Notable Vocal Tracks
While the title track of the album was the center of attention (with its B-side "Shut Down" receiving some notice in the process), there were other highlights to be found. "Farmer's Daughter", the first of many Brian Wilson falsetto lead vocals, was affecting enough that Fleetwood Mac covered it live in 1980. "Lonely Sea" is a melancholic ballad Wilson wrote with Gary Usher. It was first recorded on the 19th of April 1962 at Western Studios and was included on the demo track that resulted in the band getting signed to Capitol Records. That recorded performance appears on Surfin' USA accompanied with overdubbed harmonies added during the recording of the rest of Surfin' USA. "Lana" and "Finders Keepers" (with its Four Seasons-esque hook) are also acclaimed tracks from Surfin' USA.
The title track, "Surfin' USA", became The Beach Boys' first big hit in the US and took its parent album into gold record status and the Top 10, peaking at number 2. In 1965, upon re-release in the UK, Surfin' USA would reach number 17.
The song "Surfin' USA" is part of the The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's 500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll list.
Read more about this topic: Surfin' USA
Famous quotes containing the words notable, vocal and/or tracks:
“a notable prince that was called King John;
And he ruled England with main and with might,
For he did great wrong, and maintained little right.”
—Unknown. King John and the Abbot of Canterbury (l. 2–4)
“The sound of tireless voices is the price we pay for the right to hear the music of our own opinions. But there is also, it seems to me, a moment at which democracy must prove its capacity to act. Every man has a right to be heard; but no man has the right to strangle democracy with a single set of vocal chords.”
—Adlai Stevenson (1900–1965)
“Our law very often reminds one of those outskirts of cities where you cannot for a long time tell how the streets come to wind about in so capricious and serpent-like a manner. At last it strikes you that they grew up, house by house, on the devious tracks of the old green lanes; and if you follow on to the existing fields, you may often find the change half complete.”
—Walter Bagehot (1826–1877)