B-side "When It's Over" Recorded July 29, 1964 Length 2:40 | Released September 1964 Genre Pop Label Liberty Records | |
"Sidewalk Surfin'" is a song written by Brian Wilson and Roger Christian, and recorded by 1960s American pop singers, Jan and Dean. The song was recorded as a single and then appeared on the 1964 album, Ride The Wild Surf and later on the Little Old Lady From Pasadena album. The B-side of the single is "When It's Over". Sidewalk Surfin'" reached up to number 25 on the Billboard Hot 100 on October 31, 1964, which was Jan & Dean's lowest charting single in a year and a half since they released their number one hit single with "Surf City". Jan and Dean were known for their music of the 1960s surf era with songs like "Dead Man's Curve", "Drag City", and "The Little Old Lady from Pasadena".
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Composition
Jan Berry wanted to write about another sport other then surfing. He came up with the idea of making music about skateboarding. After trying to come up with a song about that sport by himself, he decided to go with a song by the Beach Boys called "Catch a Wave". The song "Catch a Wave" was on the group's 1963 album Surfer Girl. Berry asked the composer, Brian Wilson and Wilson's current lyric associate, Roger Christian, to rewrite it. They came up with "Sidewalk Surfin'", which is "Catch a Wave" with different lyrics associated about skateboarding.
Reissue
When the original recording of "Sidewalk Surfin'" got reissued as a single 12 years later, in the summer of 1976, the single got radio attention once again. This time the single hovered right under the Bill Board Hot 100 placing at 107. That was their first and last single to get major radio attention and to almost place on the charts since 1967.
Live versions
Jan and Dean performed a lip-synched version of the song on American Bandstand on August 22, 1964. "Sidewalk Surfin'" was performed live at the T.A.M.I. Show by Jan & Dean on December 29, 1964.
Cover versions
Jan Berry covered the song by himself as a single in 1976, rewriting some of the lyrics to keep up with the new names and tricks of skateboarding of the 1970s. The lyrics were also easier for Berry to sing after the aphasia Berry got from his car accident near Dead Man's Curve, on April 12, 1966.