Louie Louie, Johnny B. Goode, and Wild Thing belong in a list that are staples for any garage band. Wipe Out belongs with them and your 15-year-old nervous singer doesn’t need to sing. It’s a song that everyone has heard and always was a popular one to play live. I also love that manic laughter intro.
The Surfaris were a surf rock band formed in 1962 in Southern California. That was absolutely the perfect time and place for a surf band. This song was not intended to be an A-side. They were recording a song called Surfer Joe and decided they needed to write something for the B side. Ron Wilson’s drumming is often hailed as one of rock’s most famous. It’s one that beginner drummers can actually do with a little work.
The song was written by band members Bob Berryhill, Pat Connolly, Jim Fuller, and Ron Wilson. It was released in 1963 and did very well for a song meant to be a B-side. It peaked at #2 on the Billboard 100, #5 in Canada, and #5 in the UK in 1963.
It’s been covered by 106 different artists per secondhandsongs. One cover was by The Fat Boys featuring The Beach Boys in 1987 and it peaked at #2 in the UK, #2 in New Zealand, and #12 on the Billboard 100 and Canada.
Here is the single…Surfer Joe and the B side…Wipe Out.
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One of my favorites! Very cool Max! 😎
Cool!
They were cool!
Oh, yeah. I think every high school dance featured this. (Also “Hey, Joe”, and “Susie Q”, for my era.)
Me and my bandmates hated this song and our drummer finally refused to play it. Of course every garage band had to know it. Somehow surf music in the middle of Kansas wouldn’t seem right.
Yes…someone would always want to hear it…even in the 80s so we learned it.
(Plenty of sand out in Kansas though Phill- you’ve got half a surfing safari party, at least.🙄)
Yep, strangely enough, I knew a surfer that lived in Kansas.
I grew up listening to Wipe Out, but this is the first time I ever saw the video.
Me as well.
one of the better surfin’ songs, and another case of the b-side outshining the a-side
I had no clue it was a B side either.
I loved this song as a kid and I wouldn’t change the station if it came on today. I can see how this song would inspire a lot of musicians.
It’s one song that can be mastered by young musians…but it’s also fun
Another one by The Surfaris: “Point Panic”
Thank you John! I never heard that before. That is awesome.
I always get this mixed up with Tequila – I had to listen to it to jog my memory.
I can see that happening.
My brother played in a Chicago blues band in the ’60s. Nothing pissed them off like requests for “Wipeout” and “Louie, Louie”.
Yea…I could see a blues band or club would not like it.
Clean sound, that surf rock. Nowadays I hear this and ‘Tequila’ and laugh, thinking about that Drew Carey Show episode featuring ‘the Lewis And Oswald Experience!’
‘Wipe Out’ has that unmistakeable drum intro, but the ‘Surfer Joe’ vocalist sounds about 17 years old at most. I hadn’t seen this cool old black and white video either. Just look at those kids, all just having fun- and nary a Smartphone to be seen.
What? Survive without a smartphone? Say it aint so obbverse.
I love that show and miss it.
Sorry, it IS so. Yep, DCS was crazy fun. I wonder if Drug Co is hiring?🙄
lol..I love that episode….
Ooh, Wild Thing is one of my favorites! Especially Sam Kinnison’s version! Ha!
I love his version and his version of Are You Lonesome Tonight on the Tonight show…it is great!
Oh, I gotta play that! Ha! Kinison was aWEsOMe!
When CB was a kid (a couple weeks ago) he used to go public skating. They would put on “Wipeout” for guy skating only. It was skate at own risk.
Yep…doing an involuntering split….been there done that. we went skating around 10 years ago…I only skated 25 minutes…I couldn’t walk for days.
Face plant city.
Great surf rock instrumental. I’ve always liked it! At first, I wasn’t sure whether I had heard “Surfer Joe” before or not. It did sound somewhat familiar. Then again, most surf songs sound similar. In this case, I think I prefer the instrumental.
You beat me on that one…I never heard that song before…yea the instrumental one is pretty cool! lol
A good song for karaoke night. If you don’t want to sing much.
lol best comment of the day!