May Birthdays 
The Wall Street Journal
MUSIC
NOVEMBER 17, 2011
Fifty-Year-Old Boys
By JIM FUSILLI
This month marks the 50th anniversary of the Beach Boys' first single. From left, Brian Wilson, Mike Love, Dennis Wilson, Carl Wilson and David Marks.
Fifty years ago this month, the Beach Boys released their first single, "Surfin'," ushering in a brief surf-pop craze and announcing the arrival of what would soon become a significant contributor to American music. The only serious challenger to the Beatles as the best rock group of their time, the Beach Boys produced a stream of increasingly sophisticated radio hits as well as "Pet Sounds," in my view the best album of the rock era. Though some of the quintet's early hits sound quaint now, its midperiod music, composed and arranged by Brian Wilson, still holds up. Mr. Wilson remains as much an influence on rock and pop today as he was during the band's glory years of 1963-67.
"Surfin'" wasn't the song the Beach Boys—Brian, Carl and Dennis Wilson, their cousin Mike Love and Al Jardine (who was soon replaced by David Marks; Mr. Jardine returned shortly thereafter)—intended as its debut.
The oldest of the Wilson brothers, Brian was the group's musical leader. He had a gift for arranging vocals, and earlier that year had arranged a version of the Four Freshmen's hit "Their Hearts Were Full of Spring" that the quintet wanted to record. Mr. Jardine said he and the group sang the song for his mother, Virginia, to impress her so she'd fund a recording session.
"It was just beautiful," Mr. Jardine recalled over breakfast here last month. "We were a serious group. We wanted to let her know we were sharp."
But when they sang it for producers Hite and Dorinda Morgan at the couple's office in Hollywood, the Morgans passed. As the group was about to leave, Dennis Wilson mentioned they had a song called "Surfin.'" But Brian and Mr. Love hadn't finished writing it.
According to Beach Boys legend, when Murry and Audree Wilson left for a brief vacation to Mexico City that summer, they left money for their three sons to use for food. Instead, the boys rented instruments to write and learn to play "Surfin'."
As Mr. Love developed the lyric, Mr. Wilson did the vocal arrangements. The band members' varied musical tastes helped shape the song, which, as simple as it is, incorporates elements of rock 'n' roll, doo-wop and then-contemporary vocal music into a unique blend. "We liked folk music," recalled Mr. Love when we spoke by phone. "But we weren't into it as much as we were into doo-wop, R&B and rock 'n' roll."
When the group played the song for the Morgans, Mr. Morgan liked the tune and signed Mr. Love and Brian Wilson to a songwriting contract. On Oct. 3, 1961, Mr. Morgan brought the group into the studio to cut "Surfin'." Mr. Love sang lead and added a doo-wop vocal riff; Mr. Jardine played a rented upright bass; Carl Wilson, then 15 years old, played guitar; and Brian Wilson played a snare drum. After a dozen takes, Mr. Morgan was satisfied.
"It was really fun. Not typical music," Mr. Jardine said. "It's about what's happening around us."
The track was released in mid-November 1961. To the band's surprise, the group was listed as the Beach Boys, not as the Pendletones, the name the members preferred. A promotion rep at their label, Candix Records, came up with the idea; Murry Wilson, who had appointed himself the band's manager, went along with the decision.
"Murry was brutal—abusive emotionally and sometimes physically. He wasn't an easy guy to live with," Mr. Love said. "But he was a born salesman."
When the band learned it would be one of the choices for a KFWB on-air contest, the Wilsons and Loves recruited family and friends to call in and vote for "Surfin'."
Brian Wilson recalled the DJ's preamble: "He said, 'We're going to play you five songs. One will be the pick of the week.' We said, 'Let's call in and disguise our voices.'" Replaying the moment 50 years later at his Beverly Hills home, Mr. Wilson raised his hand as if placing a phone handset by his ear, dropped his voice and intoned, "'Surfin'' by the Beach Boys." Then, summoning what was once the most famous falsetto in rock, squeaked, "'Surfin'' by the Beach Boys." Smiling with pride, he said: "It got pick of the week. We couldn't believe it." He added, "I knew it was going to be a hit."
"Surfin'" scored in Southern California and Las Vegas. For some reason, it found a big audience in Minneapolis too. Mr. Love recalled: "Nationally, it was hit or miss."
"There was a certitude about the way we went about it," Mr. Jardine said. "We knew it was good. We had a lot of experience listening to music."
Brian Wilson, however, wasn't satisfied with the sound of the recording. And thus one of rock's great producers was born.
"Brian took to production and arranging like a duck to water," Mr. Love said. "The studio quickly became his domain."
"Surfin'" introduced the Beach Boys' distinctive sound. "It's there," Mr. Wilson said of the voices. "Mike on the bass; Carl, Dennis and Al in the middle; I was on top. That's our signature sound.
"It was our initial break," he added. "Sure, I'm proud of it. Absolutely."
Mr. Fusilli is the Journal's rock and pop music critic. Email him at jfusilli@wsj.com or follow him on Twitter: @wsjrock
—Ivan
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