Music / Surfin' USA

Featured on the cover is pro surfer Les Williams at Sunset Beach.

If everybody had an ocean

Across the USA

Then everybody would be surfin'

Like Californ-i-a

Opening lyrics of Surfin' USA

Surfin' USA is the second album by American rock band The Beach Boys. Just like their previous album Surfin' Safari, production was credited solely to Nik Venet but Brian Wilson has been considered the true producer behind it.

This is the first Beach Boys album to feature double-tracking, a technique which would live on in the band's recording career. This LP also engraved the band's first reputation as a surf rock act, thanks to the title track which reached the second place in the US charts. It is also notorious for its five instrumental tracks and a frenetic surf rock sound that wouldn't be found on their next albums.

Surfin' USA went Gold and was the national breakthrough for The Beach Boys. Its title track along with Shut Down have remained popular on Beach Boys live shows.

Tracklist:

Side One

1. "Surfin' USA" (2:05)
2. "Farmer's Daughter" (2:15)
3. "Misirlou" (1:26)
4. "Stoked" (1:59)
5. "Lonely Sea" (2:04)
6. "Shut Down" (1:59)

Side Two

1. "Noble Surfer" (2:10)
2. "Honky Tonk" (2:17)
3. "Lana" (2:09)
4. "Surf Jam" (2:08)
5. "Let's Go Trippin" (2:00)
6. "Finders Keepers" (1:52)

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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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If everybody had a trope across the internet:

• Album Title Drop:
  A bushy bushy blond hairdo
  Surfin' USA
• Car Song: Shut Down.
• One-Word Title: Lana, Misirlou and Stoked.
• Instrumentals: This album contains the biggest amount of instrumentals for a Beach Boys LP (two of them being covers and one of them being Carl's first writing contribution to the band).
• Cover Version: Dick Dale's Misirlou and Let's Go Trippin' . The Beach Boys pay homage to the King of the Surf Guitar by covering two of his most iconic songs.
  • In order to avoid a lawsuit by Chuck Berry, he has been co-credited to Surfin' USA since the song bears a strong ressemblance to Sweet Little Sixteen.
• Heavy Meta: Honky Tonk
• Location Song: Surfin' USA lists out surfing spots in the US (mostly in California except for Wa'imea Bay, Hawaii) as well as one location in Australia (Narrabeen, specifically).
• Motorsports: The premise of Shut Down.
• One-Woman Song: Lana and Farmer's Daughter
• Product Placement: Shut Down puts a Dodge Dart against a Chevrolet Corvette "Sting Ray" in a race. The Chevrolet wins the race.
• Spoken Word in Music: Lonely Sea has a section where Brian recites the last verse.
• Title Track
• 12-Bar Blues: Surfin' USA and Honky Tonk