Surfer Girl (song)

Infobox Single
Name = Surfer Girl


Artist = The Beach Boys
from Album = Surfer Girl
Released = July 22, 1963
Format = Vinyl
Recorded = June 12, 1963
Genre = Pop music
Length = 2:26
Label = Capitol Records
Producer = Brian Wilson
Chart position = • #7 (US)
Reviews =
Last single = "Surfin' U.S.A"/"Shut Down"
(1963)
This single = "Surfer Girl"/"Little Deuce Coupe"
(1963)
Next single = "Be True to Your School"/"In My Room"
(1963)|

"Surfer Girl" is the title of a song written and sung by Brian Wilson for The Beach Boys. It was released as a single and it then appeared on the 1963 album of the same name, "Surfer Girl". The B-side of the single was Little Deuce Coupe. The single was the first Beach Boys record to have Brian Wilson officially credited as the producer.

Composition

Written solely by Brian Wilson, the song is one of his very first compositions. Although the song is sometimes referred to as a tribute to his then girlfriend Judy Bowles, this is untrue as the song wasn't written with anyone particular in mind. The melody of the song was inspired by "When You Wish upon a Star".

Brian explained the genesis of the song: "Back in 1961, I'd never written a song in my life. I was nineteen 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'."

Recording

The band first recorded the song at World Pacific Studios on February 8, 1962 which was one of the band's first ever recording sessions. However, the recordings from that session, engineered by Hite Morgan, would ultimately remain unreleased until latter archival releases.

The instrumental track as well as the vocals for the officially released version were recorded at Western Recorders on June 12, 1963. The session was produced by Brian; the first song, along with "Little Deuce Coupe", to be credited as a Brian production. The musicians on the track are David Marks and Carl Wilson on guitar; Brian Wilson on bass guitar and Dennis Wilson on drums. The finished instrumental track can be heard on the 1968 release "Stack-O-Tracks". The song is sung by the group - Mike Love, Carl & Dennis Wilson - with a prominent vocal by Brian. Also recorded during that session was "Little Deuce Coupe".

Single release

The "Surfer Girl" single backed with "Little Deuce Coupe" was released under Capitol Records in the United States on July 22, 1963. The single entered the "Billboard" chart on August 3 and it would then hit the Top 40 on August 17 at the number 28 position. After the single had been on the charts for six weeks it peaked at number 7 on September 14, 1963. The single also peaked in the U.S. "Billboard" R & B chart at number 18 in September 1963. In 1969 the World Pacific Studios sessions recording of the song was issued on Era Records as a single with another artist on the B-side, thus seeing the first official release of the early Surfer Girl recording. The single however failed to make any impact on the chart. Years later, in May 2003, the song was released on an EP under Capitol Records along with "Surfin' USA", "Don't Worry Baby" and "The Beach Boys Medley". However the record failed to chart.

In Australia the single peaked at number 8 on the charts in October, 1963 and thus becoming the band's second top 10 hit in Australia.

Album and alternate releases

The song was first released on an album in 1963 on the band's "Surfer Girl" album.

The early World Pacific Studios recordings of the song were eventually released on CD in 1991 on the archival release "Lost & Found (1961-62)" as well as subsequent re-issues of that album which featured alternate album titles. A binaural mix of the song was released on the 1998 compilation "Endless Harmony Soundtrack". This mix featured the instrumental recording on one channel and the vocal recording on the other channel.

Live versions

The first live version of the song to be released was on the band's 1973 live album "The Beach Boys in Concert" which featured Alan Jardine on lead vocal and Billy Hinsche on the falsetto vocal. In 1980, a live rendition was recorded, though not released until 2002 on the ' live album. Footage from the concert was also released on video and DVD format. Another live recording of the song from a concert in 1989 was released on the 2006 album "Songs from Here & Back". There is also a live rehearsal of the song on the '.

The band 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 also 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 "".

Brian Wilson released a live version of the song on his 2000 live album Live at the Roxy Theatre. Al Jardine also released a live version of the song on his "Live In Las Vegas" solo album.

Cover versions

* The Sentinals on their 1964 album "Surfer Girl"
* Hollyridge Strings covered the song instrumentally on their 1966 album "The Beach Boys Song Book, Volume 2"
* The Fantastic Baggys on their 1966 album "Ride The Wild Surf"
* Little Joe Shaver & Devil Dog on their 1976 album "Sing the Hits of the Beach Boys"
* Papa Doo Run Run on their 1985 album "California Project"
* Phranc on her 1991 album "Positively Phranc"
* Cathedral City Project in 1994
* Pere Ubu on the 1995 album Ray Gun Suitcase
* Don Grusin on the 1997 tribute album "Wouldn't It Be Nice: A Jazz Portrait Of Brian Wilson"
* Philip Aaberg & Scott Mathews on the 1997 various artists compilation "Summer Solstice: A Windham Hill Collection"
* Fred Simon on his 1998 album "Fred Simon's Interpretation of The Beach Boys"
* John B. & The Surfin´ Safaris on their 2002 album "A Tribute to the Beach Boys"
* Scott Cain on his 2004 album "Roller Coaster"

Paul Simon sang a cover version of the song at "An All-Star Tribute to Brian Wilson" in 2001, which was later released on DVD.

OC Times caused consternation at the 2007 International convention of the Barbershop Harmony Society by singing a barbershoparrangement of this song.

Charts

See also

*List of songs by The Beach Boys

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