awards, notes)
Remarks
DE DE UK UK US US
1963 Wipe Out
Wipe Out
DE46 (4 weeks)
DE
UK5 (14 weeks)
UK
US2 (31 weeks)
US
First published: January 1963
Surfer Joe
Wipe Out
- - US62 (6 weeks)
US
First published: January 1963
Point panic
play
- - US49 (8 weeks)
US
First published: September 1963

More singles

  • 1963: Waikiki Run (released September)
  • 1963: A Surfer's Christmas List (release: November)
  • 1964: I Wanna Take a Trip to the Islands (release: December)
  • 1964: Murphy the Surfie (released March)
  • 1964: Boss Barracuda (release: June)
  • 1964: Karen (release: October)
  • 1965: Black Denim / Beat '65 (released January)
  • 1965: Somethin 'Else / Theme of the Battle Maiden (release: May)
  • 1965: Don't Hurt My Little Sister (release: August)
  • 1966: Hey Joe Where Are You Going (released April)
  • 1966: Show Biz (release: October)
  • 1967: Shake (release: May)
  • 1982: Punkline
  • 2003: Jack the Ripper

Band members

literature

  • John Blair (Ed.): The Illustrated Discography Of Surf Music. 1961-1965 . J. Bee Productions, Riverside CA 1978, ISBN 0-9601880-0-2 .
  • Robert J. Dalley: Surfin 'Guitars. Instrumental Surf Bands of The Sixties . Surf Publications for RJ Dalley, Azusa CA 1988.

swell

  1. a b Chart sources: DE UK Billboard Hot 100 Billboard 200

Web links