11.23.2011

November 1961*: The Beach Boys

Brian, Dennis and Carl Wilson, Mike Love and Al Jardine -- The Beach Boys, newly renamed from The Pendletones -- see their first single, "Surfin'," released. The song would be popular locally in Southern California and a minor hit (reaching No. 75 on the national charts); the group's next song, "Surfin' Safari," would put them on the pop music map to stay.

* Note: Various dates are given as to the actual release date of "Surfin' " -- Jim Fusilli, the author of The Wall Street Journal article linked below, said in an email that it could be either November 11 or November 16. Other sources, including The Beach Boys' own website and "The Definite Dairy" book (both linked below), give December 8 as the release date.

* Beach Boys official website: @
* "Fifty-Year-Old Boys" (Wall Street Journal, November 2011): @
* "The Beach Boys: The Definitive Dairy of America's Greatest Band On Stage and In the Studio" (book by Keith Badman): @
* Rolling Stone biography: @

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