History of a Vintage Song: California Girls by the Beach Boys

At times it is all too easy to dismiss the Beach Boys as simply being the leaders in the genre that was early to mid-sixties surf culture music, pop stars with catchy tunes and a rather infamous front man (Brian Wilson), but to do would be do commit a great disservice, not only to the Beach Boys themselves, but to the history of mid-century music as a whole.

The Beach Boys were a pop band making pop music (of all sorts and shapes), of that there is no doubt, but they were so much more as well. From their incredible assortment of top hits to their stunning harmonies to the fact that they remain one of the most beloved bands of the 1960s to this very day (with their songs having been used in many TV shows and movies over the years), they are a musical force to be reckoned with and one that I, like so many others, always associate with the sunny, carefree days of summertime.

Growing up Beach Boys albums, tapes and CDs were beyond de rigueur for June straight on through to Labour Day. From birthday parties (mine and my little brother's) to backyard barbeques, tunes blared from a chunky black plastic boom box at the beach to quite evenings spent watching the stars and roasting marshmallows over an open fire as families of bats flitted across the vivid nighttime sky, the Beach Boys were the soundtrack of summer for me and even though a long time has now passed since those bare foot, bathing suit clad days, this point still remains the same.

As such, for this, the second edition in this year's fun new History of a Vintage Song post series (be sure to check out the first entry, My Way by Frank Sinatra, if you haven't done so already), with the official start of summertime less than a week away, it felt as natural as licking a popsicle in August to shine the spotlight on one of the Beach Boy's biggest, best and most beloved hits of all-time.

But which one? That description applies to double digits worth of incredible tunes, many of which I really, really enjoy and pretty much know by heart, so how to choose? Believe me when I say, I didn't pick at random nor was my decision an easy one. I listened to a slew of Beach Boys songs, read up on the back stories of many of them and ultimately decided on a track that has been a toe tapping favourite of mine for as far back as I have memories: California Girls.



{The album cover of Summer Days (And Summer Nights!!), which featured California Girls - a song that would quickly become an anthem not only for surfer culture at the time for for summer everywhere from that point onward. To this date, it is believed to have been played millions of times on the radio since the mid-1960s, and will likely continue to appear on the airwaves millions more as the decades roll on.}


A vast amount has been written, said, and filmed about the Beach Boys, and I won't even begin to do anything more here than scratch the very lightest of surfaces here when it comes to profiling this incredible group, instead I'll be focusing more on the song itself, which is, after all, the intended purpose of this post series.

If you could transform summer into an an opening melody, for me at least, the instantly recognizable orchestral prelude of California Girls would be it. Those notes hook you from the get-go and you know, you just know, that a hit is about to swirl like the gnarliest of waves through your eardrums and straight on through to your heart.

Penned by Brian Wilson and Mile Love, California Girls appeared on the Beach Boy's 1965 album, Summer Days (And Summer Nights!!). In a move that might strike many who see the group as being rather on the wholesome, straight and narrow side of things (or at least view their earlier work as such), Wilson came up with the idea for this hit song while using LSD (acid) for the first time.



{Beach Boys frontman Brian Wilson seen here, fittingly, enjoying a day at the beach in the 1960s. This carefree image belies the troubled times that were already starting to brew for the truly talented musician, who would go on to fight serious battles with addiction and mental illness.}


Despite its immense popularly - both in the moment and in the decades that would follow - California Girls didn't quite make it to the top of the Billboard Hot 100 that year. It climbed to the third spot, which was (and is) still an impressive feat and a strong indicator of the staying power this catchy tune would go on to have.

It likely goes without saying, but California Girls utterly and completely speaks to the California sound, which itself is based on the so-called California Myth (a greatly idealized version of California's beach culture that was frequently portrayed in both music and movies - often themselves rich with such tunes - during the 1960s).

While surfing was hugely popular at the time, especially in the state of California (as it was before, and has remained long after, the sixties occurred), naturally those involved in the scene didn't always live the carefree, spontaneously burst out into a song lifestyle that beach songs and movies of the era would have you believe they did.



{Surf's up and the water is fine! Cheery, fun and often a far cry from reality, California sound was typified by smiling, tanned and toned youth in cute summer outfits who spent an inordinate amount of time at the beach. In many respects, it one last great "hurrah!" for the more - if only on paper - innocent youth culture that emerged as the baby boomers hit their teens in the 1950s and 60s. Looking back, it seems fairly quaint and innocuous, especially compared to the counterculture movement that was already taking hold as California sound reached its zenith.}

 

Just over two decades after he wrote it, Brian Wilson said, in 1986, of the song that, "[It] was something I'm very proud of in a sense because it represents the Beach Boys really greatest record production [that] we've ever made. It goes back to 1965 when I was sitting in my apartment, wondering how to write a song about girls, because I love girls. I mean, everybody loves girls."

While that last line may be debatable for some, the spirit rings true universally and moreover shines in this immensely catchy song. Though the focus is ultimately on ladies from California and the appeal that they held for Wilson, he praises women from across the nation and in doing so created an instant sense of intimacy with his audience from coast-to-coast.

Not only did “California Girls” find favour with fans at home in the US, but it was warmly received in numerous other countries around the world, where it reached various heights between the 2nd and 10th spot on leading music charts of those respective nations, which ranged from Canada to Australia, South Africa to Sweden.

A cultural icon in its own right, just like the group that preformed it, California Girls appears on no less than The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's "500 Songs That Shaped Rock and Roll", as well as earning a very commendable 71st place on Rolling Stone magazine's "500 Greatest Songs of All Time".

One interesting fact that has always stuck out in my mind about this song is that The Beatles (specifically Paul) used it as an inspiration jumping off point for their own hit, "Back in the U.S.S.R". More recently, it was a key influencer in Katy Perry's hit pop song, "California Gurls", which intentionally used a misspelling of the word "Girls". Though not one in the same, Perry's version does include the key chorus line, "I wish they all could be California Girls" as a later verse of that song.

Various artists and bands have covered California Girls over the years, with the most well known and popular version going to Van Halen star David Lee Roth. The song appeared on his 1985 album Crazy from the Heat and even included background vocals by actual Beach Boy member Carl Wilson, younger brother to Brian Wilson and lead guitarist for the band, of which he was one of the founders).

California Girls is a fabulous song. It might not be your absolute favourite Beach Boys hit, but it's pretty much impossible not to enjoy and to sense the spirit - real and idyllic alike - of the era that it hailed from.

In a matter of years, the music world would be a vastly different landscape from the one that gave rise to the Beach Boys and for those of us who have a particular penchant for the mid-twentieth century, it's far more akin to the feel good, easy going pop tunes of the 40s and 50s, than the experimental sounds of the psychedelic era and hard rocking seventies that would follow.



{Just as fun and memorable as summertime itself, California Girls was one of the Beach Boys biggest hits and remain an anthem for sixties surf culture - and carefree days spent at beaches far and wide - to this day.}

(To learn more about a specific image or video used in this post, please click on it to be taken to its respective source.)

For those who were curious, some other top contenders that I debated focusing on here in this post included Surfer Girl, Wouldn't It Be Nice, Little Deuce Coupe, Wouldn't It Be Nice, Surfin' U.S.A., Barbara Ann, Good Vibrations, Surfin’ Safari, Don't Worry Baby, and Fun Fun Fun (amongst various  others).

Fortunately - and fabulously - though, much like Beach Boys hits themselves, summertime has a habit of repeating itself and you just never know what hit from this amazing group may appear here in future years.

The time has come to embrace the hottest months of the year again, and I for one am I'm thrilled by both the return of sizzling hot sunshine and the music that will accompany it. While the Beach Boys are by no means the only group that I keep in heavy rotation as the mercury soars ever higher, they are definitely "the one" for me on this front. After all, while I might not be a Californian Girl, I was born a stone's throw from the Pacific Ocean here in BC, and surely must be nearly the same thing! :)


  {The Beach Boys + summer = love forever! } 
So, my dears, as we head into the last and final weekend of spring, summer now so close we can all but smell its intoxicating aroma of Coppertone, delicious food on the grill, freshly cut grass, and warm sand, this lifelong fan wants to know, what Beach Boys song(s) personify the season for you?