The Beach Boys Medley

1981 single by The Beach Boys

"The Beach Boys Medley"

Single by The Beach Boys

B-side

"God Only Knows"

Released

July 1981

Length

4:05

Label

Capitol

Songwriter(s)

Brian Wilson
Mike Love
Roger Christian
Fred Fassert
Chuck Berry

The Beach Boys singles chronology

"Livin' with a Heartache"
(1980)

"The Beach Boys Medley"
(1981)

"Come Go with Me"
(1981)

"The Beach Boys Medley" is a single containing a medley of popular Beach Boys songs from the 1960s, edited by John Palladino. Released in mid-1981, it capitalized on a medley craze begun by the Stars on 45 medleys. "The Beach Boys Medley" reached number 12 on the Billboard Hot 100,^[1] becoming the band's highest-charting hit in the United States in over five years. The single peaked at number 8 on the Cash Box sales chart. It also reached number 4 in New Zealand.^[2] "The Beach Boys Medley" was first released on an album a year later in 1982 on Sunshine Dream.

Earlier medley

A Beach Boys medley entitled "Surf's Up", produced by South Florida musicians and engineer Chuck Kirkpatrick, was created months before the Palladino-produced medley and was actually submitted to Rupert Perry, head of A & R at Capitol (Kirkpatrick had been a Capitol artist himself in the late 70's). Perry's response was, "If we wanted to release a Beach Boys medley, we would simply use the original masters which we own". Kirkpatrick's medley began receiving heavy airplay on a Miami FM station, "Love 94", and that led to local and national TV coverage by "PM Magazine". Taking notice, Capitol quickly produced their own medley and launched a heavy promotional campaign entitled "Nothing is Better Than The Real Thing - The Beach Boys Medley on Capitol Records", effectively tanking Kirkpatrick's. The difference and uniqueness was that Kirkpatrick played every instrument and sang every vocal part himself, while Capitol's medley was simply tape edits of previous Beach Boys' studio masters. The similarity was in the sequencing of the songs in the two medleys - Capitol using very much the same as Kirkpatrick's.

Songs

In order, the songs in the medley are:

"Good Vibrations"
"Help Me, Rhonda"
"I Get Around"
"Shut Down"
"Surfin' Safari"
"Barbara Ann"
"Surfin' U.S.A."
"Fun, Fun, Fun"

Chart history

Weekly charts

Chart (1981)	Peak position
Australia (Kent Music Report)^[3]	16
Canada RPM Top Singles^[4]	15
Canada RPM Adult Contemporary^[4]	8
New Zealand (RIANZ)^[5]	4
US Billboard Hot 100^[6]	12
US Billboard Adult Contemporary^[7]	20
US Cash Box Top 100^[8]	8
U.S. Record World Singles Chart^[9]	5

Year-end charts

Chart (1981)	Rank
Australia (Kent Music Report)^[3]	87
Canada^[10]	87
New Zealand^[11]	43
US Billboard Hot 100^[12]	93
US Cash Box^[13]	63

References

^ Joel Whitburn's Top Pop Singles 1955-1990 - ISBN 0-89820-089-X
^ NZ Top 40 Singles Chart, 25 October 1981
^ ^a ^b "National Top 100 Singles for 1981". Kent Music Report. 4 January 1982. p. 7. Retrieved January 11, 2022 – via Imgur.
^ ^a ^b "Item Display - RPM - Library and Archives Canada". Collectionscanada.gc.ca. 1981-10-24. Retrieved 2017-12-01.
^ "NZ Top 40 Singles Chart | The Official New Zealand Music Chart". Nztop40.co.nz. 1981-10-25. Retrieved 2017-12-01.
^ Joel Whitburn's Top Pop Singles 1955-1990 - ISBN 0-89820-089-X
^ Whitburn, Joel (1993). Top Adult Contemporary: 1961–1993. Record Research. p. 25.
^ "Cash Box Top 100 Singles, September 26, 1981". Archived from the original on December 1, 2017. Retrieved November 30, 2017.
^ "Record World Singles Chart: September 26, 1981" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on March 1, 2023. Retrieved August 26, 2023.
^ The 1981 Top 100 Singles chart is identified by the RPM Year-End article "Top 100 Singles (1981)". RPM. Retrieved 2016-04-12.
^ "End of Year Charts 1979". Recorded Music NZ. Retrieved December 1, 2017.
^ Musicoutfitters.com
^ "Cash Box Year-End Charts: Top 100 Pop Singles, December 26, 1981". Archived from the original on October 22, 2016. Retrieved November 30, 2017.

External links

The Beach Boys - The Beach Boys Medley on YouTube

The Beach Boys singles

1960s

1961	"Surfin'" / "Luau"
1962	"Surfin' Safari" / "409" "Ten Little Indians" / "County Fair"
1963	"Surfin' U.S.A." / "Shut Down" "Surfer Girl" / "Little Deuce Coupe" "Be True to Your School" / "In My Room" "Little Saint Nick" / "The Lord's Prayer"
1964	"Fun, Fun, Fun" / "Why Do Fools Fall in Love" "I Get Around" / "Don't Worry Baby" "When I Grow Up (To Be a Man)" / "She Knows Me Too Well" "Dance, Dance, Dance" / "The Warmth of the Sun" "The Man with All the Toys" / "Blue Christmas"
1965	"Do You Wanna Dance?" / "Please Let Me Wonder" "Help Me, Rhonda" / "Kiss Me, Baby" "California Girls"/ "Let Him Run Wild" "The Little Girl I Once Knew" / "There's No Other (Like My Baby)" "Barbara Ann" / "Girl Don't Tell Me"
1966	"Sloop John B" / "You're So Good to Me" "Wouldn't It Be Nice" / "God Only Knows" "Good Vibrations" / "Let's Go Away for Awhile"
1967	"Then I Kissed Her" / "Mountain of Love" "Heroes and Villains" / "You're Welcome" "Wild Honey" / "Wind Chimes" "Darlin'" / "Here Today"
1968	"Friends" / "Little Bird" "Do It Again" / "Wake the World" "Bluebirds over the Mountain" / "Never Learn Not to Love"
1969	"I Can Hear Music" / "All I Want to Do" "Break Away" / "Celebrate the News"

1970s

1970	"Add Some Music to Your Day" / "Susie Cincinnati" "Cottonfields" / "The Nearest Faraway Place" "Slip On Through" / "This Whole World" "Tears in the Morning" / "It's About Time"
1971	"Cool, Cool Water" / "Forever" "Wouldn't It Be Nice" (live) / "The Times They Are a-Changin'" (by Merry Clayton) "Long Promised Road" / "Deirdre" "Long Promised Road" / "'Til I Die" "Student Demonstration Time" / "Don't Go Near the Water" "Surf's Up" / "Don't Go Near the Water"
1972	"You Need a Mess of Help to Stand Alone" / "Cuddle Up" "Marcella" / "Hold On Dear Brother"
1973	"Sail On, Sailor" / "Only with You" "California Saga/California" / "Funky Pretty"
1974	"Surfin' U.S.A." / "The Warmth of the Sun" "Child of Winter (Christmas Song)" / "Susie Cincinnati"
1975	"Sail On, Sailor" / "Only with You"
1976	"Rock and Roll Music" / "T M Song" "It's O.K." / "Had to Phone Ya" "Everyone's in Love with You" / "Susie Cincinnati"
1977	"Honkin' Down the Highway" / "Solar System"
1978	"Peggy Sue" / "Hey Little Tomboy"
1979	"Here Comes the Night" / "Baby Blue" "Good Timin'" / "Love Surrounds Me" "Lady Lynda" / "Full Sail" "It's a Beautiful Day" / "Sumahama"

1980s

1980	"Goin' On" / "Endless Harmony" "Livin' with a Heartache" / "Santa Ana Winds"
1981	"The Beach Boys Medley" / "God Only Knows" "Come Go with Me" / "Don't Go Near the Water"
1985	"Getcha Back" / "Male Ego" "It's Gettin' Late" / "It's O.K." "She Believes in Love Again" / "It's Just a Matter of Time"
1986	"Rock 'n' Roll to the Rescue" / "Good Vibrations" (live) "California Dreamin'" / "Lady Liberty"
1987	"Happy Endings" (with Little Richard) / "California Girls" (live)
1988	"Kokomo" / "Tutti Frutti" (Little Richard)
1989	"Still Cruisin'" / "Kokomo"

1990s

1990	"Somewhere Near Japan" / "Kokomo" "Problem Child" / "Problem Child (Instrumental)"
1992	"Hot Fun in the Summertime" / "Summer of Love"
1996	"I Just Wasn't Made for These Times" / "Wouldn't It Be Nice" / "Here Today"

2010s

2011	"Good Vibrations" / "Heroes and Villains" "Don't Fight the Sea" / "Friends"
2012	"That's Why God Made the Radio" / "That's Why God Made the Radio" (instrumental) "Isn't It Time" / Live in Chicago