When thinking about the music of the beach, and more specifically the beaches of Southern California, many picture the classic surf sound of the early Beach Boys and the likes of Jan and Dean (even if they do not know them by name). This aesthetic of music became known as the California Sound and was originally grouped in with the “California Myth” which was the image of sunny pristine southern California that are often the focus of these songs. This movement was known for the happiness and the simple care-free nature of the music.
The Beach Sound Pioneers and The Beach Boys Early Years
The early pioneers of the sound would go on to influence some of the biggest names of the decade (such as Jefferson Airplane) and The Beach Boys would evolve and go on to create one of the most celebrated albums of the decade, Pet Sounds, which would only be matched by the likes of Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band by The Beatles. So how did the California Beach sound go so mainstream and how did these simple roots writing about surfing waves and driving cars turn into socially conscious and politically charged masterworks? Well, at the core, The Beach Boys are to thank for that.
The background of the genre stems from the car and surf culture in southern California in the early to mid-1960s. This can be seen in many of the early hits of Jan and Dean like “Dead Mans Curve” and “The Little Old Lady (From Pasadena)”. Funny enough, many of Jan and Dean’s songs were co-written with the help of Brian Wilson (the songwriter and creative genius for The Beach Boys). This eventually led to acts like the Beach Boys beginning to write songs that were reminiscent of the local music culture. On The Beach Boys debut album Surfin Safari, songs like the title track and “409” reflected the influence of groups like Jan and Dean. Below is a live version of Jan and Dean doing one of their more famous songs “The Little Old Lady (From Pasadena)” which is a great example of the early California Sound of the early 1960s:
The album also included songs like “Surfin’ ” which was reminiscent of tracks like “Surf City” by Jan and Dean and showed Brian Wilson transferring his efforts to a new group that he was a part of. The pace of Southern California surf music was greatly set by Jan and Dean but became widely famous thanks to the Beach Boys. The Beach Boys first four albums all had something about surfing or cars in their name which provided a clear indicator of the content of the albums (“Little Deuce Coupe”, “Surfin’ USA”, “Surfer Girl”). The Beach Boys progressed the genre beyond just singing about cars and surfing and more into love songs on their fifth album Shut Down Volume 2. They released “Don’t Worry Baby” which set the tone for their transition from a surf band to a more serious musical act but still kept true to their California sound routes, something that continued for their entire time together.
The Evolution of the Beach Sound and Experimentation
At first, thinking about The Beach Boys leave many today thinking about the not especially attractive lineup of balding men writing corny songs about having fun with girls around the beaches of southern California, but this only characterizes the early years of their career. The Beach Boys became so synonymous with this movement to the point where even a Google search of “the California Sound” will show there faces. Also when looking back, for many they are likely the only ones to come to mind and were the ones that really made this movement go mainstream. One of their biggest hits during their early career was “Surfin’ USA” which peaked at number 3 on the charts and is one of the best examples of the early California Beach Sound regardless of how cheesy it is…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sNypbmPPDco
Taking a step back and thinking about how this movement evolved (through the vantage point of The Beach Boys career) we can see the transition of the movement from the cheerful cars, surfing and girls focus to a more ambitious and socially conscious world view. This is something that was seen as the movement evolved as a whole and began to be less focused on geography and more on a mindset. This mindset was steeped with political angst and a desire for social change. All of a sudden, the genre went from bubbly and upbeat to profound and engaging. Throughout this evolution, The Beach Boys stayed at the forefront.
Similarly to groups like The Beatles, The Beach Boys would attempt revolutionary experiments in the studio that would lead to a great payoff. The cornerstones of their experimentation were their mixing of classic rock sounds with foreign instruments and meticulous yet complex harmonies. On each track, there was an average of a dozen unique instruments on each track. The epitome of their success in experimentation can be seen in their album, Pet Sounds which included some of their most famous songs such as “Wouldn’t it be Nice”, “Sloop John B” and my personal favorite “God Only Knows”. This album was ambitious and there were some really interesting things going on within their compositions. It would meet much acclaim with time although at first, it would not receive much praise in the US. Below I have attached a recording of “God Only Knows” so you can hear some of the complexities in their work at this time:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EkPy18xW1j8
After listening to this, it is easier to see 1.) The evolution of the group from their early days with songs like Surfin’ USA and 2.) The comparison to the experimentation being done by The Beatles can be easily seen as both were using unique instrumentation and harmonies. Beyond this. it is important to note that during the mid-1960s, the evolution of the California Sound was connected to the subgenre of “Sunshine Pop” which was a southern California genre that was also known as soft pop. Famous names included the likes of The Mama’s and the Papa’s, The Turtles, The Association and The Beach Boys Pet Sounds album would have also fit into this subgenre. This placed itself as the evolutionary step within this culture. This was more harmonic and complex than the cookie-cutter cars and girls music of the early decade.
Hopefully, now it is easy to see how significant The Beach Boys were in the world of 1960s music, even though they are often not given the credit that they rightfully deserve. Being placed up at the top of culturally significant albums during the golden age of music among the ranks of The Beatles is beyond noteworthy. Becoming the poster child for an entire subgenre and creating some of the most iconic songs of the decade earns them some sort of medal for sure (and not just because they are a favorite of mine). The Beach Boys helped lead the charge in the evolution of popular music and inspired so many other musicians to follow suit which made the music of the decade so much more complex, artistic and robust than I believe it would have been without the risktaking of Brian Wilson and the entirety of The Beach Boys.
