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All Summer Long
Studio album by The Beach Boys
Released	13 July, 1964
Recorded	2 April - 19 May, 1964 Except "Drive-In" 's instrumental track: 18 October, 1963
Genre	Rock
Length	25:06
Label	Capitol Records
Producer(s)	Brian Wilson
Professional reviews
All Music Guide link
The Beach Boys chronology
Shut Down Volume 2 (1964)	All Summer Long (1964)	Beach Boys Concert (1964)

All Summer Long is the sixth album by The Beach Boys and their second overall in 1964. Recorded in the aftermath of the British Invasion, spearheaded by The Beatles, the album marked a major turning point in The Beach Boys' career, and in leader/prime songwriter Brian Wilson as an artist.

Beginning in February 1964, Wilson engaged in a rigorous period of songwriting, emerging some weeks afterwards with future classics, such as "I Get Around" (Brian's first comment on moving forward artistically), "All Summer Long", "Wendy" and "Girls On The Beach". The Beach Boys themselves had to match Brian's increased ambitions once they got into the studio to overdub their increasingly-complex vocal harmonies. All of these were placed on top of the previously-recorded music tracks, all produced by Wilson, amazingly still 21-years-old during All Summer Long's recording.

"I Get Around" preceded the album's release by some two months and was an infectious and progressive single, which quickly raced to #1 in the US (their first), giving them their UK Top 10 debut with a #7 peak, and sending the strong message that The Beach Boys were up for the challenge of The Beatles.

In July, All Summer Long arrived and quickly raced to #4 (and gold status) in the US, though strangely missing the UK charts altogether (the Brits wouldn't completely fall for The Beach Boys until early 1966). Inside its contents were many wondrous sounds to be heard, not least of all those impeccable harmonies (which would be at their peak for the next few years), the intricately-arranged music tracks, and the infectious melodies. One thing that was clear, The Beach Boys were no longer a surf or hot rod band, but now sang exclusively about the Southern Californian experience: the girls, the beach, the sun, the cars, the lifestyle... everything. Some shades of the guard remained: the surf instrumental "Carl's Big Chance" (the last of its sort on any Beach Boys studio album from this point on) and another spoken word piece, "Our Favorite Recording Sessions". Aside these retrenchments, All Summer Long was teeming with revived ambition and ideas, and, most importantly, excellent songs. After the occasionally slight Shut Down Volume 2, it was a remarkable return to form.

But there was one major change in the internal structure of The Beach Boys during the making of All Summer Long. After enduring father and manager Murry Wilson's insufferably intrusive and domineering ways for over two years, the band had reached the breaking point, and during a fraught vocal session for "I Get Around" that April, Brian fired his father, who reportedly took to his bed for weeks, depressed.

The challenge that The Beatles unknowingly presented to Brian Wilson provoked The Beach Boys' leader to work harder to create music that was not only satisfy himself and surpass what he had done before, but surpass what everyone had done before. All Summer Long was the beginning of the most important and exciting period of Brian Wilson and The Beach Boys' career, one that would end in a heartbreakingly tragic way three years later - but not before permanently altering and advancing popular music irrevocably in the process.

Contents 1 Track listing 1.1 Singles 1.2 Sources 2 External links

All songs by Brian Wilson/Mike Love, except where noted.

1. "I Get Around" – 2:12
   • Features Brian Wilson and Mike Love on lead vocals
2. "All Summer Long" – 2:06
   • Features Mike Love on lead vocals
3. "Hushabye" (Doc Pomus/Mort Shuman) – 2:40
   • Features Brian Wilson and Mike Love on lead vocals
4. "Little Honda" – 1:52
   • Features Mike Love on lead vocals
5. "We'll Run Away" (Brian Wilson/Gary Usher) – 2:00
   • Features Brian Wilson on lead vocals
6. "Carl's Big Chance" (Brian Wilson/Carl Wilson) – 2:25
   • Instrumental
7. "Wendy" – 2:16
   • Features Mike Love and Brian Wilson on lead vocals
8. "Do You Remember?" – 1:37
   • Features Mike Love and Brian Wilson on lead vocals
9. "Girls on the Beach" (Brian Wilson) – 2:24
   • Features Brian Wilson and Dennis Wilson on lead vocals
10. "Drive-In" – 1:51
    • Features Mike Love on lead vocals. Backing track originally used for an early version of "Little Saint Nick" in October 1963
11. "Our Favorite Recording Sessions" (Brian Wilson/Dennis Wilson/Carl Wilson/Mike Love/Al Jardine) – 1:59
    • Features all group members in studio banter. Recording engineer Chuck Britz briefly appears.
12. "Don't Back Down" – 1:44
    • Features Mike Love and Brian Wilson on lead vocals

• "I Get Around" b/w "Don't Worry Baby" (from Shut Down Volume 2) (Capitol 5174), 23 May 1964 US #1; UK #7 ("Don't Worry Baby" US #24)

All Summer Long (Capitol (S) T 2110) is now paired on CD with Little Deuce Coupe, with bonus tracks from that period.

All Summer Long hit #4 in the US during a 49 week chart stay.

• Little Deuce Coupe/All Summer Long CD booklet notes, David Leaf, c.1990.
• "The Nearest Faraway Place: Brian Wilson, The Beach Boys and the Southern California Experience", Timothy White, c. 1994.
• "Wouldn't It Be Nice - My Own Story", Brian Wilson and Todd Gold, c. 1991.
• "Top Pop Singles 1955-2001", Joel Whitburn, c. 2002.
• "Top Pop Albums 1955-2001", Joel Whitburn, c. 2002.
• All Music Guide.com

• All Summer Long lyrics

The Beach Boys
Brian Wilson | Carl Wilson | Dennis Wilson | Mike Love | Al Jardine | Bruce Johnston
Studio albums
Surfin' Safari (1962) | Surfin' USA (1963) | Surfer Girl (1963) | Little Deuce Coupe (1963) | Shut Down Volume 2 (1964) | All Summer Long (1964) | The Beach Boys' Christmas Album (1964) | The Beach Boys Today! (1965) | Summer Days (And Summer Nights!!) (1965) | Beach Boys' Party! (1965) | Pet Sounds (1966) | Smiley Smile (1967) | Wild Honey (1967) | Friends (1968) | 20/20 (1969) | Sunflower (1970) | Surf's Up (1971) | Carl and the Passions - "So Tough" (1972) | Holland (1973) | 15 Big Ones (1976) | Love You (1977) | M.I.U. Album (1978) | L.A. (Light Album) (1979) | Keepin' the Summer Alive (1980) | The Beach Boys (1985) | Still Cruisin' (1989) | Summer in Paradise (1992) | Stars and Stripes Vol. 1 (1996)
Live albums
Beach Boys Concert (1964) | Live in London (1970) | The Beach Boys in Concert (1973) | Good Timin': Live at Knebworth England 1980 (2002)
Related articles
Song List | Lead Vocalists | Capitol Records | Brother Records | Sea of Tunes | Discography | Solo Discography