The #1 Albums: “Beach Boys Concert”

The Beach Boys in Concert, 2007 (Getty Images)

The Beach Boys had smashed onto the scene in 1963 with several iconic hits, and they managed to withstand the British Invasion in 1964 with several more: “Fun Fun Fun,” “I Get Around,” and “Dance Dance Dance” among them. At the end of the year, they released their fourth album of 1964, a live one, which became one of only two albums in their entire 50-year history to reach #1.

Beach Boys Concert was recorded mostly in August 1964, although some of it dated back to December 1963. According to Wikipedia, not all of the material on the album is live. “Brian Wilson used the original music tracks for both ‘Fun, Fun, Fun’ (which was sped up) and ‘I Get Around,’ both of which had elements removed to make them appear as though they were new performances.” The album features a great deal of audience screaming, which provided authentic flavor back in the day but is just annoying now.

Beach Boys Concert is notable for containing a number of songs the band never cut in the studio, including “Johnny B. Goode,” “Little Old Lady From Pasadena,” and “Monster Mash.” It also documents the band live as it would rarely be again, as Brian prepared to give up touring. It hit #1 in December 1964 and stayed atop the Billboard album chart for four weeks. It has since been replaced on CD by Concert/Live in London, which combines it with material recorded in 1968.

Here’s “Fun Fun Fun” as it appeared on Beach Boys Concert, with an announcer’s introduction of the show.

Read about more of The #1 Albums.