Tag: Carl Wilson

Beach Boys – Do It Again

I remember hearing this song long in the late seventies for the first time. The intro drum sound is interesting. Their engineer at the time, Stephen Desper, came up with the drum effect heard at the beginning of the track. Desper created it by blending the original sound with that of one drum strike being repeated four times.

This song was released in 1968. By this time their popularity in America was falling since releasing Pet Sounds…which makes no sense considering the legendary status that album has. Brian Wilson and Mike Love wrote this song and went back to the surfing image with this one. The song peaked at #20 on the Billboard 100, #1 in the UK (where they remained very popular), and #10 in Canada.

This was a single release…released only two weeks after their album Friends. This was their second UK number one…the first one was Good Vibrations. Brian Wilson named “Do It Again” as one of his favorite Beach Boys original songs, offering insight into his creative process with Mike Love. He did say it was his favorite song that he co-wrote with Mike Love. Since its Spotify debut, this track has earned over 10 million plays!

Carl Wilson: Yes, I suppose it has got the old Beach Boys surfing sound. It’s back to that surfing idea with the voice harmony and the simple, direct melody and lyrics. We didn’t plan the record as a return to the surf or anything. We just did it one day round a piano in the studio. Brian had the idea and played it over to us. We improved on that and recorded it very quickly, in about five minutes. It’s certainly not an old track of ours; in fact it was recorded only a few weeks before it was released. We liked how it turned out and decided to release it.

Mike Love: “I went to the beach with my friends and we went to the surfing spot down at a place called San Onofre, down near the Marine Corps base down south. And it was such a beautiful day and the waves were great. And then of course one of the great things about the beach is it attracts good looking girls. [Laughing].”

I’ve never been a fan of Mike Love. He kicked Brian Wilson out of the band at one time and is not known as a nice guy. Here is a short clip of Brian Wilson talking about Mike Love.

Do It Again

It’s automatic when I
Talk with old friends
The conversation turns to
Girls we knew when
Their hair was soft and long
And the beach was the place to go

Suntanned bodies and
Waves of sunshine
The California girls and a
Beautiful coastline
Warmed up weather
Let’s get together and do it again

With a girl the lonely sea looks good
Makes your night times warm and out of sight

Been so long, long, long, long
Been, been, been, been, been
Been, been, been, been, been

Been so long

Hey now, hey now, hey now, hey now, hey now
Hey now, hey now, hey now, hey now, hey now
Hey now, hey now

Well I’ve been thinking ’bout
All the places we’ve surfed and danced and
All the faces we’ve missed so let’s get
Back together and do it again

Beach Boys – Surfin’ U.S.A.

This is one of the first Beach Boy songs I heard and could connect to them. This is a song that the Beach Boys did in tribute to Chuck Berry except they forgot one small thing…they didn’t tell Chuck. He was in jail at the time of this song. When Berry threatened to sue, The Beach Boys agreed to give him a huge sum of the royalties and list him as the song’s composer along with Brian Wilson. Mike Love has claimed he wrote some of it also but never got credited.

The song also helped build Berry’s legend while he served his time. Surfin’ USA was based on Sweet Little Sixteen. Carl Wilson came up with the guitar intro, which is reminiscent of Duane Eddy’s “Moving and Grooving.”

One of the many Beach Boy songs about surfing. The only member of the band who actually surfed was drummer Dennis Wilson. The surfing culture gave them an opportunity to write songs about adventure and fun while exploring vocal harmonies and new production techniques. And while the majority of Americans didn’t surf, the songs represented California at the time.

This was the follow-up to their first hit “Surfin’ Safari.” Brian Wilson was gaining confidence as a producer, and this song marks the emergence of what would become the Beach Boys’ signature sound over the next few years.

The song peaked at #14 on the Billboard 100 in 1962. The B-side 409 peaked at #76 the same year.

Carl Wilson: “On ‘Surfin’ U.S.A.,’ Brian wanted an opening lick and I just did this Duane Eddy riff. I was worried that it had been on another record, but what the hell. That was the first time we were aware we could make a really powerful record. For the first time, we thought the group sounded good enough to be played with anything on the radio.”

Guitarist David Marks played guitar on the Beach Boys first five albums: “The energy on the Surfin’ USA session was very upbeat and happy. That’s where that chemistry thing kicks in again… there was a certain energy on that track that was a one-of-a-kind happening. It wasn’t perfect in a technical sense, but the vibe was something special that had a lasting effect.”

Surin’ USA

If everybody had an ocean
Across the U.S.A.
Then everybody’d be surfin’
Like California
You’d seem ’em wearing their baggies
Huarachi sandals too
A bushy bushy blond hairdo
Surfin’ U.S.A.

You’d catch ’em surfin’ at Del Mar
Ventura County line
Santa Cruz and Trestle
Australia’s Narabine
All over Manhattan
And down Doheny Way

Everybody’s gone surfin’
Surfin’ U.S.A.

We’ll all be planning that route
We’re gonna take real soon
We’re waxing down our surfboards
We can’t wait for June
We’ll all be gone for the summer
We’re on surfari to stay
Tell the teacher we’re surfin’
Surfin’ U.S.A.

Haggerties and Swamies
Pacific Palisades
San Anofree and Sunset
Redondo Beach L.A.
All over La Jolla
At Waimia Bay

Everybody’s gone surfin’
Surfin’ U.S.A.

Everybody’s gone surfin’
Surfin’ U.S.A.

Everybody’s gone surfin’
Surfin’ U.S.A.

Everybody’s gone surfin’
Surfin’ U.S.A.

Everybody’s gone surfin’
Surfin’ U.S.A.

Everybody’s gone surfin’
Surfin’ U.S.A.