Surfer Girl (song)

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"Surfer Girl"
Single by the Beach Boys
from the album Surfer Girl
B-side"Little Deuce Coupe"
ReleasedJuly 22, 1963[1]
RecordedJune 12, 1963[2]
StudioWestern, Hollywood[2]
GenreSunshine pop[3]
Length2:26
LabelCapitol
Songwriter(s)Brian Wilson
Producer(s)Brian Wilson
The Beach Boys singles chronology
"Surfin' U.S.A"
(1963)
"Surfer Girl"
(1963)
"Be True to Your School"
(1963)
Audio sample

"Surfer Girl" is a song by American rock band the Beach Boys from their 1963 album Surfer Girl. Written and sung by Brian Wilson, it was released as a single, backed with "Little Deuce Coupe", on July 22, 1963. The single was the first Beach Boys record to have Brian Wilson officially credited as the producer.

Background[edit]

Wilson frequently referred to "Surfer Girl" as his first original composition. However, his closest high school friends disputed this, recalling that Wilson had written numerous songs prior to "Surfer Girl".[4] The lyrics were inspired by Judy Bowles, Wilson's first serious girlfriend, whom he had dated for three and a half years.[5] He explained the genesis of the song:

Back in 1961, I'd never written a song in my life. I was 19 years old. And I put myself to the test in my car one day. I was actually driving to a hot dog stand, and I actually created a melody in my head without being able to hear it on a piano. I sang it to myself; I didn't even sing it out loud in the car. When I got home that day, I finished the song, wrote the bridge, put the harmonies together and called it 'Surfer Girl'."[citation needed]

The song was based on a Dion and the Belmonts version of "When You Wish Upon a Star",[5] which has the same AABA form.[6][7] As a solo artist, Wilson later covered it for the tribute album In the Key of Disney (2011), saying, "We're doin' "When You Wish Upon a Star" for the new album. It kinda inspired "Surfer Girl.".[8]

Recording[edit]

The band first recorded the song at World Pacific Studios on February 8, 1962,[9] at an early recording session. However, the recordings from that session, engineered by Hite Morgan, would not be released until 1969.

The song is written in the key of D major, with a key change to E-flat major after the B section.

Single release[edit]

The "Surfer Girl" single backed with "Little Deuce Coupe" was released on Capitol Records in the United States on July 22, 1963.[2] Cash Box described it as "a lilting soft beat-ballad charmer."[10]

Charts[edit]

Chart (1963) Peak
position
Canada (CHUM Chart)[11] 3
New Zealand (Lever Hit Parade)[12] 5
U.S. Billboard Hot 100[13] 7
U.S. Billboard Hot R&B Singles[14] 18

References[edit]

  1. ^ Badman 2004, p. 39.
  2. ^ a b c "Shows and Sessions 1963". bellagio10452.com. Retrieved 20 December 2020.
  3. ^ Breihan, Tom (November 15, 2022). "The Beach Boys - "Good Vibrations". The Number Ones: Twenty Chart-Topping Hits That Reveal the History of Pop Music. New York: Hachette Book Group. pp. 86–87.
  4. ^ Murphy 2015, p. 135.
  5. ^ a b Murphy 2015, pp. 135–136.
  6. ^ Lambert 2007, p. 28.
  7. ^ Covach, John (2005), "Form in Rock Music: A Primer", in Stein, Deborah, Engaging Music: Essays in Music Analysis, New York: Oxford University Press, p.70, ISBN 0-19-517010-5 .
  8. ^ Brian Wilson, in @BrianWilsonLive, February 16, 2011: "We're doin' "When You Wish Upon a Star" for the new album. It kinda inspired "Surfer Girl." - Brian".
  9. ^ "Sessions 1961-62". bellagio10452.com. Retrieved 20 December 2020.
  10. ^ "CashBox Record Reviews" (PDF). Cash Box. July 27, 1963. p. 8. Retrieved 2022-01-12.
  11. ^ "CHUM Hit Parade - September 16, 1963".
  12. ^ Flavour of New Zealand, 17 October 1963
  13. ^ Whitburn, Joel (2013). Joel Whitburn's Top Pop Singles, 14th Edition: 1955-2012. Record Research. p. 65.
  14. ^ Whitburn, Joel (2004). Top R&B/Hip-Hop Singles: 1942-2004. Record Research. p. 49.

Bibliography