The Beach Boys

Released: October 7, 1963

Songwriter: Roger Christian Brian Wilson

Producer: Brian Wilson

[Chorus]
Tach it up, tach it up
Buddy going to shut you down

[Verse 1]
It happened on the strip where the road is wide
(Oooo rev it up now)
Two cool shorts standing side by side
(Oooo rev it up now)
Yeah, my fuel injected Stingray and a four-thirteen
(Oooo rev it up now)
Revving up our engines and it sounds real mean
(Oooo rev it up now)

[Chorus]
Tach it up, tach it up
Buddy going to shut you down

[Verse 2]
Declining numbers at an even rate
(Oooo moving out now)
At the count of one we both accelerate
(Oooo moving out now)
My Stingray is light the slicks are starting to spin
(Oooo moving out now)
But the four-thirteen's really digging in
(Oooo moving out now)
Got to be cool now, power shift - here we go

[Bridge]
Superstock Dodge is winding out in low
But my fuel injected Stingray's really starting to go
To get the traction I'm riding the clutch
My pressure plate's burning that machine's too much

[Verse 3]
Pedal's to the floor hear the dual quads drink
(Oooo pump it up now)
And now the four-thirteen's lead is starting to shrink
(Oooo pump it up now)
He's hot with ram induction but it's understood
(Oooo pump it up now)
I got a fuel injected engine sitting under my hood
(Oooo pump it up now)

[Outro]
Shut it off, shut it off buddy now I shut you down
Shut it off, shut it off buddy now I shut you down
Shut it off, shut it off buddy now I shut you down
Shut it off, shut it off buddy now I shut you down
Shut it off, shut it off buddy now I shut you down

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.

more tracks from the album

Surfin’ U.S.A.

From the albums

Surfin’ U.S.A. (1963)
Shut Down (1963)
Little Deuce Coupe (1963)
Endless Summer (1974)
Good Vibrations: Thirty Years of the Beach Boys (1993)
The Greatest Hits, Volume 1 (1999)
The Best of the Beach Boys: Sounds of Summer (2003)

The Beach Boys popular songs

Shut DownThe Beach Boys

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Surfin’ U.S.A.