Surfin 'USA (song)
| Surfin 'USA | |
|---|---|
| The Beach Boys | |
| publication | March 4th 1963 |
| length | 2:27 |
| Genre (s) | Surf rock |
| Author (s) | Brian Wilson / Chuck Berry |
| album | Surfin 'USA |
Surfin 'USA is a Beach Boys song from the album Surfin' USA , written by Brian Wilson . It was recorded in 1963 and released as a single on March 4, 1963. The piece reached number 3 on the American Billboard charts. The main voice in this song is singing Mike Love .
The surf spots
Around 1963 Brian Wilson was dating Judy Bowles. Her younger brother Jimmy Bowles was a keen surfer. Wilson thought about writing a surf song and naming all known surf spots in it. “I asked Jimmy to make a list of all the places he could think of. And by God, he did not forget a single one ” .
Most of these places were related to California , two are in Hawaii and one in Australia :
- "Del Mar" - Del Mar, San Diego County, California
- "Ventura County Line" - Ventura County, California
- "Santa Cruz" - Santa Cruz, Santa Cruz County, California
- "Trestles" - San Onofre State Park, San Diego County, California
- "Australia's Narrabeen" - Narrabeen, New South Wales
- "Manhattan" - Manhattan Beach, Los Angeles County, California
- "Doheny" - Doheny Beach, Dana Point, Orange County, California
- "Haggerty's" - Haggerty's, Torrance, Los Angeles County, California
- "Swami's" - Swami's Beach, Encinitas, San Diego County, California
- "Pacific Palisades" - Pacific Palisades, Los Angeles County, California
- "San Onofre" - San Onofre State Park, San Diego County, California
- "Sunset" - Sunset Beach, Orange County, California
- "Redondo Beach" - Redondo Beach, Los Angeles County, California
- "LA" - Los Angeles, Los Angeles County, California
- "La Jolla" - La Jolla, San Diego County, California
- "Waimea Bay" - Waimea Bay, Hawaii
Single releases
The song was released as a single in March 1963 in the US by Capitol Records . The piece reached number 3 in the charts and thus became the Beach Boys' first top 10 success. The B-side shutdown reached number 23.
In Sweden, Canada and Australia the song also reached the top 10. In England, where the Beach Boys were still completely unknown at the time, they reached rank 34.
Surfin 'USA was re-released in 1974 and reached number 36 on the charts.
Musicians during the recording session
- Mike Love : vocals
- Carl Wilson : guitar, vocals
- David Lee Marks : guitar
- Brian Wilson : bass, organ, vocals; producer
- Dennis Wilson : vocals, drums
The recording took place in the Western Studios in Los Angeles.
In Hal Blaine's biography , he explains that he played the drums on Surfin 'USA . This is not possible because Blaine was hired by Brian Wilson as a studio drummer in June 1963. Frank deVito also claimed a few years ago that he played the drums. The recording protocol, however, shows Dennis Wilson as the drummer.
Copyright dispute with Chuck Berry
After the song became a hit, Chuck Berry's lawyers got in touch. Berry complained that Surfin 'USA had the same tune as his hit Sweet Little Sixteen . The lawyers assumed an unconscious plagiarism by Wilson. Wilson found many arguments against it and felt that he had written a completely original song. When Berry accused him of stealing the tune, Brian Wilson's father and manager Murry Wilson gave all the copyright to Chuck Berry without informing his son. He even gave him the rights to the text, which did not come from Berry at all.
It wasn't until the beginning of the 1990s, when Brian Wilson had to go through some lawsuits to come to terms with his past legally, that that song was also an issue. Wilson got half of the credits back in the course of this process, which is why there is now the fictitious Credit Brian Wilson / Chuck Berry.
Years later, Carl Wilson announced in an interview that the band had met Chuck Berry once in Copenhagen . On that occasion, Berry had stated that he was very fond of Surfin 'USA .
During an interview for the BBC documentary Wouldn't It Be Nice , Mike Love claimed he wrote the lyrics to this song, which the other band members denied.