G5E4 – Origins of Rock ‘n’ Roll – The Start of The Later Years

Welcome pop pickers. Back to Rock ‘n’ Roll, the start of the later period. This is the sort of music that makes you want to tap your feet, dance, and singalong.

Thank you to Wiki, Britannica, and Top of the Pops.

Courtesy Britannica

Surf music, genre of popular music that arose in southern California in the early 1960s. As the sport of surfing became increasingly popular on the West Coast of the United States, Dick Dale and the Del-Tones provided the sound track, beginning with “Let’s Go Trippin’” in 1961. Dale, a surfer himself, developed a distinctive style of electric-guitar playing that fused Middle Eastern influences, staccato picking, and skilful exploitation of the reverb amplifier (which he helped Leo Fender develop) to create a pulsing, cascading sound that echoed the surfing experience, most notably on “Misirlou” (1962). He led a parade of mostly West Coast-based groups that gained local, then national, popularity with guitar-driven instrumental songs, among them the Chantays (“Pipeline”), the Ventures (“Walk—Don’t Run”), and the Surfaris (whose “Wipe Out” featured the most identifiable drum solo in rock history). Surfing culture also flourished on the beaches of Australia, giving rise not only to an Australian version of surf music but also to the stomp, a national youth dance craze. Australian surf musicians included “Little Pattie” Amphlett (“He’s My Blonde-Headed, Stompie Wompie, Real Gone Surfer Boy” [1963]), the Delltones (“Hangin’ Five” [1963]), the Denvermen (“Surfside” [1963]) and, most prominently, the Atlantics (“Bombora” [1963]).

As Jan and Dean, Jan Berry (b. April 3, 1941, Los Angeles, California, U.S.—d. March 26, 2004, Los Angeles) and Dean Torrence (b. March 10, 1941, Los Angeles) gave voice to surf music with distinctive falsetto harmonies, especially on “Surf City” (1963). It was the Beach Boys, however, led by Brian Wilson, whose complex vocal harmonies, skilled musicianship, inventive production, and evocative lyrics apotheosized surf music and culture with a remarkable string of hits such as “Surfin’ U.S.A.” (1963) and “California Girls” (1965). As the Beach Boys transcended surf music, the genre began to fade, but its influence could still be heard in the 1970s and ’80s in the sound of punk and new wave bands such as the Ramones and the Go-Go’s.

The Tunes:

The featured song is a personal favourite of mine, that many will think is The Beach Boys, but it is actually Jan and Dean. Now unless you lived during the era, or have been lucky enough too see that marvellous film Jan & Dean’s- Deadmans Curve -Complete Movie 1978, then you may have never heard of them and their tunes. The film is just over 90 minutes and based on a true story with some superb music. Highly recommend you bookmark this for later viewing.

Featured song: Surf City – Jan & Dean {Stereo} 1963. Written by Brian Wilson and Jan Berry, it was the first surf song to become a national number-one hit.

In 1964, Jan and Dean were signed to host what became the first multi-act rock and roll show that was edited into a motion picture designed for wide distribution. The T.A.M.I. Show became a seminal and original production – in essence one of the first rock videos – on its release in 1964. Using a high-resolution videotape process called Electronovision (transferred from television directly onto 35mm motion picture stock as a kinescope), new sound recording techniques and having a remarkable cast, The T.A.M.I. Show set the standard for all succeeding music film and video work, including many of the early videos shown by MTV 17 years later. The revolutionary technical achievements of The T.A.M.I. Show and the list of performers (including a performance by James Brown that many critics have called the best of his career) marked a high point for Jan and Dean, as they were the hosts and one of the main featured acts as well. They became one of the main faces of mid-1960s music, until Berry’s auto accident two years later, through their T.A.M.I. Show appearance.

According to rock critic Dave Marsh, the attitude and public persona of punk rock can be traced to Jan and Dean.

Brian Wilson has cited Berry as having a direct impact on his own growth as a record producer.

Jan Berry dies in 2004, Dean still goes on.

A fun song, covered by Jan and dean was Who Put The Bomp, always liked this and covered by many.

Back to Surfin’ and Jan & Dean – Honolulu Lulu, this was recorded in 1987, Jan had recovered well by then.

Another great tune from them is Dead Man’s Curve (1963 Version)

At the time, Jan and Dean where the business. The Beach Boys manager (their dad) was not best pleased that Brian Wilson was wasting No 1 tunes on others.

So, we move into the Beach Boys era:

The Beach Boys – Surfin’ USA Live on the T.A.M.I. Show (1964). Introduced by Jan and Dean.

I have covered the Beach Boys before, but really, any excuse should be used to play a couple of tracks at least:

Beach Boys (Live at Knebworth 1980) – Fun, Fun, Fun

The Beach Boys Barbara Ann 2015 Night Of The Proms, the boys performing in 1985, great fun.

Many others copied the style, some with more success than others. Here’s a classic:

The Ventures – “Wipe Out“, Live In Japan in 1965 in colour!

The Ventures “Walk Don’t Run“, probably never heard of them, but you may well the tune.

The Chantays – Pipeline Tv 1963. Hint of The Shadows you say. Oh, if you let this one play on, straight after is Johnny Cash doing the Bonanza theme.

The Rivieras – California Sun. At the time very big hits indeed.

I think without this era and the influence it gave to many artists, the world would be a poorer place.

Singalong, enjoy and be happy!

Links to Origins Series:

Genre 1 Episode 1 – Motown – The Beginning	Genre 1 Episode 2 – Motown – The early Days	Genre 1 Episode 3 – Motown – The early Days Part 2


Genre 2 Episode 1 –Glam Rock – The Beginning	Genre 2 Episode 2 –Glam Rock – The early days	Genre 2 Episode 3 –Glam Rock – The early days Part 2
Genre 2 Episode 4 – Glam Rock – The Later Years

Genre 3 Episode 1 – The Singers	Genre 3 Episode 2 – The Singers – The early Days	Genre 3 Episode 3 -Origins of the Singers -Later time
Genre 3 – The Singers – A bit of Willie
G4E1 – Origins of Northern Soul & Disco – The Beginning	G4E2 – Northern Soul and Disco – Early days	G4E3 – Northern Soul & Disco – Middle Era
G4E4 – Northern Soul & Disco – Later Years
G5E1 – Origins of Rock ‘n’ Roll – The Beginning	G5E2 – Origins of Rock ‘n’ Roll – Early Days	G5E3 – Origins of Rock ‘n’ Roll – Early Days Middle Era

G6E1 – Those different ones like what I like	G6E2 – Those different ones like what I like – Part 2
G6E3 – Those different ones like what I like – Part 3