"Surfin' Safari" is a song by American rock band the Beach Boys, written by Brian Wilson and Mike Love. Released as a single with "409" in June 1962, it peaked at number 14 on the Billboard Hot 100. The song also appeared on the 1962 album of the same name. Background The song was inspired by Chuck Berry's method of combining simple chord progressions with lyrical references to place names (for example, in "Back in the U.S.A." and "Sweet Little Sixteen"). "Surfin' Safari" includes several references to Southern California surfing locations (Malibu, Rincon, the Channel Islands, Huntington, and Sunset Beach). The sites and surfing-related terms featured in the song were provided to Brian and Mike by surfer Jimmy Bowles, brother of Brian's then-new flame Judy Bowles, who he had met one afternoon while helping a buddy coach little league. Wilson referred to "Surfin' Safari" as "a silly song with a simple-but-cool C-F-G chord pattern that I came up with one day while trying to play the piano the way Chuck Berry played his guitar." "Surfin' Safari" was the first recording to display the distinctive counterpoint harmonies for which the group became famous. Recording The Beach Boys first recorded the song at World Pacific Studios on February 8, 1962, in what was the band's second ever recording session. However, the recordings from that session, engineered by Hite Morgan, would ultimately remain unreleased until the late Sixties. The only difference instrumentally on this early version as opposed to the officially released version was the presence of Al Jardine on guitar instead of David Marks. The instrumental track as well as the vocals for the officially released version were recorded at Western Recorders on April 19, 1962. The session, produced by Brian, featured David Marks and Carl Wilson on guitar; Brian Wilson on bass guitar and Dennis Wilson on drums. The song features Mike Love on lead vocals with backing vocals by Brian, Carl & Dennis Wilson and Mike Love. Also recorded during that session were "409", "Lonely Sea" and "Their Hearts Were Full Of Spring". This session was recorded and given to Capitol Records as a demo tape. The label was impressed and immediately signed the band to their first major label contract. "Surfin' Safari" and "409" would be the band's first single to be issued under Capitol Records. Release and reception The "Surfin' Safari" single backed with "409" was the band's