The Beach Boys

Released: July 12, 1965

Songwriter: Mike Love Brian Wilson

Producer: Brian Wilson

[Verse 1: Mike Love]
Well, East Coast girls are hip
I really dig those styles they wear
And the Southern girls with the way they talk
They knock me out when I'm down there
The Midwest farmer's daughters really make you feel alright
And the Northern girls with the way they kiss
They keep their boyfriends warm at night

[Chorus: Brian Wilson, Group]
I wish they all could be California (Girls)
I wish they all could be California
I wish they all could be California girls

[Verse 2: Mike Love]
The West Coast has the sunshine
And the girls all get so tanned
I dig a French bikini on Hawaii island
Dolls by a palm tree in the sand
I been all around this great big world
And I seen all kinds of girls
Yeah, but I couldn't wait to get back in the states
Back to the cutest girls in the world

[Chorus: Brian Wilson, Group]
I wish they all could be California (Girls)
I wish they all could be California
I wish they all could be California girls

[Outro: Brian Wilson, Group]
I wish they all could be California
(Girls, girls, girls yeah I dig the)
I wish they all could be California
(Girls, girls, girls yeah I dig the)
I wish they all could be California
(Girls, girls, girls yeah I dig the)
I wish they all could be California
(Girls, girls, girls yeah I dig the)

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

The Greatest Hits, Volume 1

From the albums

Summer Days (And Summer Nights!!) (1965)
Endless Summer (1974)
Summertime Gold (1984)
Made In U.S.A. (1986)
Still Cruisin’ (1989)
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)
Capital Gold Rock Legends (2004)
Greatest Hits (2012)
The Beach Boys with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra (2018)
NOW 100 Hits Summer [UK] (2020)

The Beach Boys popular songs

California GirlsThe Beach Boys

The Beach Boys

The Greatest Hits, Volume 1