Surfin' U.S.A.

Surfin' U.S.A. is the second studio album by American rock band The Beach Boys. It reached number two in the US, lasting 78 weeks on the albums chart, eventually being certified gold by the RIAA, and brought the group newfound national success. It was led by one single, its title track with the B-side "Shut Down". In the United Kingdom, the album was belatedly released in late 1965, reaching number 17.

The majority of the album's recording commenced in the first week of 1963, three months after the release of Surfin' Safari. Like the group's debut album, production was credited ostensibly to Capitol's representative for Artists and Repertoire, Nick Venet, although bandleader Brian Wilson was heavily involved in the album's composition. The album marks the beginning of his practice to doubletrack vocals, resulting in a fuller sound.^[3]

Background

In 1990, Brian Wilson reflected on Surfin' U.S.A. in liner notes which accompanied its first CD issue:

By the time I got to the album, SURFIN’ USA, I was more experienced at producing. The album SURFIN’ SAFARI was practice for me. ... This album showcased our voices. We were just kids, but we were serious about our craft. The point being that when you are given the chance, you do your best. ... I think that I was a good coach for the boys. I didn’t like second-rate vocals. It was either the best or nothin’, in my opinion. The boys picked up. We had a good understanding between us and I was their leader. We got it done relatively fast in the studio. ... On this album, we had gotten into a fast pace: almost athletic in nature. It was because "Surfin’ USA" was such a smash hit on the radio. It was the big time for us. ... Production-wise, this album was an early Brian Wilson production.^[4]

Front cover artwork

The photograph that adorns the front sleeve was taken by artist/photographer/surfer John Severson during January 1960, showing California-based waverider Leslie Williams riding the winter swell at Sunset Beach (Oahu) in Hawaii. Intended for the front cover of Severson's Surfer magazine, the original negative was damaged during the color separation process and couldn't appear in print. When Capitol Records requested a suitable photograph for the new Beach Boys album Severson fixed the damaged image and sold it to them.

Reception

Professional ratings
Retrospective reviews
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	^[1]
Rolling Stone	^[5]

In a retrospective review, Richie Unterberger wrote: "the album as a whole is the best they would make, prior to the late '60s, as a band that played most of their instruments, rather than as a vehicle for Brian Wilson's ideas. The LP was a huge hit, vital to launching surf music as a national craze, and one of the few truly strong records to be recorded by a self-contained American rock band prior to the British Invasion."^[1] Author Luis Sanchez summarized the album's impact on culture and the image it established for the Beach Boys:

If Surfin' U.S.A. didn't literally transform America into an endless beach, it added vivid dimension to California mythos and took it further than anyone would have thought. You could call The Beach Boys’ version of Southern California cutesy or callow or whatever, but what matters is that it captured a lack of self-consciousness—a genuineness—that set them apart from their peers. And it was this quality that came to define Brian’s oeuvre as he moved beyond and into bigger pop productions that would culminate in Smile.^[6]

Track listing

Side one
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Lead Vocals	Length
1.	"Surfin' U.S.A."	Brian Wilson/Chuck Berry	Mike Love	2:27
2.	"Farmer's Daughter"	B. Wilson/Love	B. Wilson	1:49
3.	"Misirlou"	Nick Roubanis/Fred Wise/Milton Leeds/Bob Russell	Instrumental	2:03
4.	"Stoked"	B. Wilson	Instrumental	1:59
5.	"Lonely Sea"	B. Wilson/Gary Usher	B. Wilson	2:21
6.	"Shut Down"	B. Wilson/Roger Christian	Love	1:49

Side two
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Lead Vocals	Length
1.	"Noble Surfer"	B. Wilson/Love	Love	1:51
2.	"Honky Tonk"	Bill Doggett/Shep Sheperd/Clifford Scott/Billy Butler	Instrumental	2:01
3.	"Lana"	B. Wilson	B. Wilson	1:39
4.	"Surf Jam"	Carl Wilson	Instrumental	2:10
5.	"Let's Go Trippin'"	Dick Dale	Instrumental	1:57
6.	"Finders Keepers"	B. Wilson/Love	Love	1:38

2001 CD reissue bonus tracks
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Lead Vocals	Length
13.	"Cindy, Oh Cindy"	Robert Barron/Burt Long	B. Wilson	2:10
14.	"The Baker Man"	B. Wilson	Love	2:37
15.	"Land Ahoy"	B. Wilson	Love	1:38

Sales chart positions

Albums

Year	Chart	Position
1963	US Billboard 200 Albums Chart	2^[7]
1965	UK Top 40 Album Chart	17^[8]

Singles

Year	Single	Chart	Position
1963	"Surfin' U.S.A."	US Billboard Hot 100 Singles Chart	3
1963	"Shut Down"	US Billboard Hot 100 Singles Chart	23

Personnel

The Beach Boys

Brian Wilson – lead, harmony and backing vocals; bass guitar; keyboard, celeste; glockenspiel
Mike Love – lead, harmony and backing vocals; saxophone
David Marks – rhythm guitar
Carl Wilson – harmony and backing vocals; lead guitar
Dennis Wilson – harmony and backing vocals; drums

References

1 2 3 Allmusic review
↑ "Surfin' U.S.A. album review". the Beach Boys.com. Retrieved 2013-06-23.
↑ Trynka & Bacon 1996, p. 126.
↑ Leaf, David (1990). Surfin Safari / Surfin U.S.A. (CD Liner). The Beach Boys. Capitol Records.
↑ Rolling Stone Album Guide, 1992
↑ Sanchez 2014, p. 32.
↑ "Surfin' U.S.A. - The Beach Boys: Awards". AllMusic.
↑ "UK Top 40 Hit Database". EveryHit.

Sources

Sanchez, Luis (2014). The Beach Boys' Smile. Bloomsbury Publishing. ISBN 978-1-62356-956-3.
Trynka, Paul; Bacon, Tony, eds. (1996). Rock Hardware. Hal Leonard Corporation. ISBN 9780879304287.

Surfin' U.S.A.

Songs

Side one	Surfin' U.S.A. Farmer's Daughter Misirlou Stoked Lonely Sea Shut Down

Side two	Noble Surfer Honky Tonk Lana Surf Jam Let's Go Trippin' Finders Keepers

The Beach Boys

Studio albums

Live albums

Compilations

Hits	Best of the Beach Boys Vol. 1, 2, 3 Endless Summer Spirit of America Good Vibrations – Best of The Beach Boys 20 Golden Greats Ten Years of Harmony Sunshine Dream Made in U.S.A. Greatest Hits Vol. 1, 2, 3 The Very Best of The Beach Boys Sounds of Summer The Platinum Collection (Sounds of Summer Edition) The Warmth of the Sun Fifty Big Ones

Themed	Stack-O-Tracks Ultimate Christmas Classics Selected by Brian Wilson Good Vibrations: 40th Anniversary Edition Summer Love Songs

Rarities	Rarities Lost & Found (1961–62) Endless Harmony Hawthorne, CA The Big Beat 1963 Keep an Eye on Summer 1964 Beach Boys' Party! Uncovered and Unplugged

Box sets	Good Vibrations: Thirty Years of The Beach Boys The Pet Sounds Sessions The Capitol Years The Original US Singles Collection The Capitol Years 1962–1965 The Smile Sessions Made in California

Documentary films

Good Vibrations Tour (1976)
An American Band (1985)
Nashville Sounds (1996)
Endless Harmony: The Beach Boys Story (1998)
Good Timin': Live at Knebworth England 1980 (2002)
Doin' It Again (2012)

Associated places

Influence

History
Lists

Other media

Albums	Brian Wilson Presents Smile Four by the Beach Boys Looking Back with Love Pacific Ocean Blue Pet Sounds Live Spring

Film Television	An American Family Beautiful Dreamer The Girls on the Beach Love & Mercy soundtrack The Monkey's Uncle

Print	Good Vibrations: My Life as a Beach Boy "Goodbye Surfing, Hello God!" I Am Brian Wilson: A Memoir Wouldn't It Be Nice: My Own Story

Unreleased	Smile Lei'd in Hawaii Bedroom Tapes Adult/Child Merry Christmas from the Beach Boys Andy Paley sessions

Book
Category
Portal

People associated with The Beach Boys

Personnel	Alan Boyd Chuck Britz Stephen Desper Larry Levine Steve Levine Mark Linett Earle Mankey Bob Norberg Joe Thomas Nick Venet

Businessmen	David Anderle James William Guercio Jack Rieley Murry Wilson

Bands	American Spring Bob & Sheri Bruce & Terry California Music Captain & Tennille Celebration Chicago The Flames The Honeys The Wrecking Crew

Musicians/ songwriters	Tandyn Almer Ron Altbach Tony Asher Roger Christian Jan and Dean Daryl Dragon Danny Hutton Gregg Jakobson Stephen Kalinich Charles Manson Terry Melcher Andy Paley Van Dyke Parks John Phillips Dick Reynolds Toni Tennille Gary Usher Don Was

Touring members	Adrian Baker Phil Bardowell Gerry Beckley Nelson Bragg Glen Campbell Richie Cannata John Cowsill Daryl Dragon Jeffrey Foskett Probyn Gregory Billy Hinsche Matt Jardine Mike Kowalski Randell Kirsch Mike Meros Carli Muñoz Joe Pollard Darian Sahanaja Toni Tennille Scott Totten

Writers	Peter Ames Carlin David Leaf Byron Preiss Domenic Priore Jules Siegel Jon Stebbins Derek Taylor Michael Vosse Timothy White Paul Williams

Other	Eugene Landy Melinda Ledbetter Stan Love Christine McVie Rocky Pamplin John Stamos Paul Tanner Carnie Wilson Marilyn Wilson-Rutherford Wendy Wilson Maharishi Mahesh Yogi

The Beach Boys singles discography

1960s

1961	"Surfin'" / "Luau"

1962	"Surfin' Safari" / "409" "Ten Little Indians" / "County Fair"

1963	"Surfin' U.S.A." / "Shut Down" "Surfer Girl" / "Little Deuce Coupe" "Be True to Your School" / "In My Room" "Little Saint Nick" / "The Lord's Prayer"

1964	"Fun, Fun, Fun" / "Why Do Fools Fall in Love" "I Get Around" / "Don't Worry Baby" "When I Grow Up (To Be a Man)" / "She Knows Me Too Well" "Dance, Dance, Dance" / "The Warmth of the Sun" "The Man with All the Toys" / "Blue Christmas"

1965	"Do You Want to Dance" / "Please Let Me Wonder" "Help Me, Rhonda" / "Kiss Me, Baby" "California Girls"/ "Let Him Run Wild" "The Little Girl I Once Knew" / "There's No Other (Like My Baby)" "Barbara Ann" / "Girl Don't Tell Me"

1966	"Sloop John B" / "You're So Good to Me" "Wouldn't It Be Nice" / "God Only Knows" "Good Vibrations" / "Let's Go Away for Awhile"

1967	"Then I Kissed Her" / "Mountain of Love" "Heroes and Villains" / "You're Welcome" "Wild Honey" / "Wind Chimes" "Darlin'" / "Here Today"

1968	"Friends" / "Little Bird" "Do It Again" / "Wake the World" "Bluebirds over the Mountain" / "Never Learn Not to Love"

1969	"I Can Hear Music" / "All I Want to Do" "Break Away" / "Celebrate the News"

1970s

1970	"Add Some Music to Your Day" / "Susie Cincinnati" "Cottonfields" / "The Nearest Faraway Place" "Slip On Through" / "This Whole World" "Tears in the Morning" / "It's About Time"

1971	"Cool, Cool Water" / "Forever" "Wouldn't It Be Nice" (live) / "The Times They Are a-Changin'" (by Merry Clayton) "Long Promised Road" / "Deirdre" "Long Promised Road" / "'Til I Die" "Surf's Up" / "Don't Go Near the Water"

1972	"You Need a Mess of Help to Stand Alone" / "Cuddle Up" "Marcella" / "Hold On Dear Brother"

1973	"Sail On, Sailor" / "Only with You" "California Saga: California" / "Funky Pretty"

1974	"Surfin' U.S.A." / "The Warmth of the Sun" "Child of Winter (Christmas Song)" / "Susie Cincinnati"

1975	"Sail On, Sailor" / "Only with You"

1976	"Rock and Roll Music" / "T M Song" "It's O.K." / "Had to Phone Ya" "Everyone's in Love with You" / "Susie Cincinnati"

1977	"Honkin' Down the Highway" / "Solar System"

1978	"Peggy Sue" / "Hey Little Tomboy"

1979	"Here Comes the Night" / "Baby Blue" "Good Timin'" / "Love Surrounds Me" "Lady Lynda" / "Full Sail" "It's a Beautiful Day" / "Sumahama"

1980s

1980	"Goin' On" / "Endless Harmony" "Livin' with a Heartache" / "Santa Ana Winds"

1981	"The Beach Boys Medley" / "God Only Knows" "Come Go with Me" / "Don't Go Near the Water"

1985	"Getcha Back" / "Male Ego" "It's Gettin' Late" / "It's O.K." "She Believes in Love Again" / "It's Just a Matter of Time"

1986	"Rock 'n' Roll to the Rescue" / "Good Vibrations" (live) "California Dreamin'" / "Lady Liberty"

1987	"Happy Endings" (with Little Richard) / "California Girls" (live)

1988	"Kokomo" / "Tutti Frutti" (Little Richard)

1989	"Still Cruisin'" / "Kokomo"

1990s

1990	"Somewhere Near Japan" / "Kokomo" "Problem Child" / "Problem Child (Instrumental)"

1992	"Hot Fun in the Summertime" / "Summer of Love"

1996	"I Just Wasn't Made for These Times" / "Wouldn't It Be Nice" / "Here Today"

2010s

2011	"Good Vibrations" / "Heroes and Villains" "Don't Fight the Sea" / "Friends" "Cabinessence" / "Wonderful"

2012	"That's Why God Made the Radio" / "That's Why God Made the Radio" (instrumental) "Isn't It Time" / Live in Chicago

Book
Category

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