The Beach Boys (Photo via UMe; used with permission)
The Beach Boys, the first American pop band to reach the 60-year milestone, remain one of the most legendary and influential groups to date, with their timeless music still reverberating through modern culture. In celebration of their 60th anniversary, the group has announced many major initiatives planned for “America’s Band” throughout 2022-23.
From the original April 28 announcement: Upon signing to Capitol Records in 1962 and releasing their first album, Surfin’ Safari, that same year, the three young brothers, cousin, and friend from Hawthorne, Calif., known simply as The Beach Boys, soared to popularity with their ebullient sound that embodied the Southern California beach lifestyle with sunshiny vocal harmonies, twangy guitars, upbeat songs about surf culture, and their youthful exuberance. Propelled by the hits “Surfin’” and “Surfin’ Safari,” the album, which uncommon for its day, featured mostly original songs, spent 37 weeks on the Billboard chart and set the course for one of the most critically acclaimed and commercially successful bands of all time, who have gone on to sell more than 100 million records worldwide. The Beach Boys refined their songwriting and production skills, rapidly evolving from their early surf beginnings to create some of the most sonically exquisite and most important and beloved music ever made.
The Beach Boys noted in the announcement, “It’s hard to believe it’s been 60 years since we signed to Capitol Records and released our first album, Surfin’ Safari. We were just kids in 1962 and could have never dreamed about where our music would take us, that it would have such a big impact on the world, still be loved, and continue to be discovered by generation after generation. This is a huge milestone that we’re all very honored to have achieved. And to our incredible fans, forever and new, we look forward to sharing even more throughout the year.”
To kick off the yearlong celebration and provide the perfect summer soundtrack, Capitol Records and UMe have released a newly remastered and expanded edition of The Beach Boys’ career-spanning greatest hits collection, Sounds of Summer: The Very Best of The Beach Boys, on June 17. Originally released in 2003, the album stayed on the chart for 104 weeks. Now certified 4x platinum for sales of nearly four and a half million, the collection has been updated in both number of songs and audio quality, expanding the original 30-track best-of with 50 more of the band’s most beloved songs for a total of 80 tracks that span their earliest hits to deeper fan-favorite cuts, and from their 1962 debut through to 1989’s Still Cruisin’.
Listen to the new stereo mix of “Good Vibrations”
Assembled by Mark Linett and Alan Boyd, the team behind 2013’s GRAMMY® Award-winning SMiLE Sessions and 2021’s acclaimed boxed set, Feel Flows – The Sunflower and Surf’s Up Sessions 1969-1971, the new collection features nearly every U.S. Top 40 hit of The Beach Boys’ incredible career, including such all-time favorites as “California Girls,” “I Get Around,” “Surfer Girl,” “Surfin’ U.S.A.,” “Fun, Fun, Fun,” “God Only Knows,” “Good Vibrations,” “Be True to Your School,” “Wouldn’t It Be Nice,” “Kokomo,” “Barbara Ann,” “Help Me, Rhonda,” and “In My Room.”
Fifty additional tracks showcase a broad mix of songs from across their wide-ranging catalog with some of the many highlights including “All Summer Long,” “Disney Girls,” “Forever,” “Feel Flows,” “Friends,” “Roll Plymouth Rock,” “Sail on Sailor,” “Surf’s Up,” and “Wind Chimes.”
The collection boasts 24 new mixes including two first-time stereo mixes, plus 22 new-and-improved stereo mixes, which in some cases feature the latest in digital stereo extraction technology, allowing for the team to separate the original mono backing tracks for the first time.
A sterling new stereo mix of their classic 1963 tune, “Shut Down,” was released on May 27, offering up a blast of fun and sun to help soundtrack Memorial Day weekend, the unofficial kickoff to summer. The song was originally released as the B-side to the single “Surfin’ U.S.A.” three weeks ahead of its inclusion on The Beach Boy’s sophomore album of the same name in March 1963.
The expanded edition of Sounds of Summer will be available in a variety of formats, including digitally, a 3-CD softpack, and as a Super Deluxe Edition 6-LP vinyl boxed set on 180-gram black vinyl in two options – a standard set or a numbered, limited edition version featuring a rainbow foil slipcase and four collectible lithographs. Both versions will feature color printed sleeves that replicate the original “Capitol Catalog” sleeves that highlight the entire Beach Boys discography, and all formats will include a booklet with new liner notes and updated photos. The original 30-track version will also be available in its newly remastered and upgraded form on single CD or double gatefold LP on standard weight vinyl or as a higher-end limited edition numbered version pressed on 180-gram vinyl with a tip-on jacket and a lithograph.
Watch the official unboxing video for the Super Deluxe Edition
Additionally, all 30 tracks on disc 1 of Sounds of Summer have been mixed in immersive Dolby Atmos, continuing the initiative to present the group’s catalog in the enveloping and exciting new audio format.
Tracks from Sounds Of Summer will be in heavy rotation on The Beach Boys official channel “Good Vibrations: The Beach Boys Channel,” which will return to SiriusXM for a limited two-month engagement for the summer, from July 1 through August 29 on channel 105. Every phase of their 60-year career will be included.
The timeless music of The Beach Boys will also be featured in several innovative official new music videos that are in the works along with a slate of lyric videos and visualizers.
The complete track listing and many more audio clips appear below the Amazon links. [Best Classic Bands is an Amazon affiliate and may receive income from orders.]
Sounds Of Summer: The Very Best Of The Beach Boys – Expanded Edition
3-CD/Digital Track Listing
Disc 1
1. California Girls (1965)
2. I Get Around (1964)
3. Surfin’ Safari (1962)
4. Surfin’ U.S.A. (1963)
5. Fun, Fun, Fun (1964)
6. Surfer Girl (1963)
7. Don’t Worry Baby (1964)
8. Little Deuce Coupe (1963)
9. Shut Down (1963)
10. Help Me, Rhonda (1965)
11. Be True To Your School (Single Version) (1963)
12. When I Grow Up (To Be A Man) (1964)
13. In My Room (1963)
14. God Only Knows (1966)
15. Sloop John B (1966)
16. Wouldn’t It Be Nice (1966)
17. Getcha Back (1985)
18. Come Go With Me (1978)
19. Rock and Roll Music (1976)
20. Dance, Dance, Dance (1964)
21. Barbara Ann (1965)
22. Do You Wanna Dance? (1965)
23. Heroes And Villains (1967)
24. Good Timin’ (1979)
25. Kokomo (1988)
26. Do It Again (1968)
27. Wild Honey (1967)
28. Darlin’ (1967)
29. I Can Hear Music (1969)
30. Good Vibrations (1966)
See the Disc 2 and Disc 3 track listings below.
Disc 2
1. All Summer Long (1964)
2. Good To My Baby (1965)
3. This Whole World (1970)
4. All I Wanna Do (1970)
5. Disney Girls (1971)
6. Kiss Me Baby (1965)
7. Let The Wind Blow (1967)
8. Forever (1970)
9. Sail On Sailor (1973)
10. Long Promised Road (1971)
11. Cotton Fields (1970)
12. Pom Pom Play Girl (1964)
13. Wind Chimes (Smile) (1966/1993)
14. I Went To Sleep (1968)
15. Farmer’s Daughter (1963)
16. Let Us Go On This Way (1977)
17. You Need A Mess Of Help To Stand Alone (1972)
18. The Night Was So Young (1977)
19. Marcella (1972)
20. You’re So Good To Me (1965)
21. Aren’t You Glad (1967)
22. Baby Blue (1979)
23. It’s About Time (1970)
24. Roll Plymouth Rock (1966/1993)
25. Surf’s Up (1971)
Disc 3
1. Add Some Music To Your Day (1970)
2. It’s Ok (1976)
3. Goin’ On (1980)
4. San Miguel (1969)
5. The Warmth Of The Sun (1964)
6. Everyone’s In Love With You (1976)
7. All This Is That (1972)
8. California Saga (1973)
9. Feel Flows (1971)
10. Wendy (1964)
11. Girl Don’t Tell Me (1965)
12. Let Him Run Wild (1965)
13. All I Want To Do (1968)
14. Susie Cincinnati (1970)
15. Vegetables (1967)
16. Time To Get Alone (1969)
17. Where I Belong (1985)
18. I Just Wasn’t Made For These Times (1966)
19. Little Bird (1968)
20. Til I Die (1971)
21. (Wouldn’t It Be Nice To) Live Again (1971)
22. Friends (1968)
23. Devoted To You (1965)
24. Can’t Wait Too Long (1968)
25. California Feelin’ (1978)
This fall Capitol/UMe will release the next chapter in the group’s archival releases.
The Beach Boys are also participating in a feature length documentary currently in the works, a tribute special, prestigious exhibitions and events, unique brand partnerships, and much more to celebrate their 60th anniversary. More details will be revealed at a later date.
Founded in Hawthorne, Calif., in 1961, The Beach Boys were originally comprised of the three teenaged Wilson brothers: Brian, Carl, and Dennis, their cousin Mike Love, and school friend Al Jardine. In 1962, neighbor David Marks joined the group for their first wave of hits with Capitol Records, leaving in late 1963, and in 1965, Bruce Johnston joined the band when Brian Wilson retired from touring to focus on writing and producing for the group.
Related: Our in-depth interview with Brian Wilson
The Beach Boys signed with Capitol Records in July 1962 and released their first album, Surfin’ Safari, that same year. The band’s initial surf rock focus was soon broadened to include other styles and such themes as spirituality, meditation, and environmentalism, making The Beach Boys America’s preeminent band of the 1960s. The Wilson/Love collaboration resulted in many huge international chart hits.
Brian Wilson is touring this year. Tickets are available here and here. The Mike Love-led Beach Boys are also on tour. Tickets are available here and here.
The Beach Boys are one of the most critically acclaimed and commercially successful bands of all time, with over 100 million records sold worldwide. Between the 1960s and today, the group had over 80 songs chart worldwide, 36 of them in the U.S. Top 40 and four topping the Billboard Hot 100. Their influence on other artists spans musical genres and movements. Countless artists have cited Pet Sounds as their inspiration for creating their own musical masterpieces. Rolling Stone ranked the album #2 on its list of the “500 Greatest Albums of All Time,” and the Beach Boys #12 on its list of the “100 Greatest Artists of All Time.”
The group was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 1988 and were recipients of the Recording Academy’s Lifetime Achievement GRAMMY Award®.
4 Comments so far
Jump into a conversationI don’t care how many reissues there have been, a new Beach Boys reissue with this breadth of their catalog, with new mastering, is always welcome. But i find it incredibly sad that the remaining actual Beach Boys can’t pull it together to tour together, as they did for their 50th anniversary, on what will very likely be their last milestone. Being together bands is difficult, even over time. But sometimes the legacy of the music should take precedence. That being said, if you’re going to see a Beach Boys show this summer, don’t miss Brian Wilson’s orchestra with Al Jardine. It is unbelievably magical. They play some of the best of Wilson’s compositions with such distinctive realism, and even manage to make some of the old surf tunes that you’ve heard a million times sound thrilling. Al Jardine’s son is an incredible blessing to Beach Boys fans, as he’s like the spirit of Brian’s younger self re-emerged. Jearing him and Brian sing together is heavenly.
Mike Love is a selfish, egotistical jerk. Brian Wilson was the genius who made the Beach Boys go–but Love has turned the old act into a sad karaoke machine. It was great music, and still is, but Brian Wilson was the genius. Mike Love was just along for the ride.
Regarding the “Mike Love-led Beach Boys,” allow me to sum it up:
No Brian Wilson … No Carl Wilson … No Dennis Wilson … No Al Jardine
Sorry, but minus all those key names, Mr. Love’s touring band IS NOT the Beach Boys.
Mike Love and the Beach Noise is more like it. Why does Bruce continue with him? Is it politics? This could be the last chance for a full group (what’s left of it) reunion. And to reject it, no matter what hard feelings may remain, is ludicrous and just plain sad. DO IT FOR CARL AND DENNIS!