Surfin' U.S.A.

"Surfin' U.S.A." is a song by the American rock band the Beach Boys, credited to Chuck Berry and Brian Wilson. It is a rewritten version of Berry's "Sweet Little Sixteen" set to new lyrics written by Wilson and an uncredited Mike Love. The song was released as a single on March 4, 1963, backed with "Shut Down". It was then placed as the opening track on their album of the same name.

For the album of the same name, see Surfin' U.S.A. (album).
"Surfin' U.S.A."
Single by the Beach Boys
from the album Surfin' U.S.A.
B-side"Shut Down"
ReleasedMarch 4, 1963 (1963-03-04)
RecordedJanuary 5, 1963
StudioUnited Western Recorders, Hollywood
Genre
Length2:29
LabelCapitol
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)Nick Venet
The Beach Boys singles chronology
"Ten Little Indians"
(1962)		 "Surfin' U.S.A."
(1963)		 "Surfer Girl"
(1963)

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.[1] It has since become emblematic of the California Sound, and "Surfin' U.S.A"'s depiction of California is emblematic of the genre. Professor Dale Carter notes that the Beach Boys' lyrics depict them as “enjoying all the material benefits of the promised land (typified by southern California) … liberty and security are accommodated at drive-in and drag strip, on surf board and in T-Bird, from hamburger stand to beach party...".[2] This theme is present in "Surfin' U.S.A," as well as other Beach Boys' songs.

The song "Surfin' U.S.A." is part of The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's 500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll list.[3]

Composition

The song features Brian Wilson's surfing-related lyrics set to the music and basic lyrical structure of Chuck Berry's "Sweet Little Sixteen". According to Wilson:

"I was going with a girl named Judy Bowles, and her brother Jimmy was a surfer. He knew all the surfing spots. I started humming the melody to 'Sweet Little Sixteen' and I got fascinated with the fact of doing it, and I thought to myself, 'God! What about trying to put surf lyrics to 'Sweet Little Sixteen's melody? The concept was about, 'They are doing this in this city, and they're doing that in that city' So I said to Jimmy, 'Hey Jimmy, I want to do a song mentioning all the surf spots.' So he gave me a list."[4]

With this idea, "Surfin’ U.S.A" uses the comparison of California to the rest of the United States to drive its stereotypical images of California. The song opens by posing an alternative reality: “If everybody had an ocean across the USA, then everybody’d be surfin’ like Californi-a.”[5] These opening lyrics show California in a favorable light, theorizing that if everyone in the United States had the same California-like privileges to a beach, they would enjoy going surfing.

Additionally, Surfin’ U.S.A uses a recognizable steady, upbeat drum tempo seen in many Surf Rock songs that seems to “drive” the music forward. The Beach Boys popularized this staccato drum style, and is reminiscent of “a locomotive getting up to speed”.[6] This technique was seen earlier in Jan & Dean’s 1963 hit “Surf City”, which was the first Surf song to achieve the number one position on the Billboard Hot 100.[7]

Authorship

When the single was released in 1963, the record only listed Brian Wilson as the composer although the song was published by Arc Music, Chuck Berry's publisher. Later releases, beginning with Best of The Beach Boys in 1966, listed Chuck Berry as the songwriter. Later releases list both writers although the copyright has always been owned, since 1963, by Arc Music. Under pressure from Berry's publisher, the Wilsons’ father and manager, Murry Wilson, had given the copyright, including Brian Wilson's lyrics, to Arc Music prior to the release of the single.[8]

Despite tensions with Berry at the time, Carl Wilson said the Beach Boys "ran into Chuck Berry in Copenhagen and he told us he loves 'Surfin' U.S.A.'."[9]

In 2015, Mike Love stated that "Surfin' U.S.A." was one of many Beach Boys songs he helped write but for which he did not receive credit.[10] Love claimed he wrote the lyrics to the song but was not able to be credited in his successful lawsuit against Wilson and Almo/Irving Music in 1994 because the copyright was owned by Arc Music.[11] In a 1974 radio interview, Brian said "When we first got going, Mike was a Chuck Berry fan, so ... he and I turned the lyrics into a surfing song."[12]

Surfing spots

In the song the following surfing spots are mentioned, mostly in California, as well as one in Hawaii (possibly two) and one in Australia:

Reception

The "Surfin' U.S.A." single, backed with "Shut Down", was released under Capitol Records in the United States in March 1963. The song peaked on the Billboard pop chart at number three, the band's first top ten hit therein (see also Surfin' Safari). The B-side charted at number 23. Although the double-sided hit single registered in Billboard as number one in chart points at the end of the year (tabulated up to mid November 1963) and was cited by Billboard as "best-selling record of the year", in a low-selling year for singles in the US it apparently did not initially sell a million copies—and has never been issued an RIAA Gold Disc award. The song was re-issued in the U.S. as a single in July 1974 backed with "The Warmth of the Sun". That single also hit the Billboard Hot 100 chart, peaking at 36.

Cash Box described it as "a pounding 'Sweet Little Sixteen'-flavored rocker...that the Beach Boys belt out with coin-catching enthusiasm" and added that it is a "terrific instrumental showcase."[13]

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).

In Australia, the single was released in 1963 and peaked at 9, becoming the band's first single to chart in Australia. The single was re-released in Australia in 1974 and again charted, peaking at 66. In Canada and Sweden, the single was released in 1963 and peaked on the charts at 6 in both countries. In July 1963, in the national charts used by Billboard, it peaked at #9 in Hong Kong, #8 in Austria the following month; in August 1964 at #9 for two weeks in Japan.

Variations

The song was first released on an album as the title track on the band's 1963 album Surfin' U.S.A. In May, 2003 Capitol issued the song on an EP along with "Surfer Girl", "Don't Worry, Baby", and "The Beach Boys Medley". However, the record failed to make an impact on the charts.

A demo version of the song featuring only Brian Wilson singing and playing piano was released on the 1993 box set, Good Vibrations: Thirty Years of The Beach Boys. A different demo version, in which Wilson is joined by drums was released on the 2001 archival release Hawthorne, CA. Both demos feature similar minor lyrical differences from the final recording.

The instrumental track of the final recording was also released on the Hawthorne, CA album. This version of the cut does not 'fade out', but continues on well past the original ending of the song until it ends abruptly.

Live performances

After being released the song became a concert regular for the band. The band recorded live versions of "Surfin' U.S.A." on several Beach Boys albums. It was first released on The Beach Boys in Concert album. A concert from Anaheim Stadium on July 3, 1976, which featured the song was filmed and produced by Lorne Michaels for a Beach Boys television special which first aired in the United States in August, 1976. The TV special was later released on VHS and DVD as Good Vibrations Tour. In 1980, a live rendition was recorded, though not released until 2002 on the Good Timin': Live at Knebworth England 1980 live album. Footage from the concert was also released on VHS and DVD format. A live version was also released on the band's 1993 box set Good Vibrations: Thirty Years of The Beach Boys.

The band also performed a live version of the song at the NBC Television Studios in Burbank, California, which was filmed on March 14, 1964. Footage of the concert was later released on the DVD The Lost Concert. The band performed the song on The T.A.M.I. Show which was filmed at the Santa Monica Civic Auditorium on October 28 and 29, 1964, and featured other top artists of the day such as Chuck Berry, Marvin Gaye, The Supremes, James Brown & The Famous Flames and The Rolling Stones. The concert was released as a film in 1964 featuring the Beach Boys performance. However, after the initial showing of the film Brian insisted that the band's performance be cut from the film. Because of a rights dispute the footage of the Beach Boys' performance does not appear in most versions of The T.A.M.I. Show. The footage was eventually released on the DVD Sights of Summer included with the special 2004 edition of Sounds of Summer: The Very Best of The Beach Boys.

Personnel

According to Jon Stebbins:[14]

The Beach Boys

Additional musicians

  • Frank DeVito – drums

Charts
Chart (1963) Peak
position
Canada (CHUM Hit Parade)[15] 2
UK Singles (OCC)[16] 34
US Billboard Hot 100[17] 3
US Cash Box Top 100 3
Chart (1974) Peak
position
Australian Singles Chart 66
Canada Top Singles (RPM)[18] 35

Certifications
Region CertificationCertified units/sales
Italy (FIMI)[19]
Beach Boys version/sales since 2009 		Gold 50,000‡
United Kingdom (BPI)[20]
Beach Boys version 		Silver 200,000‡

‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

Leif Garrett version
"Surfin' U.S.A."
Single by Leif Garrett
from the album Leif Garrett
B-side"Special Kind of Girl"
ReleasedAugust 1977
Recorded1977
StudioAtlantic Studios (New York City, New York)
Genre
LabelAtlantic
Songwriter(s)Chuck Berry
Producer(s)Michael Lloyd
Leif Garrett singles chronology
"Come Back When You Grow Up"
(1977)		 "Surfin' U.S.A."
(1977)		 "Runaround Sue"
(1977)

In August 1977, Leif Garrett released his version as the first single from his eponymous debut album. It reached No. 20 on the Billboard Hot 100 and No. 4 in Switzerland.[21]

Chart (1977) Peak
position
Australia (Kent Music Report) 2
Canada Adult Contemporary (RPM)[22] 48
Canada Top Singles (RPM)[23] 32
US Billboard Hot 100[24] 20
US Cash Box Top 100[25] 29
West Germany (Official German Charts)[26] 6

Sources
  1. "Top Records of 1963", Billboard, Section II, December 28, 1963. p. 30. Retrieved October 16, 2018.
  2. Carter, Dale (2021-09-02). "Band of the Free: The Beach Boys as an American National Interest". Rock Music Studies. 8 (3): 187–204. doi:10.1080/19401159.2021.1983985. ISSN 1940-1159. S2CID 239604025.
  3. "500 Songs That Shaped Rock". Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Retrieved November 15, 2014.
  4. Badman, Keith. The Beach Boys (2004): 32
  5. The Beach Boys – Surfin' USA, retrieved 2023-03-15
  6. Davis, Jonathan (1966). The Influence of the Beatles on Rock and Roll (Vol. 13 No. 1 ed.). King’s Crown Essays, College Journal of Social Sciences. p. 55.
  7. Marcus, Benjamin (2013-03-05). Surfing: An Illustrated History of the Coolest Sport of All Time. MVP Books. ISBN 978-1-61058-761-7.
  8. Pegg, Bruce. Brown Eyed Handsome Man (2002): 162–163
  9. Good Timin': Live at Knebworth England 1980 DVD, 2002.
  10. Hedegaard, Erik (February 2016). "Mike Love's Cosmic Journey". Rolling Stone.
  11. Love 2016, p. 374.
  12. Wilson, Brian (November 1976). "KRTH" (Interview: Audio). Interviewed by Jim Pewter. New York City.; Brian Wilson – Jim Pewter Interview 1974 (audio) on YouTube
  13. "CashBox Record Reviews" (PDF). Cash Box. March 9, 1963. p. 48. Retrieved 2022-01-12.
  14. Stebbins, Jon (2011). The Beach Boys FAQ: All That's Left to Know About America's Band. Backbeat Books. ISBN 978-1-4584-2914-8.
  15. CHUM Hit Parade, May 27, 1963
  16. "Beach Boys: Artist Chart History". Official Charts Company. Retrieved January 4, 2021.
  17. "The Beach Boys Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved January 4, 2021.
  18. "Top RPM Singles: Issue 3848a." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved January 4, 2021.
  19. "Italian single certifications – Beach Boys – Surfin' USA" (in Italian). Federazione Industria Musicale Italiana. Retrieved August 10, 2023.
  20. "British single certifications – Beach Boys – Surfin' USA". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved May 15, 2020.
  21. "Leif Garrett - Surfin' USA - swisscharts.com". Archived from the original on 2016-08-28. Retrieved 2017-07-20.
  22. "Top RPM Adult Contemporary: Issue 5411." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved January 4, 2021.
  23. "Top RPM Singles: Issue 5447." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved January 4, 2021.
  24. "Leif Garrett Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved January 4, 2021.
  25. Cash Box Top 100 Singles, , 1977
  26. "Offiziellecharts.de – Leif Garrett – Surfin USA" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts.
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