The Beach Boys Were Originally Called Something Else
The Beach Boys are the musicians behind the surf rock soundtrack of the 1960s. Before writing āKokomoā and even before appearing on Full House, this band created music with another name. Here are some of the band names the Beach Boys originally performed under.Ā
The Beach Boys released songs like āKokomo,ā āGood Vibrations,ā and āGod Only Knowsā
Some listeners know them for āKokomo,ā others know them as the band DJ Tanner won tickets for on one episode of Full House. The Beach Boys made a name for themselves as the unique surf-rock group behind āGood Vibrationsā and āGod Only Knows.ā
The group released The Beach Boysā Christmas ā complete with their adaptation of āLittle Saint Nick.ā One of their most popular songs is āWouldnāt It Be Nice,ā which currently holds over 390 million Spotify plays. Before they were the renowned rockers, The Beach Boys, these performers went by a different band name.
āGod Only Knowsā where this band would be if they werenāt the Beach Boys
According to American Songwriter, when Al Jardine, Mike Love, and brothers Brian, Carl, and Dennis Wilson first released music in the 1950s, they were known as āThe Pendletones.ā This name was a play on musical ātonesā and Pendleton shirts, which were considered, at that time, to be the āsurf uniformā for beachgoers.Ā
After partnering with Candix records, the group switched their band name. The record label initially landed on āThe Surfersā ā a not-so-fitting band name considering only one band member, Dennis Wilson, could surf.Ā
Thankfully, music executive Russ Regan discovered that name was already taken. That same music executive changed the band name a final time to the āBeach Boysā ā a nod to the groupās love for California beaches and summer vibes.
āRuss was a promoter, and he changed our name to The Beach Boys,ā Brian Wilson said in a 2018 Twitter statement. āWe didnāt even know until we saw our first records pressed!āĀ Ā
The Beach Boys appeared on āFull Houseā
Since debuting on the music scene, the Beach Boys became one of the most popular bands of their time. They earned several Grammy Award nominations, including nods in the Best Performance By A Vocal Group and Best Contemporary (R&R) Group Performance ā Vocal Or Instrumental for āGood Vibrations.ā
The group appeared on the āBeach Boy Bingoā episode of Full House, starring as themselves and spending time with the Tanner family. Some band members returned for later episodes of the show, including Mike Love for āOur Very First Telethon.ā
Even years after the Beach Boys stopped performing as a group (with its original members), music by the band continues to be used in movies and on television. Recently, that included āCalifornia Dreamin,āā a welcome inclusion to the Netflix series Stranger Things. Music by the Beach Boys is available on most major streaming platforms.