Surfin' Safari
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''Surfin' Safari'' is the debut studio album by the American rock band
the Beach Boys The Beach Boys are an American Rock music, rock band formed in Hawthorne, California, in 1961. The group's original lineup consisted of brothers Brian Wilson, Brian, Dennis Wilson, Dennis, and Carl Wilson, their cousin Mike Love, and their f ...
, released on October 1, 1962 by
Capitol Records Capitol Records, LLC (known legally as Capitol Records, Inc. until 2007), and simply known as Capitol, is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group through its Capitol Music Group imprint. It was founded as the first West Coast-base ...
. The official production credit went to Nick Venet, though it was
Brian Wilson Brian Douglas Wilson (June 20, 1942 – June 11, 2025) was an American musician, songwriter, singer and record producer who co-founded the Beach Boys. Often Brian Wilson is a genius, called a genius for his novel approaches to pop compositio ...
with his father Murry who contributed substantially to the album's production; Brian also wrote or co-wrote nine of its 12 tracks. The album reached number 32 in the US during a chart stay of 37 weeks. The album was preceded by two singles: " Surfin" and " Surfin' Safari", which charted at numbers 75 and 14, respectively. The success of "Surfin' Safari" helped secure a full album for the group while an additional single, "
Ten Little Indians "Ten Little Indians" is an American children's Counting-out game, counting out rhyme. It has a Roud Folk Song Index number of 12976. In 1868, songwriter Septimus Winner adapted it as a song, then calledTen Little Injuns, for a minstrel show. Lyr ...
," was issued, charting at number 49.


Background


Production

Recording sessions for ''Surfin' Safari'' took place in Capitol's basement studios in the famous tower building in August. During the sessions, Brian Wilson fought for, and won, the right to helm the production – though this fact was not acknowledged with an album liner notes production credit. David Marks remembered, "Brian did everything. Played, did the arrangements, screwed up the lead sheets himself. He didn't need any help to do that. You listen to those first albums and they sound campy and corny but Brian was dead serious."


Songs


Side one

"County Fair" was inspired by Gary Usher and Brian Wilson visiting a
county fair An agricultural show is a public event exhibiting the equipment, animals, sports and recreation associated with agriculture and animal husbandry. The largest comprise a livestock show (a judged event or display in which breeding stock is exhib ...
in San Bernardino. The song was written in about ten minutes. "Ten Little Indians" saw the group trying to emulate the style of the song " Running Bear". "Little Miss America" features a
doo-wop Doo-wop (also spelled doowop and doo wop) is a subgenre of rhythm and blues music that originated in African-American communities during the 1940s, mainly in the large cities of the United States, including New York, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, ...
style, and according to biographer
David Leaf David Leaf (born April 20, 1952) is an American writer, director, and producer who is best known for his associations with Brian Wilson and the Beach Boys since the late 1970s. Leaf's 1978 biography, '' The Beach Boys and the California Myth'', ...
, is about "the ideal southern California dream girl". In "Chug-a-Lug", written by Brian and Usher, the lyrics refer to Usher, Marks, Carl, and Dennis, as well as a Larry. The latter was possibly Larry Lennear, a saxophonist who played and recorded with Brian at the time. "409" was written about Usher's obsession over hot-rods. The car sound effects were recorded by Usher driving his car past the home of the Wilsons, who had set up a tape recorder outside using a 100-foot extension cord.


Side two

Brian stated that the song " Surfin" was composed after Dennis told him "surfing’s getting really big. You guys ought to write a song about it." "Heads You Win, Tails I Lose" was written because of Usher and Brian Wilson's frequent use of coin flipping to decide things. The group wanted to make contemporary expressions into songs. The instrumental "Moon Dawg", originally performed by the Gamblers, was considered the first surf record. The Beach Boys became the first group to cover the song, exposing it to a much wider audience. "The Shift" was presented as a "
fashion Fashion is a term used interchangeably to describe the creation of clothing, footwear, Fashion accessory, accessories, cosmetics, and jewellery of different cultural aesthetics and their mix and match into Clothing, outfits that depict distinct ...
statement" from Brian and Love.


Release and reception

The album was released through Capitol on October 1, 1962, and peaked at number 32. Lead single, " Surfin", was later credited with creating the genre of California Sound, a music aesthetic primarily revolving around surfing, hot rod culture, and youthful innocence. "409" was similarly credited with starting the hot rod music craze of the 1960s, According to Usher, Capitol chose "Ten Little Indians" as the second single due to thinking that surf music was a
fad A fad, trend, or craze is any form of collective behavior that develops within a culture, a generation, or social group in which a group of people enthusiastically follow an impulse for a short time period. Fads are objects or behaviors tha ...
. Richie Unterberger, in a retrospective review for AllMusic, felt that most of the songs on ''Surfin' Safari'' are substandard, but that as the album was recorded by the Beach Boys themselves rather than session musicians, it offered an opportunity to hear what the band sounded like in the studio. Allmusic review


Track listing

Notes * Mike Love was not originally credited for " Chug-A-Lug" and " 409". His credits were awarded after a 1994 court case. * Some reissue pressings omit "Surfin" and "Cuckoo Clock", and move "Chug-A-Lug" to the beginning of side two.


Personnel

Partial credits compiled from the original album liner notes plus additional information from David Leaf, Jon Stebbins, and James Murphy. The Beach Boys *
Brian Wilson Brian Douglas Wilson (June 20, 1942 – June 11, 2025) was an American musician, songwriter, singer and record producer who co-founded the Beach Boys. Often Brian Wilson is a genius, called a genius for his novel approaches to pop compositio ...
– vocals;
electric bass The bass guitar (), also known as the electric bass guitar, electric bass, or simply the bass, is the lowest-pitched member of the guitar family. It is similar in appearance and construction to an electric but with a longer neck and scale leng ...
(except "Surfin"), organ on “Cuckoo Clock”,Doe, Andrew G. & Tobler, John: "Brian Wilson and The Beach Boys: The Complete Guide to their Music", page 10. Omnibus Press, 2004.
snare drum The snare drum (or side drum) is a percussion instrument that produces a sharp staccato sound when the head is struck with a drum stick, due to the use of a series of stiff wires held under tension against the lower skin. Snare drums are often u ...
tapped with pencil on "Surfin'", additional production (uncredited) *
Mike Love Michael Edward Love (born March 15, 1941) is an American singer and songwriter who is one of the vocalists of the Beach Boys, of which he was an original member alongside his cousins Brian Wilson, Dennis Wilson, and Carl Wilson and their frien ...
– vocals;
saxophone The saxophone (often referred to colloquially as the sax) is a type of single-reed woodwind instrument with a conical body, usually made of brass. As with all single-reed instruments, sound is produced when a reed on a mouthpiece vibrates to p ...
on "Ten Little Indians" * Al Jardine – vocals and
double bass The double bass (), also known as the upright bass, the acoustic bass, the bull fiddle, or simply the bass, is the largest and lowest-pitched string instrument, chordophone in the modern orchestra, symphony orchestra (excluding rare additions ...
on "Surfin" *
Carl Wilson Carl Dean Wilson (December 21, 1946 – February 6, 1998) was an American musician, singer, and songwriter who co-founded the Beach Boys. He was their lead guitarist, the youngest sibling of bandmates Brian Wilson, Brian and Dennis Wilson, ...
– vocals; electric lead guitar (except "Surfin'"), acoustic guitar on "Surfin" * Dennis Wilson – vocals; drums (except "Surfin") *
David Marks David Lee Marks (born August 22, 1948) is an American guitarist who was an early member of the Beach Boys. While growing up in Hawthorne, California, Marks was a neighborhood friend of the original band members and was a frequent participant at t ...
– vocals and rhythm guitar (except "Surfin") ;Additional musicians and production staff *
Gary Usher Gary Lee Usher (December 14, 1938 – May 25, 1990) was an American rock musician, songwriter, and record producer, who worked with numerous California acts in the 1960s, including the Byrds, the Beach Boys, and Dick Dale. Usher also produced fic ...
– car sound effects on "409" * Nick Venet – producer *
Murry Wilson Murry Gage Wilson (July 2, 1917 – June 4, 1973) was an American songwriter, talent manager, record producer, and music publisher, best known as the father of the Beach Boys' Brian Wilson, Brian, Dennis Wilson, Dennis, and Carl Wilson. Af ...
– additional production (uncredited)


Charts


References


External links

* * {{Authority control The Beach Boys albums 1962 debut albums Capitol Records albums Albums produced by Nick Venet Albums recorded at Capitol Studios