Surf City (song)

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Name = Surf City


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Artist = Jan and Dean
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Released = 1963
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Writer = Brian Wilson
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Label = Liberty Records
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"Surf City" is a surf song which, as recorded by Jan and Dean, was a number one hit in 1963.

The first draft of the song, with (working title "Goody Connie Won't You Come Back Home", was written by Brian Wilson of The Beach Boys. He gave it to Jan Berry and Dean Torrence of Jan and Dean who finished writing and recording it with Wilson in the early 1960s. Although Torrence contributed several important phrases to the song and kept the original lyrics which were scanned and now appear on the official Jan and Dean website, Torrence never insisted that his name should be recognized on the label as one of the authors of the song and his contribution is often overlooked.

"Surf City" became the first surf song to reach number one on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 in 1963. The song also crossed to #3 on Billboard's R&B charts. In 1991, after moving to the city of Huntington Beach, California, Torrence went on to help convince elected officials that his new home town should be officially nicknamed "Surf City" [http://surfcityusa.com/contact/info.html] . The name has been enthusiastically embraced and today more than 65 businesses in the city include "Surf City" as part of their name, the largest concentration of Surf City businesses in the world.

Torrence was also part of the team that developed the Surf City USA brand championed by the Huntington Beach Conference and Visitors Bureau.

The Ramones covered "Surf City" on their album "Acid Eaters". The Go-Gos sang a cover version at "An All-Star Tribute to Brian Wilson (2001)." They substituted the lyrics "Two girls for every boy" with "Two boys for every girl." The Meteors sang a cover version as well.

External links

* [http://jananddean.com Official website]