Remember Jimi Hendrix's 1967 extraterrestrial classic "Third Stone From the Sun," where he promised the people of Earth that they'd never hear surf music again? Jimi didn't live to see the 1974 revival of the Beach Boys when they rode a wave of nostalgia through the Bicentennial. Surf music has shown staying power ever since.
Every summer is just an excuse to remember gremmies, baggies and Huarache sandals. We thought it appropriate to list our 10 best songs on the subject of surfing (as opposed to surf-rock instrumentals, although we give "Wipe Out" and "Let's Go Trippin' " honorable mention for at least announcing their titles at the start.
10. The Trashmen, "Surfin' Bird" (1963)
The invention of surf-punk before we knew we even needed it. The Rivingtons followed up their 1962 Billboard Hot 100 hit "Papa-Oom-Mow-Mow" with the similar "The Bird's the Word" in 1963. The Trashmen just came along, grafted the two songs together without crediting the Rivingtons as writers (for which they were sued) and took it up to No. 4 just as Beatlemania was getting under way. Although the image of a surfing bird is indelibly planted in one's brain, the ornithological world has yet to identify which species of bird this is. Don't you know 'bout the bird?
9. The Sentinals, "Surfin' Tragedy" (1963)
There had to be a surf-death disc at some point, and this one doesn't disappoint. From the mournful (and flat) background vocals to the ominous opening line that portends nothing good ("The sun was rising on the Earth that day"), we learn of a ho-dad who had no business being anywhere near a 40-foot crest, except to fulfill his destiny to Nowheresville.
8. The Turtles, "Surfer Dan" (1968)
Anyone who doesn't know the Turtles once were a boss surf band should hear "Fiberglass Jungle," by the Crossfires. But it was the peerless vocals of Howard Kaylan and Mark Volman that we will remember forever and we get to hear what the Crossfires might have sounded like post-"Happy Together" on this send-up of the Surfaris' "Surfer Joe." By 1968, the Turtles were producing themselves and admittedly were stoned much of the time, so they created a surfer dude in their likeness — "Surfer Dan! He's so ripped he can't see you go by." This appeared on "The Turtles Present the Battle of the Bands" (credited to the Crossfires) and as the flip side of "Elenore."
7. The Beach Boys, "Surfer Girl" (1963)
Truth be told, the only girl surfer I ever remember seeing growing up was TV's Gidget, Sally Field, obviously riding in front of a green-screened wave. Writer Brian Wilson always claimed he was inspired to write this song by his then-girlfriend Judy Bowles, who, like Wilson, didn't surf. It was Judy's brother Jimmy who wore the surf baggies in the Bowles family and was the expert Brian consulted for all the surfing locations on "Surfin' U.S.A." Despite the group's lifelong association with the sport, this 1963 classic would be the last Beach Boys single to mention surfing — the next three 45s were about school, cars and St. Nick, a gremmie as far as we know.
6. The Fantastic Baggys, "Save Your Sundays for Surfin' " (1963)
Wonder whether any church groups ever picketed outside a Fantastic Baggys concert because of their insistence to reserve the holiest day of the week for shooting the curl instead of thanking the Man Upstairs for making the biggest waves? "It's the best day of the week to surf" sing tunesmiths P.F Sloan and Steve Barri, who recorded this gem as a demo for Jan and Dean, who kept holy the Sabbath and passed on it.
5. The Tradewinds, "New York's a Lonely Town" (1965)
Is there a sadder line in a surfing song than "My woody's outside, covered in snow"? No, there is not. This classic fish-out-of-water tale is told by a surfer whose folks have moved him to the Big Apple without first consulting the Big Kahuna. His buddies tried to warn him "There'll be no surfing there" but once again, I blame the misinformation on the Beach Boys, who assured us in "Surfin' U.S.A." that there was surfing "all over Manhattan."
4. Dick Dale and his Del-Tones, "King of the Surf Guitar" (vocal version) (1963)
More than any other musician, Dick Dale defined the surf-music sound. But when Duane Eddy, the Ventures and the Surfaris all started encroaching on his surfin' turf, Mr. "Misirlou" had no choice but to stake his claim as "King of the Surf Guitar" in song. While Dale let his string bending do the talking for him (and invents San Francisco acid-rock guitar in the process), it's left to Darlene Love and the Blossoms to state emphatically who the King of the Surf Guitar actually is.
3. The Beach Boys, "Catch a Wave" (1963) and Jan and Dean, "Sidewalk Surfin' " (1964):
The same song with two sets of lyrics. "Catch a Wave" had the edge with its majestic harp flourishes and cymbal swells approximating the sound of the perfect wave, while "Sidewalk Surfin' " had the honor of introducing Boomers to the joys of skateboarding.
2. Jan and Dean, "Surf City (1963)
The first surf song to reach No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 also was written by Brian Wilson with lyrical help from Jan Berry. For people who blame the Beach Boys for selling us a bill of goods about the whole "California Myth," "Surf City" and its lack of locality specifics may be even better than "Surfin' U.S.A." as a fantasy generator, in case anyone ever found La Jolla or Waiamea Bay lacking. Just try complaining at the unreachable Surf City Chamber of Commerce when that "two girls for every boy" guarantee didn't exactly pan out. For the record, on the "Surf City" album and 45-rpm picture sleeve, Jan and Dean only saw fit to hire one honey to pose with them instead of four.
1. The Beach Boys, "Surfin' U.S.A." (1963)
"If everybody had an ocean ..." The opening line to the ultimate surf song captures beautifully the appeal and liberation that surf culture offered our 20 landlocked states, while handing over surfing bragging rights to the 30 that do have an ocean. Lots of ocean, in fact. More than "Surfin' " and "Surfin' Safari," both of which preceded this record, Brian Wilson's lyrics for "Surfin' U.S.A." defined surf culture. Mostly a musical checklist of hot stateside surfing spots ("Haggerty's and Swami's/Pacific Palisades"), it also bizarrely namechecks "Australia's Narrabeen," necessitating the "inside outside U.S.A." refrain. Would it have killed Brian to come up with one more Hawaiian beach? And although everyone knows "Charlie don't surf," Charles Edward Anderson "Chuck" Berry became the sole songwriter collecting royalties off "Surfin' U.S.A." by dint of it being a rewrite of his "Sweet Little Sixteen."
