Marketing the Beach Boys

Brian Wilson didn’t even know how to surf.

The legendary Beach Boys leader is credited with helping to create the “California Sound” with hits like “Surfin’ U.S.A.,” California Girls” and “Little Deuce Coupe” that would come to embody the sun-drenched vibes of 1960’s Southern California.

Wilson died last week, leaving a legacy of an oft-tortured creative genius who reshaped the world of pop music.

Today, Wilson’s influence is undeniable. But in the early days of the Beach Boys, marketing and culture trends were a heavy influence on the band and its creative force.

It was Brian’s brother and fellow band member Dennis Wilson who surfed and first told Brian about the growing popularity of the sport. That prompted Brian to write the band’s first song, “Surfin’.”

At the time, the group was called the Pendletones. The record label changed the band’s name to “the Beach Boys” (“The Surfers” was taken). Legend has it the band didn’t even know about the name change until they saw it on the record.

California Dreamin’

It wasn’t just the growing popularity of surfing that made the Beach Boys so popular. Wilson and the band’s sound tapped into a way of life and an aesthetic that others wanted to occupy. As the New York Times calls out, it’s the only way to explain why “Surfin’ Safari” went #1 in Sweden.

In that way, the music of the Beach Boys syncs up with the “Jobs to be Done” marketing theory. (In this case, no job at all. Just chill vibes at the beach.)

The reality is, most Beach Boys fans are closer to Brian Wilson than the carefree surfers his band’s songs often referenced. We want to feel like we can escape to that world, whether it’s in Southern California, on the road to the Jersey Shore, or wearing headphones in our room.

The Beach Boys were able to capture that – not a sport, not a place, not a product, but a way of life. The fact that Wilson was able to do so with such authenticity and innocence is where his genius and staying power lies.