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About This Quiz
The Beach Boys started as a California garage band but achieved stardom by reproducing the California myth and surfer culture in their music. How well do you know your Beach Boys’ music? Find out by completing the lyrics in this quiz.
"We’re waxing down our surfboards. We can’t wait for ______________."
"Noon."
"A full moon."
"June."
"We’ll all be planning that route we’re gonna take real soon. We’re waxing down our surfboards. We can’t wait for June."
"A big typhoon."
"Off the Florida Keys, there’s a place called ______________."
"Dominica."
"Key Largo."
"Jamaica."
"Kokomo."
"Kokomo" gave the Beach Boys the longest span for having chart-topping hits when it hit #1 in November of 1988, 24 years and four months after their first #1 hit. It beat George Harrison’s record of 23 years and 11 months. Cher is the current record holder.
"We always take my car ‘cause ______________."
"It’s got bucket seats."
"It’s never been beat."
"We always take my car ‘cause it’s never been beat."
"The paint job’s so neat."
"It carries lots of meat."
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"I’m picking up good vibrations. She’s giving me ______________."
"No dissuasions."
"Chill contagions."
"Excitations."
The unusual instrument in “Good Vibrations†is often credited as being a theremin, but it is an electotheremin. The theremin is very difficult to play, but the electrothermin was designed so anyone could play it and achieve a similar sound.
"Cute persuasions."
"Went to a dance _____________."
"Looking for romance."
"Went to a dance looking for romance. Saw Barbara Ann so I thought I’d take a chance."
"A cool happenstance."
"Deep in a trance."
"Looking for the man."
"Call for the Captain ashore. ____________________."
"Tell him I can’t go."
"Let me go home."
"The John B Sails" is a Caribbean folk song first brought to America in the early 1900s. The Beach Boys modified the version done by the Kingston Trio (“The Wreck of the John Bâ€).
"He can’t date my sister!"
"The ship went down with the storm."
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"__________________ they keep their boyfriends warm at night."
"The East Coast girls and the styles they wear."
"The West Coast farmers’ daughters are alright."
"And the Northern girls with the way they kiss,"
“The Mid-West farmers' daughters really make you feel alright. And the Northern girls with the way they kiss, they keep their boyfriends warm at night.â€
"And the Southern girls with the way they talk."
"I remember how you used to say you’d never change, ____________________."
"Now you’ve broken my heart anyway."
"But that’s not true."
"Caroline, No" was released as a single with only Brian Wilson’s name before being added to the Pet Sounds record. The single made it to #32 and remained on the charts for seven weeks.
"But change is good sometimes."
"Money and fame get to the best of them."
"Revvin’ up our engines and it sounds real mean. ______________. Buddy gonna shut you down."
"Stick it up; stick it up; stick it up."
"Tack it up; tack it up; tack it up."
"Look it up; look it up; look it up."
"Tach it up; tach it up; tach it up."
"Revvin’ up our engines and it sounds real mean. Tach it up; tach it up; tach it up. Buddy gonna shut you down.â€
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"It’s gotta be rock and roll music ________________."
"If you wanna dance with me."
The Beach Boys’ version of “Rock 'n' Roll Music†spent 17 weeks on the charts and peaked at #5. Chuck Berry originally recorded the song in 1957.
"Blarin’ on the radio."
"If you wanna go with me."
"If the dog is singin’, too."
"Seems like she forgot all about the library ________________."
"Because she’s dressed for the weekend hop."
"Like she told her old man, now."
“Seems like she forgot all about the library like she told her old man, now. And with the radio blasting goes cruisin’ just as fast as she can, now.â€
"Because she has overdue books, now."
"Or she wouldn’t be at the hot dog stand, now."
"I can hear music. The sound of the city, ______________, seems to disappear."
"Beat."
"Choir."
"Sewer."
"Baby."
Carl Wilson was the youngest of the Wilson brothers. He began singing lead in 1966 when Brian took a break from touring. “I Can Hear Music†was the first time he solely produced a Beach Boys track.
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"I have watched you on the shore standing by the ____________________."
"Seabed floor."
"Ocean’s roar."
"I have watched you on the shore standing by the ocean’s roar. Do you love me — do you surfer girl?"
"Sailboat moor."
"Outhouse door."
"We’re going down to the ______________. I’ll tell you what we’re gonna do."
"Ice cream shop."
"Butcher’s shop."
"Honda shop."
The original members of the Beach Boys were mostly family: Brian, Dennis, and Carl Wilson (brothers), Mark Love (a cousin), and Al Jardine (a high school friend). Murry Wilson (father of Brian, Dennis, and Carl) managed the group until Brian relieved him of his duties in April 1964 after artistic differences.
"Coffee shop."
"Well, _________________ you’ve caught my eye, and I can give you lotsa reasons why."
"Peggy Sue."
"Eleanor Rigby."
"Barbara Ann."
"Rhonda."
“Well, Rhonda you’ve caught my eye, and I can give you lotsa reasons why. You gotta help me, Rhonda, help me get her out of my heart.â€
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"Happy times together we’ve been spending. I wish that every _______________ was neverending."
"Kiss."
In December 1964, Brian Wilson (born June 20, 1942) suffered a panic attack and had to stop touring with the Beach Boys and return to California. Bruce Johnston (born June 27, 1942) began touring for Brian and became a full member of the band in 1965.
"Night."
"Day."
"Trip."
"At the weekend dance, we like to show up last. I play it cool when it’s slow _______________."
"And just hope it will last."
"And jump when it’s fast."
“At the weekend dance, we like to show up last. I play it cool when it’s slow and jump when it’s fast.â€
"And forget about the past."
"Crossin’ the dance floor that’s vast."
"I got up this mornin’ turned on my radio. I was checkin’ _________________."
"The Mexican station."
"The weather at the beach."
"The latest tunes."
"On the surfin’ scene."
“Surfin’†was the first song that introduced the Beach Boys to the world, but it only reached #75 on the charts. It is ranked #48 on the Beach Boys top 50 songs.
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"Will my kids be proud or think _____________?"
"Their pop’s a superhero."
"I’m not that smart."
"Their old man is really a square.â€
“Will my kids be proud or think their old man is really a square? (18, 19) When they’re out having fun, yeah, will I still wanna have my share?â€
"I’m such a drag."
"Dim chandelier awaken me to____________."
"A perfectly waxed surfboard."
"A song dissolved in the dawn."
Mike Love is a cousin of the Beach Boys and sometimes seen as the most volatile of the group. A noted follower of the Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, he practices Transcendental Meditation. In the past, he has called out several bands, refused to sing certain lyrics, and is reportedly the reason Van Dyke Parks stopped working with the Beach Boys. He questioned whether fans could relate to artistically abstract lines such as those in “Surf’s Up.â€
"A lovely lady with pale blue eyes."
"A combo swell in the ocean surf."
"Let’s go ________________. Everybody’s learning how."
"Surfin’, now."
“Let’s go surfin’, now. Everybody’s learning how. Come on and safari with me.â€
"Dancin’, now."
"Party, now."
"Jammin’, now."
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"Do you, do you, do you, do you __________________?"
"Want to talk."
"Want to surf."
"Want to dance."
Dennis Wilson (December 4, 1944 - December 28, 1983) was the only real surfer in the Beach Boys. He died after drinking heavily for over a day and then attempting to retrieve personal items from the bottom of the sea.
"Want to go out."
"Sittin’ in my car outside your house. ‘Member when you __________?â€
"Hung up the phone and called me a louse."
"Spilled a Coke all over your blouse."
“Sittin’ in my car outside your house. ‘Member when you spilled a Coke all over your blouse?â€
"Said you couldn’t be my spouse."
"Hid in a bush like a shy little grouse."
"She’s got a competition clutch with the four on the floor, ___________."
"And she purrs like a kitten till the lake pipes roar."
Al Jardine and David Marks played bass for the Beach Boys alternately, and currently both men are active members. Jardine played on the first single, “Surfin,†but then Marks played with the band until he had a fallout with Murry Wilson. At that time, Jardine rejoined. Both men were friends of the Wilsons, but not family members.
"And she’ll beat your Thunderbird ‘cause it’s such a bore."
"So hop in, baby, and shut the door."
"She gives it her best — won’t leave you askin’ for more."
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“Tell me, darling, we will never part. I need you, darling. Come _____________.â€
"Far away from here with me."
"To the beach with me."
"Close and do your part."
"And go with me."
"Tell me, darling, we will never part. I need you, darling. Come and go with me.â€
"Every time we break up, ______________."
"I just wanna cry."
"I think we are through, baby."
"You bring back your love to me."
The Beach Boys used unusual instruments and playing styles on Pet Sounds. For “You Still Believe in Me†the piano strings were plucked to make the dreamy sound at the beginning. Coke cans, bicycle horns, and water jugs were also involved in the album’s production.
"I just wanna wake up."
"Do my dreaming and my scheming—____________."
"Day by day."
"Lie awake and pray."
“Do my dreaming and my scheming — lie awake and pray. Do my crying and my sighing — laugh at yesterday.â€
"Just to try and get you back."
"Staring at the sky above."
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"I guess I should’ve kept my mouth shut when I started to brag about my _______________________."
"Car."
“Don’t worry baby†was on the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame’s 500 Songs That Shaped Rock and Roll list. It also ranked on Rolling Stone’s 500 Greatest Songs of All-Time list.
"Dog."
"Girl."
"Surfboard."
"______________________. Take my hand, and let me hear your heartbeat."
"Come here."
"Close your eyes."
"Don’t talk."
“Don’t talk. Take my hand, and let me hear your heartbeat.â€
"Sit down."
" _______________ only knows what I’d be without you."
"Heaven."
"God."
Pet Sounds marked a different type of album for the Beach Boys. Inspired by the Beatles’ album, Rubber Soul, it went on to inspire the Beatles to create Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band.
"Who."
"She."
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"Where can I turn when ________________________?"
"The tide goes out."
"The weather gets bad."
"The night rolls in."
"My fair weather friends cop out."
"Where can I turn when my fair weather friends cop out? What’s it all about?â€
“Giddy-up, giddy-up ______________.â€
"409."
“409†was the name of Chevy’s big-block engine produced during 1962, and the version from the song was found primarily in the Impala SS, Bel Air SS, and Biscayne SS. Gary Usher, producer and songwriter, was fascinated with hot rods and collaborated with Brian Wilson early in the Beach Boys’ career.
"Little Honda."
"Little Deuce Coupe."
"T-bird."
"So be true to your school, now, just like ________________."
"The red, white, and blue."
"Albert Einstein.â€
"You would your guy or girl.â€
"So be true to your school, now, just like you would your guy or girl. Be true to your school, now, and let your colors fly.â€
"Your dear old dog."
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"All the leaves are brown ____________."
"And the sea is gray."
"And the sky is gray."
The Beach Boys' career was filled with troubles, from Eugene Landy’s unconventional drugging and takeover of Brian Wilson’s life, to the untimely deaths of Dennis and Carl. However, in 2016, they performed their Pet Sounds 50th Anniversary Tour, showing how prolific and universal their music has been.
"And winter’s on the bay."
"In Cal-i-forn-i-a."
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