The Beach Boys - 409

PLEASE NOTE: I divided my uploads between multiple channels, Bookmark this link in your browser for instant access to an index with links to all of John1948's oldies classics. LINK: http://tinyurl.com/Channel-IndexThe Beach Boys are an American rock band, formed in 1961 in Hawthorne, California. The group was initially composed of brothers Brian, Dennis and Carl Wilson, their cousin Mike Love, and friend Al Jardine. Managed by the Wilsons' father Murry, The Beach Boys signed to Capitol Records in 1962. The band's early music gained popularity across the United States for its close vocal harmonies and lyrics reflecting a Southern California youth culture of surfing, cars, and romance. By the mid 1960s, Brian Wilson's growing creative ambition and songwriting ability would dominate the group's musical direction. The primarily Wilson-composed Pet Sounds album and "Good Vibrations" single (both released in 1966) featured a complex, intricate and multi-layered sound that was a far cry from the simple surf rock of The Beach Boys' early years.However, Wilson would soon lose control of the band due to mental-health and substance-abuse issues. Subsequently, although it released a number of popular albums (in various musical styles, with different line-ups) in ensuing years, the group never managed to reclaim its mid-'60s peak when The Beach Boys briefly challenged The Beatles both in terms of commercial and critical appeal. Since the 1980s, there has been much legal-wrangling among the group members over royalties, songwriting credits, and use of the band's name. While The Beach Boys released their last studio album in 1996, a number of versions of the band, each fronted by a surviving member of the original quintet (Dennis and Carl Wilson died in 1983 and 1998, respectively), continue to tour.The Beach Boys have often been called "America's Band", and Allmusic has stated that "the band's unerring ability... made them America's first, best rock band." The group has had 36 United States Top 40 hits (the most by an American rock band) and 56 Hot 100 hits, including four number-one singles.[2] Rolling Stone magazine listed The Beach Boys at number 12 on their 2004 list of the "100 Greatest Artists of All Time". The core quintet of the three Wilsons, Love and Jardine was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1988."409" is a song written by Brian Wilson, Mike Love and Gary Usher. The song features Mike Love singing lead vocals. It was originally released as the b-side of the "Surfin' Safari" single. It was later released on their 1962 album, Surfin' Safari, and it was also on their 1963 album, Little Deuce Coupe."Surfin Safari" would reach #14 on the Billboard Hot 100, while 409 reached #76. Originally promoted as the A-side by Capitol, "409" went on to feature in many regional markets. It was the most popular song of 1962 in Dallas (KBOX chart) and, also as the A-side penetrated the top tens of Vancouver, Seattle, Denver and San Bernardino and top 30 in Los Angeles (KFWB). It was co-hit with its later designated A-side near the top of play lists in most other areas.The "409" of the song is the Chevrolet 409, a 409 cubic inch W-series V8 engine popular with "hot rodders" of the time. Gary Usher, who wrote the majority of the lyric for the song dreamed at that time of one day owning a Chevrolet 409.The song was originally credited to just Wilson and Usher. Mike Love's name was added as a result of a lawsuit filed by him against Wilson in the 1990s."409" was recorded at the third Beach Boys recording session, on April 19, 1962, at Western Studios. The band's previous record label, Candix, had folded, and with the recordings made at this session, the band was able to sign with Capitol Records. This was David Marks's first session as a member of the band.The engine noises heard at the beginning of the song were of Usher's Chevrolet 348, the W-series predecessor to the 409.SOURCE: Wikipedia