Even if you didn’t grow up in the 60s, a time when surf rock was truly flourishing, you’ve definitely heard some of the era’s best hits. Here are a few surf rock songs that almost everyone can recognize.
“Misirlou” by Dick Dale and His Del Tones
Even though most people know the 1962 version, this song was first widely introduced to audiences in 1927. It was then that composer Tetos Demitriades recorded the traditional folk song. The original author of “Misirlou” is unknown. Throughout the 40s, different versions of the song were recorded by other artists, like Jan August. Then, in 1962, Dick Dale gave it a surf rock spin.
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“Surfin’ USA” by The Beach Boys
The Beach Boys have plenty of songs in their catalog worth mentioning. However, in terms of surf rock, it feels like a crime not to mention “Surfin’ USA”. This song actually took inspiration from a Chuck Berry hit called “Sweet Little Sixteen”, which has a lot of sonic similarities to this song. Hence, Berry is included as a co-writer on “Surfin’ USA”.
In an interview with SongFacts, Mike Love highlighted Berry as one of his major inspirations.
“…And for instance, the writing style of Chuck Berry, the way he crafted those little stories to go with the catchy hooks and his guitar licks that he came up with,” he shared. “Not to mention the rock & roll beat was something really inspirational to me in the early days of our career…”
“Hawaii Five-O” by The Ventures
Especially if you’re a fan of Hawaii Five-O, the TV show that first aired in 1968, you’re definitely familiar with this song. The Ventures recorded this cover of the original theme song for the show, and it peaked at No. 4 on the Billboard Hot 100 pop chart in the late 60s.
“Surf City” by Jan & Dean
“Surf City” by Jan and Dean was actually the first song in this genre to go No. 1. Brian Wilson of The Beach Boys was the one who started it and showed it to Jan and Dean early on at a party. Funnily enough, the duo was first interested in recording “Surfin’ USA” before they heard this song, but Wilson was already saving that one for The Beach Boys.
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