Released September 16, 1963 Length 2:11 Writer(s) Brian Wilson
Mike Love | Genre Surf rock Label Capitol | |
Recorded July 14 / 16, 1963
Western Studios | ||
"Catch a Wave" is a song written by Brian Wilson and Mike Love for American rock band, The Beach Boys, released on their 1963 album Surfer Girl. In 1990, Wilson wrote of the song: "[It] was more rhythmic. The guitars were more clean and driving as if to say they didn't wanna stop. The piano was played by me and it was perfectly synchronized with the guitars. The 3 different sounds combined to make one unique sound. I was ecstatic about this."
Contents
In 1964, a rewritten version of the song was recorded by Jan and Dean as "Sidewalk Surfin'". It was released as a single and charted at #25 in Billboard.
Recording
As Al Jardine performs on bass and sings on the track, "Catch a Wave" is an example of the six-man lineup the band had at times in the summer and fall of 1963, prior to Marks' quitting the Beach Boys late in the year.
Personnel
Variations
The album track was re-released in 1968, minus vocals, for the sing-along Stack-O-Tracks album, which features all-instrumental versions of original Beach Boys recordings.
Despite never being released as a single, the track was included on the greatest-hits 1974 Endless Summer album that revived the commercial sales of the band. The track is also featured in the 1993 box set Good Vibrations: Thirty Years of the Beach Boys in a version that is about 11 seconds longer due to the 'fade' coming after the refrain is sung four times, not two, as is the case with the original releases.
Other recordings
Al Jardine released a live version of "Catch a Wave" on his Live in Las Vegas album.