The first ten Beach Boys albums in order run from Surfin' Safari in 1962 to Beach Boys' Party! in 1965, ten records inside three and a half years. That span is what my Beach Boys discography map draws, with every credited musician on those ten records given their own named tube line, calling only at the albums they actually played on.
I research and design these maps myself in East Sussex, working through album credits line by line rather than through the legend. Five things in this one surprised me enough that I went back and checked them, and each of them is a reason the print keeps someone standing in front of it.
The Beach Boys Albums in Order on This Map, 1962 to 1965
This print is Part One of three. It covers the surf and hot-rod years, which means Pet Sounds and everything after it belong to the later maps in the series rather than this one.
| Station | Album | Year | What the map shows there |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Surfin' Safari | 1962 | Six lines and no session credits at all |
| 2 | Surfin' U.S.A. | 1963 | Al Jardine's line is already missing |
| 3 | Surfer Girl | 1963 | Still five lines, still nobody from outside |
| 4 | Little Deuce Coupe | 1963 | David Marks's last station for forty-nine years |
| 5 | Shut Down Volume 2 | 1964 | Eleven session names arrive at once |
| 6 | All Summer Long | 1964 | Glen Campbell's first credit on the map |
| 7 | The Beach Boys' Christmas Album | 1964 | An orchestra arrives and Hal Blaine sits it out |
| 8 | The Beach Boys Today! | 1965 | The screwdriver credit and the castanets credit |
| 9 | Summer Days (And Summer Nights!!) | 1965 | Bruce Johnston's line opens |
| 10 | Beach Boys' Party! | 1965 | The last station on Part One |
Al Jardine Is a Founding Member With a Three Album Hole in His Line
Al Jardine is one of the five original names, and he is there on Surfin' Safari in 1962, credited with double bass and backing vocals on "Surfin'". Then his line simply stops.
He carries no credit on Surfin' U.S.A., Surfer Girl or Little Deuce Coupe, all three of which came out in 1963. He rejoins at Shut Down Volume 2 in 1964 and never leaves again.
Jardine had walked away in 1962 to study dentistry. The map does not editorialise about that, it just draws the gap, and a three album hole in a founding member's line is the first thing most people put a finger on.
David Marks Runs Four Stations, Then Waits Forty-Nine Years
David Marks took Jardine's seat. He is credited on rhythm guitar and backing vocals across the first four albums, and shares the lead vocal on "Summertime Blues".
After Little Deuce Coupe in 1963 his line ends. On this print he never comes back.
He does return, but not until That's Why God Made the Radio in 2012, which lands on the third map in the series. Forty-nine years between credits is the sort of thing that only becomes obvious once you draw it.
The First Four Albums Carry No Session Credits at All
This one genuinely stopped me. Albums one to four carry nothing but the band's own lines. Not a single outside musician is credited on any of them.
Then Shut Down Volume 2 arrives in 1964 and eleven session names join at the same station: Hal Blaine, Steve Douglas, Plas Johnson, Jay Migliori, Ray Pohlman, Tommy Tedesco, Bill Pitman, Jimmy Bond, Frank Capp, Al de Lory and Leon Russell.
That is the exact point where the map stops being five lines and becomes a network. For anyone who loves the Wrecking Crew end of the story, it is the passage worth reading at A1, where the names stay legible.
The Christmas Album Brings an Orchestra That Calls Once and Leaves
The Beach Boys' Christmas Album in 1964 is conducted by Dick Reynolds with Benjamin Barrett as orchestra master. George "Red" Callender is on tuba, George Roberts on trombones, Arthur Briegleb on French horns, Jimmy Rowles on grand piano and Al Viola on guitar.
Almost none of them appear anywhere else on the map. Hal Blaine, who plays on five of these ten albums, sits this record out completely, and Jack Sparling takes the drum credit instead.
It is the oddest passage on the whole print: a thick bundle of branch lines arriving at one station and terminating there.
The Beach Boys Today! and the Credits That Appear Exactly Once
Today! in 1965 is where the credits turn wonderfully specific, and it gave me the strangest single credit I have drawn on any map.
| Musician | Album on this map | Credited for |
|---|---|---|
| Russ Titelman | The Beach Boys Today! (1965) | Percussion, a microphone boom hit with a screwdriver |
| Louie (surname unknown) | The Beach Boys Today! (1965) | Castanets |
| Peter Christ | The Beach Boys Today! (1965) | Cor anglais |
| Jimmy Rowles | The Beach Boys' Christmas Album (1964) | Grand piano |
| Howard Roberts | Summer Days (And Summer Nights!!) (1965) | Guitar |
Every one of those is a branch line: it opens, serves a single station and closes. Someone who thinks they know these records will not have known that a man called Louie played the castanets, or that Russ Titelman was hitting a microphone boom with a screwdriver.
Marilyn Wilson is the one to watch on that record for the opposite reason. She is credited with harmony and backing vocals and a spoken word part on Today!, and then she turns up again on Beach Boys' Party!, so her line runs two stations rather than one.
Bruce Johnston Opens Late and Never Closes
Bruce Johnston does not appear until Summer Days (And Summer Nights!!) in 1965, credited with harmony and backing vocals, acoustic grand piano, Hammond organ, celeste and handclaps. He is there again on Beach Boys' Party! and then keeps running through the second and third maps.
He is the last line to open on this print that never closes again. If you are buying for someone who came to the band through the later records, Johnston is the thread that ties their era back to this one.
"Brilliant idea."
Billy Bragg, on my discography maps
The maps have found their way into archives as well as living rooms. My David Bowie map is held in the permanent collection at the V&A David Bowie Centre in London, and my Bruce Springsteen map is held at the Bruce Springsteen Archives at Monmouth University in New Jersey.
Choosing a Size, and Why This Works as a Gift for a Beach Boys Fan
Every print is a Giclée on 230gsm premium fine art paper with a textured matte finish, archival and acid-free. All sizes are landscape, supplied unframed or ready to hang in a black wood frame, and black is the only frame colour I offer.
| Size | Dimensions | Unframed | Black wood frame |
|---|---|---|---|
| A3 | 420 x 297 mm | £35 | not offered |
| A2 | 594 x 420 mm (23 x 16 in) | £45 | £125 |
| A1 | 841 x 594 mm (33 x 23 in) | £65 | £175 |
There are three separate inch formats for the US, Canada and Australia, at 16 x 12 in, 24 x 18 in and 36 x 24 in, priced the same way. They are their own formats rather than conversions of the A sizes.
My honest advice on sizing: A3 or A2 suits the fan who wants the shape of the thing on a hallway wall, A1 suits the one who will stand and read the session credits on the Christmas Album. If it is for a milestone, go A1 and framed. Full paper and frame detail is on the print and frame specification page.
The Beach Boys Discography Art Print, Part One
Ten albums in order, 1962 to 1965, every credited musician drawn as a named line. Giclée on 230gsm matte fine art paper. A3, A2 or A1, unframed or black wood frame, from £35.
Related Music Maps
If the Wrecking Crew names are the draw, the Byrds discography art print is the natural companion, because the same Los Angeles session players turn up on those records in the same years. For someone who is really there for the harmony writing rather than the surf, ABBA albums ranked covers a much tighter cast. The full range sits in the music map art print collection.
Questions I Get Asked About This Map
How many Beach Boys albums are on the map?
Ten, running in order from Surfin' Safari in 1962 to Beach Boys' Party! in 1965. This is Part One of a three map series.
Does it include Pet Sounds?
Not this one. Pet Sounds is station eleven in the discography, so it opens the second map rather than closing this one.
What is not on this map?
Live albums, compilations and singles collections do not get stations, and neither do the albums from Pet Sounds onwards, which are covered by Parts Two and Three. Beach Boys' Party! does get a station, because it was recorded in the studio and the credits I work from are studio credits.
Which Wrecking Crew names actually appear?
Hal Blaine, Carol Kaye, Glen Campbell, Barney Kessel, Billy Strange, Steve Douglas, Plas Johnson, Ray Pohlman, Tommy Tedesco and others, each credited album by album from 1964 onwards rather than lumped together as a group.
Do producers get a line on the map?
Only if they are also credited playing something. A production credit on its own does not open a line, which is why the map stays a record of who played rather than who was in the room.
Is it any good for someone who only knows the singles?
Yes, and that is often who it works best for. The stations run in release order, so it reads as a route through the early records whether or not you can name a single session player.
What if I am not sure which map they would want?
Then a gift card is the safer call, and I will not pretend otherwise.
Give the map, or let them choose
Ten albums in order, every credited musician, hand researched and printed as a Giclée. From £35.
Shop the Beach Boys Discography Map | Buy a gift card for music fans
