''Surfin' U.S.A.'' is the second studio album by the American

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wale ...

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 March 25, 1963 on

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 ...

. It reached number 2 in the US during a chart stay of 78 weeks, eventually being certified gold by the

RIAA The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the music recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors that the RIAA says "create, manufacture, and/o ...

, and brought the group newfound national success. It was led by one single, its title track with the B-side " Shut Down". In the UK, the album was released in late 1965 and reached number 17. The majority of the album's recording commenced in the first week of 1963, three months after the release of ''

Surfin' Safari ''Surfin' Safari'' is the debut studio album by the American rock band the Beach Boys, released on October 1, 1962 by Capitol Records. The official production credit went to Nick Venet, though it was Brian Wilson with his father Murry who con ...

''. Like the group's debut album, production was credited ostensibly to Capitol's representative for Artists and Repertoire,

Nick Venet Nick Venet (born Nikolas Kostantinos Venetoulis, December 3, 1936 – January 2, 1998) was an American record producer, who began his career at age 19 with World Pacific Jazz. He is best known for signing The Beach Boys to Capitol Records and p ...

, although bandleader

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 ...

was heavily involved in the album's composition. The album marks the beginning of his practice to doubletrack vocals, resulting in a fuller sound. It is also the band’s only album not to feature any contributions of founding member

Al Jardine Alan Charles Jardine (born September 3, 1942) is an American musician who co-founded the Beach Boys. He is best known as the band's rhythm guitarist, background vocalist, and for occasionally singing lead vocals on singles such as number-one hit ...

Background

In 1990, Brian Wilson reflected on ''Surfin' U.S.A.'' in

liner notes Liner notes (also sleeve notes or album notes) are the writings found on the sleeves of LP record albums and in booklets that come inserted into the compact disc jewel case or cassette j-cards. Origin Liner notes are descended from the prog ...

which accompanied its first CD issue:

Reception

In a retrospective review,

Richie Unterberger Richie Unterberger (born 1962) is an American author and journalist whose focus is popular music and travel writing. Life and writing Unterberger attended the University of Pennsylvania, where he wrote for the university newspaper '' The Daily P ...

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 The British Invasion was a cultural phenomenon of the mid-1960s, when Rock music, rock and pop music acts from the United Kingdom and other aspects of Culture of the United Kingdom, British culture became popular in the United States with sign ...

." Author Luis Sanchez summarized the album's impact on culture and the image it established for the Beach Boys:

Track listing

Notes * Mike Love was not originally credited for any of the tracks on the album. His credits for "Farmer's Daughter", "Noble Surfer", and "Finders Keepers" were awarded after a 1994 court case. * Some later reissues of the album omit "Stoked" and "Surf Jam".

Charts

References

Citations Sources * *

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Surfin' U.S.A. 1963 albums Albums recorded at United Western Recorders Albums recorded at Capitol Studios Albums produced by Nick Venet The Beach Boys albums Capitol Records albums