The Beach Boys

Released: March 24, 1980

Songwriter: Chuck Berry

Producer: Bruce Johnston

[Intro]
School days
School days
Dear old Golden Rule days

[Verse]
Up in the morning and out to school
The teacher is teaching the Golden Rule
American History and Practical Math
Studying hard and hoping to pass
And working your fingers right down the bone
The guy behind you won't leave you alone
Ring ring goes the bell
The cook in the lunchroom ready to sell
You're lucky if you can find a seat
You're fortunate if you have time to eat
Back in the classroom open your books
The teacher don't know how mean she looks
Soon as three o'clock rolls around
You finally lay your burden down
Throw down your books get out of your seat
And down the halls and into the street
Up to the corner and around the bend
Right to the juke joint you go in
Drop the coin right into the slot
You gotta hear something that's really hot
With the one you love you're making romance
And all day long you've been wanting to dance
Feeling the music from head to toe
And round and round and round you go

[Outro]
Hail hail rock and roll
Deliver me from the days of old
Long live rock and roll
The beat of the drums loud and bold
Rock rock rock and roll
The feeling is there, body and soul

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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