The Beach Boys

Released: November 8, 1965

Songwriter: Dallas Frazier

Producer: Brian Wilson

[Intro]
Hey hey hey
Da da da
That's what I say
Da da da

[Verse 1]
There's a man in the funny papers we all know
Alley Oop Oop, Oop Oop Oop
He lived way back a long time ago
Alley Oop Oop, Oop Oop Oop
Well he don't eat nothing but bearcat stew
Alley Oop Oop, Oop Oop Oop
Oh well this cat's name is a-Alley Oop
Alley Oop Oop, Oop Oop Oop

[Chorus]
He's the toughest man there is alive
Alley Oop
Wears clothes from a wildcat's hide
Alley Oop
He's the king of the jungle jive
Look at that caveman go!

[Verse 2]
He's got a chauffeur that's a genuine dinosaur
Alley Oop Oop, Oop Oop Oop
And he can knuckle your head before you count to four
Alley Oop Oop, Oop Oop Oop
He's got a big ugly club and a headful of hair
Alley Oop Oop, Oop Oop Oop
He's oohhhh eating grizzly bear
Alley Oop Oop, Oop Oop Oop
Forgot the words!

[Chorus]
He's the toughest man there is alive
Alley Oop
Wears clothes from a wildcat's hide
Alley Oop
He's the king of the jungle jive
Look at that caveman go!

[Verse 3]
He rides through the jungle tearing limbs offa trees
Alley Oop Oop, Oop Oop Oop
And knocking great big monsters dead on their knees
Alley Oop Oop, Oop Oop Oop
Other cats don't bug him because they know better
Alley Oop Oop, Oop Oop Oop
Because he's a mean motor scooter and a bad go-getter
Alley Oop Oop, Oop Oop Oop

[Chorus]
Well, uh, he's the toughest man there is alive
Alley Oop
Wears clothes from a wildcat's hide
Alley Oop
He's a hully gully king of jive
Well look at that caveman go!

[Bridge]
There he goes
(There he goes)
Alley Oop Oop, Oop Oop Oop
Look at that caveman go
Alley Oop Oop, Oop Oop Oop
Ride, daddy, ride
Alley Oop Oop, Oop Oop Oop
Heigh-ho, dinosaur
Alley Oop Oop, Oop Oop Oop
Oh my goodness, what a big brute he is! Hm!
Alley Oop Oop, Oop Oop Oop
Oh, how would you like a dinosaur like that, for your own? Mm!
Alley Oop Oop, Oop Oop Oop[x2]

[Outro]
(G minor. D7.)
(What now? What now?)
(Just give me a minute.)
(Brian, I need a B flat...You know I can't read.)

The Beach Boys are one of the world’s best-selling bands of all time and the first American pop band to reach the 50-year milestone. Their vocal harmonies are among the most unmistakable and enduring of the rock and roll era.

Formed in 1961 in Hawthorne, California, by Brian Wilson, his two brothers Carl and Dennis, their cousin Mike Love, and classmate Al Jardine, the group’s first single “Surfin'” got them signed to Capitol Records and they quickly became one of the most popular and successful artists of the surf music craze of the 1960s. From 1962 to 1966, The Beach Boys scored over twenty top 40 hits in the US including the chart-toppers “I Get Around”, “Help Me Rhonda” & “Good Vibrations” along with the top 5’s “Surfin USA”, “Fun, Fun, Fun”, “California Girls”, “Barbara Ann” & “Sloop John B”. Several of the band’s singles also found top 40 success in Canada, Australia, Sweden and the UK. In 1965, de facto leader Brian Wilson suffered a mental breakdown due to the stress of writing, producing & touring combined with substance abuse issues, causing him to step down and stop traveling with the band on tour.

Inspired by producer Phil Spector and The Beatles' Rubber Soul, Brian focused on studio work, determined to keep the group relevant as the surf music scene was fading with their 1966 album Pet Sounds. Despite tension between members in the studio about this new direction, lack of faith from the record label, mixed reviews, and comparatively lukewarm reception initially in the US, the album still found massive success in the UK and earned accolades from fellow artists including The Beatles, who acknowledged that the album was their inspiration to further push the boundaries of pop music with their landmark album Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band. Eventually Pet Sounds would be acknowledged as one of the greatest albums ever recorded by several media outlets like The Times, Mojo Magazine, The Guardian, VH1, BBC and Rolling Stone.

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