Music / Little Deuce Coupe

The eponymous car is featured on the cover, along with car collector Clarence 'Chili' Catallo.

Little Deuce Coupe is the fourth album released by American rock band The Beach Boys. It is the last album to feature David Marks as a Beach Boy before manager Murry Wilson fired him.

Making of the album was rushed compared to other LPs. The Beach Boys had to meet Capitol Records' contract and they decided to record an album centered on hot-rod music. Thanks to the inclusion of four songs which were already recorded for previous albums, the band only had to record eight more in a short period of time (the album was the band's third release in 1963, on top of that).

While Little Deuce Coupe has been regarded as a precursor to rock concept albums, its nature as a hybrid of compilation and original LP also makes it stand out from other Beach Boys albums (the band would do it a second time 26 years later on Still Cruisin'). Outside of the four pre-existing tracks, only one original would turn out to be successful as a single: "Be True To Your School" (which is also the only song that isn't car-related).

Tracklist:

Side One

1. "Little Deuce Coupe" (1:38)
2. "Ballad of Ole' Betsy" (2:15)
3. "Be True To Your School" (2:06)
4. "Car Crazy Cutie" (2:47)
5. "Cherry, Cherry Coupe" (1:47)
6. "409" (1:58)

Side Two

1. "Shut Down" (1:48)
2. "Spirit Of America" (2:23)
3. "Our Car Club" (2:21)
4. "No-Go Showboat" (1:54)
5. "A Young Man Is Gone" (2:15)
6. "Custom Machine" (1:38)

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Principal Members:

• Mike Love - lead vocals, saxophone
• David Marks - rhythm guitar
• Brian Wilson - lead vocals, bass,
• Carl Wilson - lead vocals, guitar
• Dennis Wilson - lead vocals, drums

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Little Deuce Trope (You don't know what I've got):

• A Cappella: "A Young Man Is Gone".
• Album Title Drop: Right from the first seconds of the first track ("Little Deuce Coupe").
  Little Deuce Coupe (you don't know what I've got)
• Ballad of X: "Ballad of Ole' Betsy".
• Car Song: Eleven out of twelve songs are about cars, ranging from the eponymous Little Deuce Coupe by Ford to the 409 by Chevrolet.
• "Double, Double" Title: "Cherry, Cherry Coupe".
• Double Entendre: Played on "Ballad of Ole' Betsy" who is believed to be an old lady until we find out on the last lyrics that it is actually an old clunker.
• Football Fight Song: "Be True To Your School":
  Come Friday we'll be jacked up on the football game
  And I'll be ready to fight
  We're gonna smash 'em now
• Lyrical Cold Open: "Ballad of Ole' Betsy", "Car Crazy Cutie" and "No-Go Showboat".
• Motorsports: The premise of "Shut Down".
• One-Man Song: "A Young Man is Gone".
• One-Woman Song: "Ballad of Ole' Betsy'' and "Car Crazy Cutie".
• One-Word Title: "409".
• Plot Twist: "The Ballad of Ole' Besty" ends with Betsy actually being an old car instead of being initially depicted as an old lady who was beaten up, through Double Entendre.
• Product Placement: Various cars are mentionned on the album, such as Chevrolet's 409, Datsun-Nissan's Cherry Coupe and of course Ford's Little Deuce Coupe.
• Rearrange the Song: ''Be True To Your School would be reworked into a single (featuring The Honeys) which would hit the top 10 charts.
  • This song is also known for its opening lyric ("when") which has been extended into its proper intro by Mike Love on any live performance since the late 80s, to the point that it became a meme among fans.
• Shout-Out: Spirit Of America is a tribute to the world land speed record breaking car driven by Craig Breedlove. A Young Man Is Gone, on the other hand, is written in memory of James Dean who died in a car crash at an early age.
  Still a young man is gone
  Yet his legend lingers on
  For he died without a cause
  And they say that he'll
  Be known for evermore
  As the 'Rebel Without A Cause'
• Title Track: Originally recorded for the album Surfer Girl.
• 12-Bar Blues: "409".
• Vocal Tag Team: Brian and Mike share lead vocals on "Our Car Club".
  • All five Beach Boys harmonize on "A Young Man Is Gone".