"Graduation Day" 50 Songs That Shaped The Beach Boys

Graduation Day earns it's diploma' - Record Collector
'Surf's up!' - Shindig!
'A peek inside young Brian Wilson’s vinyl collection…the inspiration that sparked his genius' - Vintage Rock50 years ago, the Beach Boys cracked the US Top 10 with Surfin’ USA, consolidating a career that had been successful from their very first single, and which has remained so ever since. The hits continued until the end of the ’80s, and the group was back in the headlines in 2012 when the surviving original members took part in the 50th Anniversary Reunion Tour. Compiled and annotated by writer and radio presenter Spencer Leigh, the 2CD set Graduation Day celebrates the Beach Boys’ illustrious career by looking at the music that influenced chief songwriter Brian Wilson and the rest of the group, including songs recorded by them. By embracing mainstream pop (Patti Page), doo-wop (the Delroys, the Olympics, the Regents), folk (the Kingston Trio), the first surf instrumentals (Dick Dale), novelty acts (Bobby Boris Pickett & the Crypt Kickers) and one-off geniuses like George Gershwin and Phil Spector, as well as the better-known rock & roll (Eddie Cochran, Freddy Cannon) and R&B (Little Willie John) influences, Graduation Day represents the full extent of the Beach Boys’ musical tastes.

As might be expected, the musical predilections of Brian Wilson dominate the selection, but Graduation Day also reflects the tastes of the rest of the group – Brian’s brothers Dennis and Carl, their cousin Mike Love, as well as Al Jardine, David Marks and Bruce Johnston. In order to have as broad a range of artists as possible, most of the acts have been limited to one track apiece. However, it would be mistaken to limit Chuck Berry and vocal harmony group the Four Freshmen as it was the combination of Berry’s rhythms and the Freshmen’s harmonies that got the Beach Boys started. It’s also intriguing to observe, as Spencer Leigh does in his notes, how often the same names pop up behind the scenes on the diverse recordings which constitute Graduation Day. Brought to you by the same team that was responsible for the highly popular Love Me Do: 50 Songs That Shaped the Beatles, and sporting a 20pp illustrated booklet, Graduation Day will make the Beach Boys’ many fans very happy.

trax disc 1:

1. Graduation Day - The Four Freshmen 2. Smokey Joe's Café - The Robins 3. Two Step Side Step - Bonnie Lou 4. Jennie Lee - Jan & Arnie 5. Teen Beat - Sandy Nelson 6. Hideout - John & Judy 7. Sweet Little Sixteen - Chuck Berry 8. At The Hop - Danny & The Juniors 9. Bluebirds Over The Mountain - Ritchie Valens 10. Bermuda Shorts - The Delroys 11. Devoted To You - The Everly Brothers 12. (Baby) Hully Gully - The Olympics 13. Summertime Blues - Eddie Cochran 14. Sloop John B - The Kingston Trio 15. Barbara-Ann - The Regents 16. Corinna, Corinna - Ray Peterson 17. He's Sure The Boy I Love - The Crystals 18. Why Do Fools Fall In Love - Frankie Lymon & The Teenagers 19. A Casual Look - The Six Teens 20. Young Blood - The Coasters 21. When You Wish Upon A Star - Dion & The Belmonts 22. The Train Of Love - Annette 23. Old Cape Cod - Patti Page 24. Rhapsody In Blue - Glenn Miller 25. I Got Rhythm - Ella Fitzgerald

trax disc 2:

1. Let’s Go Trippin’ - Dick Dale 2. Their Hearts Were Full Of Spring - The Four Freshmen 3. The Wanderer - Dion 4. A Million To One - Jimmy Charles 5. Palisades Park - Freddy Cannon 6. Cindy, Oh Cindy - Vince Martin & The Tarriers 7. Papa-Oom-Mow-Mow - The Rivingtons 8. Hushabye - The Mystics 9. Do You Want To Dance - Bobby Freeman 10. Money Honey - Clyde McPhatter & The Drifters 11. Johnny B Goode - Chuck Berry 12. Mountain Of Love - Harold Dorman 13. Heart And Soul - Jan & Dean 14. Alley-Oop - The Hollywood Argyles 15. Monster Mash - Bobby "Boris" Pickett & The Crypt-Kickers 16. In The Still Of The Nite - The Five Satins 17. Running Bear - Johnny Preston 18. Come Go With Me - The Del-Vikings 19. Talk To Me, Talk To Me - Little Willie John 20. Sea Cruise - Frankie Ford 21. Miserlou - Dick Dale & The Del-Tones 22. I'm So Young - The Students 23. Cotton Fields - The Highwaymen 24. Little Girl Blue - The Four Freshmen 25. Louie Louie - Richard Berry & The Pharaohs

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