California Sound
| California Sound | |
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The Beach Boys in a promotional shot used for their 1965 single "California Girls"
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| Stylistic origins | |
| Cultural origins | c. 1961; Los Angeles, California, United States |
| Derivative forms | |
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The California Sound is a popular music aesthetic that originates with American pop and rock recording artists from Southern California in the 1960s. It was first related to the California Myth, an idyllic narrative inspired by the state's beach culture that commonly appeared in the lyrics of commercial pop songs. Later, the Sound was expanded outside of its initial geography and subject matter and was developed to be more sophisticated and bred studio experimentation. A derivative form of it was later classified as sunshine pop.
The Sound was originally identified for harnessing a wide-eyed, sunny optimism that marked southern California teenage life in the late 1950s and early 1960s. Its imagery is primarily represented by Brian Wilson and the Beach Boys, who are credited for the Sound's instigation via their debut single "Surfin'" in 1961. Along with Jan and Dean, the Beach Boys encapsulated surfing, hot rod culture, and youthful innocence within music which transformed a local lifestyle into American mythology. Other propellants included songwriters and/or record producers Gary Usher, Curt Boettcher, Bruce Johnston, Terry Melcher, and Roger Christian.
The Beach Boys' surf music was not entirely of their own invention, being preceded by artists such as Dick Dale. However, previous surf musicians did not project a world view as the Beach Boys did. The California Sound gradually evolved to reflect a more musically ambitious and mature world view, becoming less to do with surfing and cars and more about social consciousness and political awareness. Between 1964 and 1969, it fueled innovation and transition, inspiring artists to tackle largely unmentioned themes such as sexual freedom, black pride, drugs, oppositional politics, other countercultural motifs, and war.
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