Roots of the Beach Boys

Liner Note Author: Dave Henderson.
The Beach Boys' California sound was a joyful hybrid of Chuck Berry guitar riffs, Four Freshmen vocal harmonies, and a young man's fascination with fun and motion, which, in the case here, meant songs about cars, surfboards, and girls. That Brian Wilson and company cobbled all of this together into a soundtrack for an endless summer was either a stroke of genius or blind luck, and most likely a little of both. This set collects the originals of songs the Beach Boys either recorded or adapted, and the group's roots and influences are clear as sleigh bells. Chuck Berry is here ("Sweet Little Sixteen"), and so are the Four Freshmen ("Graduation Day"), as well as Ritchie Valens ("Bluebirds Over the Mountain") and Bobby Freeman ("Do You Wanna Dance"), and even Leadbelly ("Cotton Fields"), making this a fun playlist even without the Beach Boys angle. It's perfect for a long drive at the start of that endless summer. ~ Steve Leggett