Table Of ContentBecoming the Beach Boys,
1961–1963
This page intentionally left blank
Becoming
the Beach Boys,
1961–1963
James B. Murphy
McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers
Jefferson, North Carolina
LIBRARYOFCONGRESSCATALOGUING-IN-PUBLICATIONDATA
Murphy, James B., 1956– author.
Becoming the Beach Boys, 1961–1963 / James B. Murphy.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-0-7864-7365-6 (softcover : acid free paper) ♾
ISBN 978-1-4766-1853-1 (ebook)
1. Beach Boys. 2. Rock musicians—United States—Biography. I. Title.
ML421.B38M87 2015 782.42166092'2—dc23 [B] 2015013949
BRITISHLIBRARYCATALOGUINGDATAAREAVAILABLE
© 2015 Becoming the Beach Boys, LLC. All rights reserved
No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form
or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying
or recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system,
without permission in writing from the publisher.
Cover graphics: Limited edition replica of a Pendleton
shirt as worn by the group when they were the Pendletones;
“Surfin’” on Candix 331, the Beach Boys’ first 45 rpm record;
yearbook photograph, March 1962 (Torrance,
California, High School 1962 Torch)
Printed in the United States of America
McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers
Box 611, Jefferson, North Carolina 28640
www.mcfarlandpub.com
For Bernadette
Only God knows what I’d be without you
This page intentionally left blank
Table of Contents
Acknowledgments ix
Preface 1
Introduction 3
A Note About Record Charts 7
1. Hawthorne High and Graduation Day 9
2. Hawthorne, California 24
3. Headed for Hollywood: Dorinda and Hite Morgan 34
4. On Our Way to Sunny California: Virginia and Donald Jardine 46
5. A Musical Education 56
6. Life After High School (July 1960–July 1961) 68
7. Someone Should Write a Song About Surfing (August–October 1961) 81
8. Pendletones Become Surfers (November 1961) 100
9. CANDIX Enterprises, Inc. 111
10. “Call Them the Beach Boys”—Russ Regan 117
11. A Month of Firsts (December 1961) 124
12. Number 3 in LA (January–February 1962) 137
13. One Hit Wonders (March 1962) 156
14. Making Tracks … to the Tower (April 1962) 168
15. A Capitol Contract (May–June 1962) 185
16. Safari, California Style (July 1962) 201
17. Pandora’s Box and Azusa Teen Club (August 1962) 212
18. Beyond the Boys (September 1962) 226
19. An Album Debut and the Pressure’s On (October–December 1962) 239
20. A Sonic Tidal Wave (January–March 1963) 259
21. Making Waves in the Midwest (April–June 1963) 281
22. 36 Cities in 45 days (July–August 1963) 297
vii
viii Table of Contents
23. The Greatest Second Chance in Rock ’n’ Roll (September–October 1963) 309
24. “The Warmth of the Sun” (November–December 1963) 319
Coda: The Hite Morgan Tapes—Discovery, Illumination, and Litigation 324
Appendix 1: The Beach Boys’ Personal Appearances, 1961–1963 343
Appendix 2: Timeline of “Surfin’” Releases 368
Appendix 3: “Surfin’” Chart Position History 369
Appendix 4: “Surfin’” Revenue and Expense Stream, and Production Flow 370
Appendix 5: Standard Songwriter’s Contract for “Surfin’” Dated
September 15, 1961 371
Appendix 6: Floor Plan of Hite and Dorinda Morgan’s Home, 2511 Mayberry
Street 372
Appendix 7: Floor Plan of CANDIX Enterprises, 6425 Hollywood Boulevard 373
Appendix 8: American Federation of Musicians Contract Dated February 8, 1962 374
Appendix 9: Letter of Intent and Agreement from Murry Wilson to Hite B.
Morgan Dated March 29, 1962 375
Appendix 10: Floor Plan of Stereo Masters, 5534–5538 Melrose Avenue 376
Appendix 11: The Beach Boys’ Midwest Tour, April 24–May 5, 1963 377
Appendix 12: “Dennis”by Dorinda Morgan 378
Chapter Notes 379
Bibliography 400
Index 405
Acknowledgments
My goal with Becoming the Beach Boys, 1961–1963, was to further our understanding
of the early history and recording career of the Beach Boys.
A debt of gratitude is owed to the many writers and historians who have researched
and documented the Beach Boys story, contributing immeasurably to our understanding of
the band. This book would not be possible without their invaluable, and often ground-
breaking, work. I wish to thank: Kingsley Abbott, Eric Aniversario, Keith Badman, David
Beard, Alan Boyd, Dave Burke, Peter Ames Carlin, Brian Chidester, Mark Dillon, Andrew
G. Doe, Brad Elliott, Steven Gaines, Christian Haschke, Steve Hoffman, David Leaf, Mark
Linett, Stephen J. McParland, Tom Nolan, Jerry Osborne, Byron Preiss, Domenic Priore,
Peter Reum, Ian Rusten, Manfred Schmidt, Gene Sculati, Ken Sharp, Craig Slowinski, Jon
Stebbins, Alan Taylor, John Tobler, Paul Urbahns, Timothy White, and Paul Williams.
You Need a Mess of Help
I am appreciative and humbled by the kindness of the many people willing to assist
with this project. Many of the women interviewed for this book have married or changed
their surnames. To avoid confusion, and with all due respect, I refer to them by the names
they used during the time period of this book.
For their generous contributions I would like to extend a warm thank you to: Neil
Anson (East Bakersfield High School, ’63), Patrick E. Auerbach (Alumni Relations, Uni-
versity of Southern California), Robina Aziz (Stanislaus County Library, Modesto, Cali-
fornia), Tony Bacon (Jawbone Press/Backbeat UK), John Baker (Hawthorne High School
alumni website cougartown.c om), Charles Bates (Allen County, Ohio, Historical Society),
Jolie Bergman, Derek Bill, Paula Biondi- Springer, Jed Birmingham, Jeanette Berard (special
collections librarian, Thousand Oaks, California, Library), Mike Bricker, Michael Brown-
ing, Neal Burdick (St. Lawrence University, Canton, New York), Sue Burin (El Camino
Community College, Torrance, California), Janie Campbell (Brigham Young University),
Gordon Carmadelle (American Federation of Musicians, Local 47), Karen Caruso (Prince
George’s County, Maryland, inter- library loan officer), Les Chan, Drew Cherven (Petoskey,
Michigan, Library), Peter J. Chinnici (archivist, Marlborough School), Don Conder, Paul
Coombe (Mahanoy, Pennsylvania, Area Historical Society), Jill Cox (Modesto, California,
Public Library), Perry D. Cox, Karl Crawford (Greenwood Cemetery, genealogical research,
Petoskey, Michigan), Eileen Crosby (Holyoke History Room and Archives, Holyoke, Mas-
sachusetts, Public Library), Dominick Jabbia (Ohio County Public Library, Wheeling,
ix
