The Beach Boys, Surf Music, the
British Invasion, and the Latin
Stream in the 1960s
Brian Wilson and the Beach Boys
Formed in 1961 by Brian Wilson, his two
brothers, a cousin, and a friend in Hawthorne,
California
 Brian Wilson was the guiding spirit of the band
during the group’s first decade.
 The defining model of the Beach Boys:
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– Demonstrate mastery of early rock ’n’ roll
– Create original material based on and extending those
styles
– Branch out beyond the forms, sounds, and lyrics of
traditional rock ’n’ roll to create something truly
unique
Brian Wilson and the Beach Boys
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The songs of the Beach Boys enshrined
Wilson’s somewhat mythical version of
California in the consciousness of young
Americans.
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“Surfin’ Safari”
“Surfer Girl”
“The Warmth of the Sun”
“California Girls”
Wilson’s vision was inclusive even though it
remained place specific.
Brian Wilson’s Journey from Imitation,
through Emulation, to Innovation
The Beach Boys’ first Top 10 hit, the famous “Surfin’
USA” (Number Three, 1963), simply borrows the music
of Chuck Berry’s 1958 hit “Sweet Little Sixteen” with
new words.
The Beach Boys’ next hit, “Surfer Girl” (Number Seven,
1963), reinvigorated the sound and spirit of the doowop ballad by infusing it with California beach content.
“Fun, Fun, Fun”
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The group’s first hit of 1964 evoked Chuck Berry.
The solo guitar introduction cops its twelve-bar blues licks
directly from Berry’s “Roll Over Beethoven” and “Johnny B.
Goode.”
Brian Wilson’s Journey from Imitation,
through Emulation, to Innovation
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By mid-1964, Wilson had moved past
obvious emulation into a period of
aggressive experimentation with his
inherited styles and forms.
“I Get Around”
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The Beach Boys’ first Number One record
Turns the up-tempo rock ’n’ roll anthem into
a thoroughly individual kind of expression
“Surf Music”
The popular duo Jan (Berry) and Dean
(Torrence) worked with Brian Wilson and
the Beach Boys on a number of projects.
 Wilson co-wrote Jan and Dean’s biggest
hit, “Surf City” (Number One, 1963).
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Dick Dale (b. 1937)
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The guitar style of Southern California surf music is based on the
sound created by Dick Dale of the Del Tones.
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Solid-body guitar
High-wattage Fender amplifier
Lots of reverb
“Wet” sounding surf guitar
One of Dick Dale’s characteristic techniques was the rapid,
descending tremolo
– Borrowed by the Chantays to open their recording of “Pipeline”
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Sustained national recognition eluded Dick Dale in the 1960s.
His music became famous in the 1990s, when his recording of
“Misirlou,” from 1962, was used as opening music in the hit film Pulp
Fiction.
Ventures
The most successful instrumental group
associated with surf rock
 Seattle-based ensemble
 Adopted aspects of the style after it
became popular in California
 The Ventures hit Number Four with
“Hawaii Five-0”
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– Theme song of the hit TV show
– Featured on American Bandstand
The Beatles, the British Invasion, and the
American Response

The Beatles
– If greatness is measured in commercial success and
popularity, the Beatles were the greatest popular
musicians of the twentieth century.
They started out as a performing band modeled
on Buddy Holly’s group, the Crickets.
 After some initial shifts in personnel, the Beatles
achieved a stable lineup by 1962, consisting of
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– John Lennon and George Harrison (lead and rhythm
guitars and vocals),
– Paul McCartney (bass and vocals), and
– Ringo Starr (drums and occasional vocals).
The Beatles
During their extended apprenticeship
period, the Beatles played at clubs in their
hometown of Liverpool and elsewhere.
 In Hamburg, Germany, they performed an
imitative repertoire that centered on
covers of songs by the American rock ’n’
roll artists they most admired.
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Listening: “Please Please Me”
(1962)
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Written by John Lennon and Paul McCartney
Performed by the Beatles
An excellent example of the Beatles’ early
songwriting and performing.
Straightforward, up-tempo love song in a typical
AABA form
Clever internal rhymes: “complainin’” is rhymed
with “rain in [my heart]” at the beginning of the
B section.
Listening: “Please Please Me”
(1962)
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Formal structure with two levels
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The A sections have their own distinctive form,
aabc: a phrases have descending melodic motion;
b phrase text simply repeats the words “come on,
come on,” building intensity; the c phrase is the
melodic high point of the section.
AABA
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A
A
B
A
aabc
aabc
d d’
aabc
Listening: “Please Please Me”
(1962)
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A
–a
–a
Descending melodic motion
Again
–b
“Come on, come on”—builds intensity
–c
“Please, please me”—melodic high
point of the section
B
– d “ I don’t…” Bridge—new music
– d’ “I do…”
Change/extension of phrase
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A
Exact repetition of A section
Listening: “A Hard Day’s Night”
(1964)
Written by John Lennon and Paul
McCartney
 Performed by the Beatles
 Number One in 1964
 Title song of the Beatles’ first movie
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Begins with dissonant guitar chord—
effective hook
Listening: “A Hard Day’s Night”
(1964)
Overall form is AABA
 The A section is twelve bars long, has
three four-bar phrases, and uses blue
notes that do not follow the typical blues
harmonic structure.
 More than the three traditional chords are
used.
 The chord changes don’t always happen in
the expected places.
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Listening: “A Hard Day’s Night”
(1964)
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A Blues-like twelve-bars
– It’s been a hard day’s night…
– It’s been a hard day’s night…
– But when I get home to you…
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A
– You know I work…
– And it’s worth it…
– So why on earth…
Listening: “A Hard Day’s Night”
(1964)
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B When I’m home… bridge—new music
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A—Exact repetition of first A
A—Instrumental—Guitar solo, eight bars
 Voice enters for last four bars of section
 B When I’m home… as before
 A It’s been a hard day’s… as before
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Listening: “Yesterday”
Instrumentation—acoustic guitar and
strings
 Distinguishing features of Beatles’ style:
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– Reference to popular style
– Emphasis on melody
– Imaginative instrumentation
– Responsiveness to text
Listening: “Yesterday”
Romantic ballad with strong roots in Tin
Pan Alley popular song tradition
 Form: AABABA—variation of Tin Pan Alley
thirty-two-bar AABA form
 Opening A section
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1.
2.
3.
4.
Yesterday
All my troubles…
Now it looks…
Oh, I believe…
Listening: “Eleanor Rigby” (1966)
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Instrumentation: String quartet—violins, viola,
cello
The lyrics describe two lonely people whose lives
have been exercises in futility
The harmony emphasizes the feeling of
loneliness by alternating between two chords
without reaching a goal.
The melody does not lead anywhere; there is no
sense of melodic development.
Verse-Chorus form—alternation of a persistent
refrain and narrative.
The Rolling Stones
Of all the British Invasion acts other than the Beatles, the Rolling
Stones have had the greatest cumulative influence in America.
 They cultivated an image as “bad boys,” in deliberate contrast to
the friendly public image projected by the Beatles.
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“(I
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Can’t Get No) Satisfaction”
Perhaps their most famous hit record
Number One in 1965
Composed by band members Mick Jagger and Keith Richards
 Memorable buzzing guitar hook
 Unrelenting beat
 Unabashedly self-oriented and ultimately sexual lyrics
– The song perfectly exemplifies the distinctive low-down,
hard-rocking essence of both the Rolling Stones themselves
and their music.
Other British Invasion Bands
The other British Invasion acts that had a
long-term impact in America started as the
Beatles did: with firm roots in American
R&B and rock ’n’ roll.
 On the whole, the Rolling Stones, the
Animals, the Who, the Kinks, and Eric
Clapton remained closer to these roots
during their careers than the Beatles did.
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Beach Boys
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Brian Wilson, inspired by the Beatles’ album
Rubber Soul (1965), produced what is
arguably rock’s first concept album, Pet
Sounds.
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Released in mid-1966
Modest seller, compared with some other Beach
Boys albums
Had an enormous impact on other musicians
Paul McCartney affirmed that Pet Sounds was
the single greatest influence on the Beatles’
landmark 1967 album Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely
Hearts Club Band.
“Good Vibrations”
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Wilson furthered his experimentation
with the late 1966 single “Good
Vibrations,” which reached Number One
on the charts and has remained probably
the Beach Boys’ most famous song.
Written and produced by Brian Wilson
Performed by the Beach Boys
Innovative hit single
“Good Vibrations”
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Virtually every aspect of the record is unusual.
– No name for the form
– Unique yet effective
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Wilson uses a rich sound palette to communicate
the sensuous experience that is the essential
subject matter of “Good Vibrations.”
– Memorable melodic hooks and a wide, colorful palette
of chords
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Extremely costly recording to produce
Milestone in the developing history of rock
production
Listening: “Good Vibrations,” 1966
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A “I love the colorful clothes…”
– High solo voice
– Organ accompaniment
– Flutes
– Percussion
– Minor key
Listening: “Good Vibrations,” 1966
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B “I’m picking up good vibrations”
– Bass voice enters
– Accompanied by cello, theremin, percussion
– Group enters with vocals
– Major key
Listening: “Good Vibrations,” 1966
A again
 B again structure suggests verse/chorus
 C Soft humming, then “I don’t know but
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she sends me there…”
– Steadily builds tension
– No stable key
Listening: “Good Vibrations” 1966
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Instrumental transition
– New key established (major)
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D “Gotta keep those lovin’ good vibrations
happenin’ with her”
– Solo voice, then group
– Organ accompaniment
– Text repeats, fades out
Listening: “Good Vibrations,” 1966
Transition—“Aah!”
 Variations on B, “I’m picking up good
vibrations…”
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– Full group texture
– Overlapping vocals
– Major key
– Voices drop out
– Cello and theremin
Smile
At the time Wilson was completing “Good
Vibrations,” he was also at work on an
album to be called Smile.
 Eagerly anticipated for many months,
Smile was abandoned in 1967.
 Wilson returned to and completed Smile in
2004.
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The Latin Stream in the 1960s
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Three distinct tributaries of Latin
influence on mainstream popular music
emerged between 1962 and 1966:
 Bugalú, or Latin soul
 Bossa nova
 Mexican music
Bugalú, or Latin soul
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Emerged in New York City as a fusion of the
rumba and mambo with black American
popular music
Biggest hit was “Watermelon Man,” recorded
by Ramon “Mongo” Santamaria
“El Watusi,” by Ray Barretto and his Charanga
Moderna
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More closely aligned with Latin American music
Pop chart success largely as a result of the Watusi
dance craze
Bossa nova
Brazilian genre, blend of samba rhythms and the
West Coast style of modern jazz
 João Gilberto most often credited with initiating
 First recording of the genre made by Antônio
Carlos Jobim (version of “Chega de Saudade”)
 “The Girl from Ipanema” on the album
Getz/Gilberto, sung by João Gilberto’s wife,
Astrud, with Stan Getz on tenor sax
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– Biggest hit of the bossa nova era
Mexican-style music
Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass
 “Ameriachi” sound
 10 albums in the Billboard Top Ten between
1965 and 1968
 “The Lonely Bull”
 “A Taste of Honey”