Album · 1962

Surfin' Safari

by The Beach Boys

Surfin' Safari is a 1962 doo wop album by The Beach Boys. It runs 12 tracks across 25 minutes on Capitol Records.

prod.Nick Venet

Brian Wilson +1 more

Doo Wop · Pop · Surf

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50 /100
4 critics: 12
Tracks: 25 min
Runtime: 162 bpm
Tempo: A major
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4 publications

Blender3/5
The Rolling Stone Album Guide3/5
AllMusic2/5
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music2/5

Scores collected from the English Wikipedia ratings box (CC BY-SA). Ratings belong to the publications; follow a link to read the review.

Surfin' Safari album cover

The Surfin' Safari cover was photographed by Capitol Photo Studio and Ken Veeder.

Photography: Capitol Photo Studio, Ken Veeder

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Tracklist

12 tracks · 25 min

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About

Surfin' Safari is the debut studio album by American rock band The Beach Boys, released on October 1, 1962 on Capitol. Surfin' Safari peaked at number 32 in its 37-week run on the US charts and would be the lowest charting Beach Boys album until Smiley Smile in 1967. In the autumn of 1961, cousins Brian Wilson and Mike Love composed a song on surfing, titled "Surfin'" at the behest of Brian's younger sibling, Dennis Wilson. They quickly formed a band, bringing in the youngest Wilson brother Carl on lead guitar and Brian's high school friend Al Jardine on rhythm guitar. Brian took up bass, Dennis the drums and Mike would be the frontman, while they all would harmonize vocals arranged by Brian. Released that December, produced by Hite Morgan, and backed by "Luau", "Surfin'" made number 75 in the US Top 100 in early 1962.

Father Murry Wilson became the band's manager. He submitted a professionally-recorded demo tape to Capitol Records that spring. The Beach Boys were signed and "Surfin' Safari" b/w "409" (from the April 1962 demo tape) was released as a single that June. Al Jardine left the band before the demo session, to be replaced by a friend of Carl's, David Marks, until the fall of 1963. With both "Surfin' Safari" and "409" becoming hits (the former reaching US number 14), Capitol Records approved a full album. Brian Wilson, who regularly collaborated with Mike Love and Gary Usher, contributed the songs that made up the bulk of the LP. Surfin' Safari, despite the official credit to Nick Venet, was reportedly produced by Brian Wilson. The second single, "Ten Little Indians", was less successful, reaching only number 49, with Brian feeling that "Chug-A-Lug" would have made a far better follow-up. Though Mike and Brian are the most prominent singers, Dennis makes his first vocal appearance on "Little Girl (You're My Miss America)". In the UK, the album wasn't released until April 1963, and failed to chart.

In brief

When was Surfin' Safari released?: Surfin' Safari was released in 1962 on Capitol Records.
How many tracks are on Surfin' Safari?: Surfin' Safari has 12 tracks, with a runtime of 25 minutes.
What genre is Surfin' Safari?: Surfin' Safari is catalogued under Doo Wop, Pop, Surf.
What BPM is Surfin' Safari?: Surfin' Safari runs at a median tempo of 162 BPM across its tracks, most often in A major, measured from audio analysis.
What albums are similar to Surfin' Safari?: Listeners of Surfin' Safari also rate Abbey Road by The Beatles, Revolver by The Beatles, SMiLE by Brian Wilson.
Who produced Surfin' Safari?: Surfin' Safari was produced by Nick Venet, Brian Wilson and Murry Wilson. Nick Venet produced all of them.