Hawaii (The Beach Boys song)

"Hawaii" is a song written by Brian Wilson and Mike Love for the American rock band the Beach Boys. It was recorded in July 1963 and released on their 1963 album Surfer Girl.^[3] It is one of the first Beach Boy songs that Hal Blaine played on, contributing timbales, but regular drummer Dennis Wilson still played. In January 1964, it was released as a single in Australia, becoming a top-10 hit.^[4] "Hawaii" made its way into the Beach Boys repertoire almost 50 years later.^[5]

"Hawaii"
Single by The Beach Boys
from the album Surfer Girl
B-side	"The Rocking Surfer"
Released	September 16, 1963
Recorded	July 1963[1]
Genre	Surf rock rock and roll[2]
Length	1:59
Label	Capitol
Songwriter(s)	Brian Wilson, Mike Love
Producer(s)	Brian Wilson

Chart performance

"Hawaii" was released in Australia as a single, where it was reported as number two by Cash Box, charting at that position in the surveys of the premier radio stations of both Sydney and Brisbane during the Beach Boys' tour of Australia in February 1964. It was tabulated as eleventh for Australia's end-of-year survey.^[4]

Performers

The Beach Boys

• David Marks – harmony and backing vocals; rhythm guitar
• Mike Love – lead, harmony and backing vocals
• Brian Wilson – lead, harmony and backing vocals; piano
• Al Jardine – harmony and backing vocals, bass guitar
• Carl Wilson – harmony and backing vocals; lead guitar
• Dennis Wilson – harmony and backing vocals,^[6] drums

  Session musicians and production staff

  • Hal Blaine – timbales^[7]
  • Chuck Britz – sound engineer^[8]

Other notable covers

Hep Stars version

"Hawaii"
Single by the Hep Stars
A-side	"Sunny Girl"
Released	March 1966 (1966-03)
Recorded	March 1966
Studio	Europafilm Studios, Stockholm
Genre	Surf rock
Length	1:30
Label	Olga
Songwriter(s)	Wilson Love
Producer(s)	Gert Palmcrantz
Hep Stars singles chronology
"Should I" (1965) "Hawaii" (1966) "Wedding" (1966)

Swedish rock group Hep Stars recorded "Hawaii" as the B-Side to their 1966 single "Sunny Girl", one of the earliest Benny Andersson compositions.^[9] While "Sunny Girl" was a hit, reaching number 1 on both Kvällstoppen and Tio i Topp,^[10][11] "Hawaii", despite being issued as the B-side, managed to chart on Kvällstoppen due to the popularity of Hep Stars.^[12] It stayed on the chart for two weeks, peaking at number 7 on March 22, 1966.^[13] "Hawaii" was recorded by the group as a joke, in style with their debut single "Kana Kapila" and "Mashed Potatoes".^[14]

Personnel

• Svenne Hedlund – lead vocals
• Janne Frisk – harmony vocals, guitar
• Lennart Hegland – backing vocals
• Benny Andersson – tambourine, backing vocals
• Christer Pettersson – harmony vocals, drums

Charts

Chart (1966)	Peak position
Sweden (Kvällstoppen)[12]	7

References

1. Doe, Andrew G. (2013). "GIG63". Retrieved March 17, 2013.
2. Segretto, Mike (2022). "1963". 33 1/3 Revolutions Per Minute - A Critical Trip Through the Rock LP Era, 1955–1999. Backbeat. p. 28. ISBN 9781493064601.
3. Surfer Girl - The Beach Boys | Songs, Reviews, Credits | AllMusic, retrieved 2020-07-04
4. Kent, David. (2005). Australian chart book (1940-1969). Turramurra, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. ISBN 0-646-44439-5. OCLC 62561852.
5. Dillon, Mark (2012-06-01). Fifty Sides of the Beach Boys: The Songs That Tell Their Story. ECW Press. ISBN 978-1-77090-198-8.
6. Cherna, Ilene (1985-01-01). The Beach Boys Silver Anniversary. Doubleday. ISBN 978-0-385-19650-5.
7. Stebbins, Jon (2011-09-01). The Beach Boys FAQ: All That's Left to Know About America's Band. Backbeat Books. ISBN 978-1-4584-2914-8.
8. Stebbins, Jon; Marks, David (2007). The Lost Beach Boy. Virgin Books. p. 18. ISBN 9781852273910.
9. "Abbalegenden Benny Andersson har fortfarande känsla för hitlåtar". svenska.yle.fi (in Swedish). Retrieved 2020-06-26.
10. "Kvällstoppen" (PDF) (in Dutch). Hitsallertijden. 1966–1969. Retrieved 17 July 2011.
11. Hallberg, Eric, 1949- (1998). Eric Hallberg, Ulf Henningsson presenterar Tio i topp med de utslagna på försök 1961-74. Henningsson, Ulf, 1965-, Kristianstads boktr.) (1. uppl ed.). Stockholm: Premium. ISBN 91-972712-5-X. OCLC 186200204.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
12. Hallberg, Eric. (1993). Eric Hallberg presenterar Kvällstoppen i P 3 : Sveriges radios topplista över veckans 20 mest sålda skivor 10. 7. 1962-19. 8. 1975. Värmdö: Drift Musik. ISBN 91-630-2140-4. OCLC 165178200.
13. "Hawaii av Hep Stars". NostalgiListan (in Swedish). Retrieved 2020-06-26.
14. Palm, Carl. "Cadillac Madness - den otroliga berättelsen om The Hep Stars" (PDF). carlmagnuspalm. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2022-01-23. Retrieved 2020-07-04.