The Beach Boys' vocal harmonies are among the most unmistakable and enduring of the rock and roll era. Among rock and roll groups of the Sixties, the California quintet place second only to the Beatles in terms of their overall impact on the Top 40. They were the Fab Four's most serious competitors on a creative level, too. Paul McCartney has allowed that the Beatles' masterpiece, Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, was their attempt to address the challenge posed by the Beach Boys' magnum opus, Pet Sounds - which itself was inspired by the British foursome's Rubber Soul. This creative dialogue between two of rock's greatest bands pushed popular music to an artistic peak. Paul McCartney noted that "both [Pet Sounds and Sgt. Pepper] have more than held up. To me it's like, 'What have people been doing in the meantime? Where's the progress?' I can't see anything as modern as that around at the moment." The Beach Boys were a family affair that came together in the Los Angeles suburb of Hawthorne, California, in 1961. Three brothers -- Brian, Carl and Dennis Wilson -- were joined by their cousin, Mike Love, and a schoolmate, Alan Jardine (who was replaced by David Marks, before rejoining). Brian Wilson, who demonstrated an aptitude for music at an early age, was the group's leader, orchestrating their harmonies, writing the music, producing the recording sessions. One of the undisputed geniuses in popular music, Brian demonstrated an uncanny gift for harmonic invention and complex vocal and instrumental arrangements. Initially, the magnitude of that genius was overlooked owing to the subject matter of the band's early hits: i.e., surfing, hot rods and teen romance. But today, even the lyrics to those songs -- generally written by Mike Love or such outside collaborators as deejay Roger Christian and producer Gary Usher -- are celebrated for their deft use of technical lingo and youthful joie de vivre. "A lot of love went into our singing, our harmonies, the making of those records," Brian Wilson said in 2003. "Surfin' Safari" was written by Brian Wilson and Mike Love. Released as a single with "409" in June 1962, it peaked at number 14 on the Billboard Hot 100. The song also appeared on the 1962 album of the same name. The Beach Boys first recorded the song at World Pacific Studios on February 8, 1962 in what was the band's second ever recording session. However, the recordings from that session, engineered by Hite Morgan, would ultimately remain unreleased until the late sixties. The only difference instrumentally on this early version as opposed to the officially released version was the presence of Al Jardine on guitar instead of David Marks. The instrumental track as well as the vocals for the officially released version were recorded at Western Recorders on April 19, 1962. The session, produced by Brian, featured David Marks and Carl Wilson on guitar; Brian Wilson on bass guitar and Dennis Wilson on drums. The song features Mike Love on lead vocals with backing vocals by Brian, Carl & Dennis Wilson and Mike Love. Also recorded during that session were "409", "Lonely Sea" and "Their Hearts Were Full Of Spring". This session was recorded and given to Capitol Records as a demo tape. The label was impressed and immediately signed the band to their first major label. "Surfin' Safari" and "409" would be the band's first single to be issued under Capitol Records.

• published: 23 Aug 2013
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