1974 - July: Beach Boys “Endless Summer”

By the mid-70's the Beach Boys appeared to be a band that had been left behind.  Sales had been only moderate for their previous albums, and the band was struggling to determine their direction musically.  In the summer of 1973 the movie "American Graffiti" featured several Beach Boys songs, creating nostalgia for the earlier surfing music.

Between the revived interest sparked by "American Graffiti" and the success of the Beatles "Red" and "Blue" compilation albums, the Beach Boys released a collection of hits from their early 60's catalogue called Endless Summer.  This featured songs from their Capitol Records days, 1962-1965.  It was a near-instant success reaching the top of the charts in the United States four months after its release, and becoming their second number 1 album on the US charts.  

After the success of Endless Summer, the Beach Boys would reposition themselves as an oldies act, continuing in this vein for many years.  Brian Wilson would pen one further Beach Boys studio album in 1977 which would meet with meager sales.  Afterwards the band would focus on their classics until seeing a resurgence in the late 80's generated from another popular film, Tom Cruise's "Cocktail" 

Wayne brings us this surfin' themed compilation for this week's podcast.

 

Catch A Wave A true surfing song, this tune is about being on a surfboard, waiting for the right wave to come along.  This song was originally released on the 1963 album "Surfer Girl," and a rewritten version was recorded by Jan and Dean as "Sidewalk Surfin."

Little Deuce Coupe This track is about a 1932-vintage Ford model 18 hot rod used in drag racing on the streets of California.  "American Graffiti" had featured the deuce coupe prominently, along with the Beach Boys song.  The lyrics were written by local radio DJ Roger Christian.

Shut Down Another song about drag racing, "shut down" means you are about to beat the person in the race.  The phrase "tach it up" may have lost some meaning in the era of automatic transmission, but the tachometer would run high for a drag race.  The song is told from the perspective of the driver of a 1963 Corvette Sting Ray in a race against a 1962 Dodge Dart.

Fun, Fun, Fun The inspiration for this song was a story the Beach Boys heard during a radio interview.  The station owner described his daughter "borrowing" his 1963 Thunderbird to go to a drive-in hamburger shop.  The opening riffs were inspired by Chuck Berry's "Johnny B. Goode."  

 

ENTERTAINMENT TRACK:

Uptown Saturday Night by Dobie Gray (from the motion picture “Uptown Saturday Night”) Sidney Poitier starred in and directed this action comedy which co-starred Bill Cosby, Harry Belafonte, Richard Pryor, and Flip Wilson.

 

STAFF PICKS:

The Joker by the Steve Miller Band Lynch leads off the staff picks with a well known song from Steve Miller.  The names in the first line reference several of Miller's previous songs, as well as the made-up word "pompatus."  It barely cracked the top 40 in the US, hitting 40 on the Billboard Hot 100.  Miller borrowed some lyrics from the song "Lovey Dovey" when he talks about wanting to "shake your tree."

The Air that I Breathe by the Hollies Rob brings us a slow burning but iconic ballad that the Hollies covered.  The original was from Albert Hammond, and previously covered by Phil Everly.  The Hollies version was the most successful, going to number 6 on the Billboard Hot 100.  Alan Parsons was the engineer on this song.

Hollywood Swinging by Kool & the Gang Bruce's staff pick is the first number 1 R&B Single from Kool & the Gang.  It was a crossover hit as well, going to number 6 on the Billboard Hot 100.  Rick Westfield is the keyboardist for it and sings lead.  The song is a true story of the keyboardist wanting to become "a bad piano-playing man" with the group. 

Rock and Roll Heaven by The Righteous Brothers Wayne's features an ode to the rock stars who had died at an early age. This song is another example of a song that was covered, and did better than the original.  Climax performed this song in 1973 but did not chart, while the Righteous Brothers took it to the top 10 in the United States.  Lyric would be added in the years to come as more rock stars passed.

 

INSTRUMENTAL TRACK:

Chameleon by Herbie Hancock This jazz funk instrumental track closes out the podcast for the week. 

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