'Surfer Girl'

The Beach Boys' third album Surfer Girl was highly significant, in that it was the first album to be fully produced by Brian Wilson who would continue to be at the helm thoughout their most successful period. It was recorded at United Western Recorders where most of their classic hits would be recorded. Also, Al Jardine, who had earlier left the band to go to college, returned to the fold, bringing more vocal and guitar power to the band.

The album leads off with it's hit title track, remembered by Brian as being the first song he ever wrote. He presumably wrote it for his girlfriend at the time, Judy Bowles. whom he had dated for three and a half years. Brian has said tht melody of the song was inspired by "When You Wish Upon A Star," written by Ned Washington and Leigh Harline for the 1940 Walt Disney film Pinnochio.

"Catch A Wave" is another uptempo ode to the sport of surfing, featuring organ, handclaps, Harp by Mike Love's sister Maureen and of course surf guitar. Brian's signature falsetto is heard near the end of the song. Beach Boy friends Jan and Dean later wrote the song "Sidewalk Surfing," liberally "borrowing" from the melody of "Catch A Wave.

"The Surfer Moon" was Brian's first track to feature a string section. It is a very beautiful song, with a very nice "Moon/June" lyric. The song was originally performed by the duo Bob and Sheri.

"South Bay Surfer" uses the tune of the standard "Old Folks at Home" written by Stephen Foster with surf lyrics.

"The Rocking Surfer" is a Brian instrumental featuring prominent organ by Brian, guitar by Carl and David and drums by Dennis. It is a Dick Dale-style instrumental ode to riding the waves.

"Little Deuce Coupe" is a ditty singing the praises of a Ford 1932 Model 18 Deuce Coupe that Brian cowrote with lyricist Roger Christian, an LA DJ and car nut. This song would later be reprised as the title track of the next Beach Boys album, which featured mostly "car" songs.

"In My Room," with lyrics written with Gary Usher, is Brian's hymn to his bedroom, "a world he can tell his secrets to;" It is a classic ballad beloved by many of Brian's fellow musicians as well as fans. Even Brian's hard-to-please father Murry admitted it was good when Brian first played it to him.

"Hawaii" written by Brian with Mike Love is an ode to the recently added 50th state and the pleasures it provides. The song features the legendary Hal Blaine on Timbales. Blaine would soon be a prominent figure in Wilson's circle, fiilling in for and eventually replacing Dennis on drums on most Beach Boys studio tracks between 1964 and early 1967.

"Surfers Rule," also written with Love, is another surf song about how cool surfers are. Once again it must be emphasized that of the original Beach Boys, only Dennis surfed. The song is relatively disposable,especially with all the classic tracks found on the album.

"Our Car Club" co-written with Love once again features the timbales of Hal Blaine and saxophone by Steve Douglas. Blaine and Douglas were both members of the group of musicians later known as "The Wrecking Crew," whom Brian would slowly phase in to his recordings until they virtually replaced the Beach Boys as instrumentalists by the Pet Sounds era.

"Your Summer Dream" is another romantic ballad, beautifully sung by Brian. It features a gently strummed guitar, a cross-stick on the drums and a notable ride cymbal part.

"Boogie Woodie" is another instrumental, driven by Brian's piano and organ with Dennis' drum flourishes in the background. We were previously introduced to the "woodie" in the lyrics of "Surfer Girl''; the word refers to a type of station wagon favored in the surfing community.

Brian's first outing as a fully-fledged producer was most definitely a rousing success, with the single "Surfer Girl"/"Little Deuce Coupe" dominating the charts in th summer of 1963. This success and the presence of quality tracks like "In My Room" and "Catch A Wave" gave Capitol confidence that Brian as writer and producer could continue the winning formula of surf and car songs; the next album would feature the latter heavily.