Surfer Girl

For the Beach Boys song, see Surfer Girl (song).

Surfer Girl
Studio album by The Beach Boys
Released	September 16, 1963
Recorded	May 9, June 12, July 16 and unknown July dates, 1963
Genre	Surf rock
Length	25:30
Label	Capitol
Producer	Brian Wilson
The Beach Boys chronology
Surfin' USA (1963) Surfer Girl (1963) Little Deuce Coupe (1963)

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Allmusic

Surfer Girl is the third studio album by The Beach Boys and their second longplayer in 1963. This was the first album by The Beach Boys for which Brian Wilson was given full production credit, a position Wilson would maintain until the end of the The Smile Sessions in 1967. Surfer Girl is also the title of an unrelated 1973 compilation album released by US budget label Pickwick Records, repackaging early 1960s Beach Boys tracks.

Surfer Girl hit #7 in the US during a chart stay of 56 weeks. In the UK, the album was re-released in spring 1967 and reached #13. Surfer Girl (Capitol (S) T 1981) is now paired on CD with Shut Down Volume 2, with bonus tracks from that period, including a German language version of "In my Room". The albums are paired out of sequence to avoid the duplication of "Little Deuce Coupe", "Our Car Club", "Shut Down" and "409" that appear on Little Deuce Coupe.

Album details

Brian Wilson himself turns in, along with, variously, Mike Love, Gary Usher and Roger Christian's help, some of his most cherished songs. The title track, a #7 US hit, was the first song Brian had ever composed, at the age of 19, using "When You Wish Upon A Star" as a guide while writing it. As a ballad, it was a risky move for a single, but its obvious quality overcame any potential commercial risks. Its flip-side, "Little Deuce Coupe", proved to be The Beach Boys' most successful B-side, reaching US #15 and becoming a hot rod staple. It also continued the band's current trend of putting a surf-related song on the A-side of singles, and car songs on the B-side. "Catch a Wave" featured Mike Love's sister, Maureen, on harp, while "The Surfer Moon" was the first Beach Boys song to have a string arrangement. "In My Room" was perhaps Brian Wilson's first personal song, a reflection on having a place to go to feel a sense of security and safety from the stress of one's life. Despite some slight material ("South Bay Surfer", "Boogie Woodie"), it was clear that Surfer Girl was a giant step forward for The Beach Boys - and the first of many.

"South Bay Surfer" is co-credited to Al Jardine, who had recently rejoined The Beach Boys in the summer of 1963.

The instrumental track for "The Surfer Moon" (Brian's first known use of strings) was recorded (as "The Summer Moon") in early May for an extra-BB act he was recording, Bob & Vikki, but this version was never released, although an acetate exists. Bob was Bob Norberg, Brian's room mate in 1962.

The recording date of July 16th assigned the titles not previously released as a single is not so much questionable as almost certainly impossible. There is documentary proof (a tape box label) that "Surfers Rule", "South Bay Surfer" and "Boogie Woodie" were indeed recorded on that date at Western, and it's noticeable that whilst Mike Love's lead vocals for "Hawaii" and "Catch A Wave" are hampered by a heavy cold, his other leads on the album are fine. Further, Alan Jardine is known to have played or sung on four tracks - bass on "Boogie Woodie", "Surfer's Rule" & "Catch A Wave" and vocals on "In My Room" - but not the others, while Hal Blaine contributed to "Our Car Club" (originally recorded for The Honeys as "Rabbit's Foot") and "Hawaii". Thus there must have been at least four sessions for the album tracks, but as the AFM documentation is missing, confirmation is lacking

Coming after their breakthrough Surfin' USA album, Surfer Girl hit #7 in the US (where it went gold) and, later in 1967, #13 in the UK.

Front cover artwork

The front cover of Surfer Girl features (from left to right), Dennis Wilson, David Marks, Carl Wilson, Mike Love and Brian Wilson holding a surfboard from the same 1962 photo shoot that produced the cover of their album debut Surfin' Safari. The picture was taken by Capitol photographer Kenneth Veeder at Paradise Cove, north of Malibu.

Track listing

Side one
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Lead Vocals	Length
1.	"Surfer Girl"	Brian Wilson	Brian Wilson	2:26
2.	"Catch a Wave"	B. Wilson/Mike Love	Mike Love/B. Wilson	2:07
3.	"The Surfer Moon"	B. Wilson	B. Wilson	2:11
4.	"South Bay Surfer"	B. Wilson/Carl Wilson/Al Jardine	Love/B. Wilson	1:45
5.	"The Rocking Surfer"	trad. arr. B. Wilson	instrumental	2:00
6.	"Little Deuce Coupe"	B. Wilson/Roger Christian	Love	1:38

Side two
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Lead Vocals	Length
1.	"In My Room"	B. Wilson/Gary Usher	B. Wilson	2:11
2.	"Hawaii"	B. Wilson/Love	Love/B. Wilson	1:59
3.	"Surfer's Rule"	B. Wilson/Love	Dennis Wilson/B. Wilson	1:54
4.	"Our Car Club"	B. Wilson/Love	Love/B. Wilson	2:22
5.	"Your Summer Dream"	B. Wilson/Bob Norberg	B. Wilson	2:27
6.	"Boogie Woodie"	trad. arr. B. Wilson	instrumental	1:56

Singles

• "Surfer Girl" b/w "Little Deuce Coupe" (Capitol 5009), 22 July 1963 US #7 ("Little Deuce Coupe" US #15).
• "In My Room" featured as the B-side of "Be True to Your School" US #23

Musicians

The Beach Boys

• Al Jardine - bass guitar, vocals (on "Boogie Woodie", "Surfer's Rule", "Catch A Wave" and "In My Room")
• Mike Love - vocals
• David Marks - rhythm guitar, vocals
• Brian Wilson - piano, organ, bass guitar, vocals
• Carl Wilson - lead guitar, vocals
• Dennis Wilson - drums, vocals (on "Surfer's Rule")

others

• Hal Blaine - drums, percussion (on "Hawaii" & "Our Car Club")
• Steve Douglas - saxes (on "Our Car Club")
• Maureen Love - harp (on "In My Room" & "Catch A Wave")

References

• Surfer Girl / Shut Down Volume 2 CD booklet notes, David Leaf, c.1990.
• The Nearest Faraway Place: Brian Wilson, The Beach Boys and the Southern California Experience, Timothy White, c. 1994.
• Wouldn't It Be Nice - My Own Story, Brian Wilson and Todd Gold, c. 1991.
• Top Pop Singles 1955-2001, Joel Whitburn, c. 2002.
• Top Pop Albums 1955-2001, Joel Whitburn, c. 2002.
• Allmusic.com