When The Beach Boys went rock ‘n’ roll with crazed cover of Chuck Berry’s 'Johnny B Goode'

25 April 2024, 09:51

They pioneered the 'California Sound'.

Whenever anyone listens to the Beach Boys, they no doubt feel compelled to go surfing, check out girls on the beach, or find a fleeting summer romance.

Likely that's because it's what largely preoccupied their lives, so they wrote about it, and made incredible music from their experiences as teens in California.

Across the other side of the pond, the British Invasion bands were borrowing heavily from American R&B, which was until that point seldom making it into the mainstream.

The likes of Chuck Berry and Little Richard proved hugely influential to the likes of The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, The Animals, and The Small Faces, who all made the journey across the Atlantic to find success.

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Though the Beach Boys' music was definitely more chipper and easy-going in the early days, Brian Wilson admitted that Berry made a major impact on him too, encouraging him to write songs about the things he loved in life.

In 1964, the surf rockers were invited on to a Christmas special of the US music variety series, Shindig!

With a crazed performance of Berry's timeless guitar ripper 'Johnny B. Goode', the Beach Boys proved they could rock 'n' roll just as hard as their British Invasion rivals.

Appearing alongside the likes of The Righteous Brothers, Marvin Gaye, and Bobby Sherman, the country's finest, radio-friendly talents were out in full force.

The Beach Boys were definitely the young bucks, and certainly acted with the reckless abandon of youth when it came to the show's finale.

Despite covering a couple of light-hearted Christmas classics in 'Santa Claus Is Coming To Town', 'Little Saint Nick' as well as a fun-loving version of 'Monster Mash', they closed out the show in raucous fashion.

Leaning into the rock 'n' roll spirit embodied by the duck-walking Berry, the Beach Boys jumped and jived to see the episode out.

The Beach Boys - Johnny B. Goode (Shindig - Dec 23, 1964)

In 2017, Brian Wilson told Rolling Stone magazine about the impact Chuck Berry's music had on him, and how it pushed him to look beyond the Beach Boys' surfing obsession.

"He taught me how to write rock 'n' roll melodies, the way the vocals should go. His lyrics were very, very good. They were unusually good lyrics. I liked 'Johnny B. Goode', all about a young, little kid who played his guitar."

"He inspired me as a lyricist," Brian explained. "He made me want to write about cars and surfing. I liked the lyrics to 'Roll Over Beethoven'. It felt like what he was doing was new."

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Berry's influence can definitely be heard on 'Surfin' U.S.A.', as Wilson re-hashed some of the chord patterns on the blues guitarist's song 'Sweet Little Sixteen'.

"The melody and the chord pattern inspired me to write 'Surfin’ U.S.A.'," Brian openly admitted.

Importantly, Chuck Berry's music encouraged Brian Wilson and the Beach Boys to enjoy their lives and have a good time.