When you think of classic rock and roll car anthems, the Beach Boys instantly cruise into mind. They were pioneers of the 1960s hot rod song craze, rivaling even Jan and Dean in crafting catchy melodies perfect for blasting from your car’s AM radio. The Beach Boys built their iconic image on the twin pillars of muscle cars and California surf culture, blending cruising and waves in a way that no other band could quite replicate.
Delving into the Beach Boys’ discography reveals some surprising facts. Their passion for car culture arguably peaked with 1963’s Little Deuce Coupe, a thematic album celebrating car culture with a sunny California vibe. This was quickly followed by Shut Down Volume 2 (despite the confusing title, as Volume 1 was a various artists compilation), which featured more of their classic car songs. And in 1964, All Summer Long not only included Brian Wilson’s last surf songs but also the Beach Boys’ first No. 1 hit, I Get Around, an enduring anthem of teenage freedom and mobility.
As a lifelong Beach Boys fan myself – they were my childhood heroes, and I even had the incredible experience of meeting them backstage as a teenager – it wasn’t until I revisited their lyrics as an adult that I realized a surprising truth: only a handful of their many hits actually name specific car models.
Despite being a quintessential car song, I Get Around remains in the realm of general cruising tunes, and this is true for almost half the tracks on Little Deuce Coupe. Songs like Custom Machine, No-Go Showboat, Car Crazy Cutie, and Cherry, Cherry Coupe are undeniably fueled by high-octane energy but lack specific details about the cars themselves. A Young Man Is Gone poignantly references the tragic death of James Dean, but doesn’t mention the Porsche Spyder he drove or the Ford Tudor involved in the accident. Even This Car of Mine from Shut Down Volume 2 keeps the make and model of Brian Wilson’s ride a mystery.
This got me wondering: Just how many Beach Boys songs actually name-drop the sought-after cars of the day? The band has amassed a vast catalog over their decades-long career, so I decided to dig deep into the lyrics and identify the Beach Boys songs that explicitly call out their automotive objects of desire. Here are eight Beach Boys songs that give a shout-out to specific cars.
You’re welcome to join this cruise down memory lane.
Little Deuce Coupe
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It’s widely known that the Beach Boys weren’t avid surfers, preferring to ride the waves of fame on stage rather than hang ten in the ocean. Now, prepare for another myth to be dispelled: the band members weren’t all die-hard car guys either.
Luckily for their authentic portrayal of the era, they were surrounded by friends who were deeply passionate about hot rods. One such friend was Roger Christian, a DJ who befriended Brian Wilson and convinced him to channel his songwriting talents into the burgeoning drag racing craze on the West Coast. Christian is credited with writing the lyrics to Little Deuce Coupe, a song that Brian Wilson himself would later name as his favorite Beach Boys car track. The title, of course, refers to a 1932 Ford Coupe, celebrated for its “flathead mill” engine, capable of outperforming a Thunderbird “like she’s standing still.” A beloved model among hot rod enthusiasts even today, boasting that your ’32 Ford could hit “a hundred and forty with the top end floored” was a serious statement in the early ’60s.
409
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Gary Usher was another car aficionado who crossed paths with Brian Wilson early in their respective music careers. Before becoming a successful rock producer, Usher collaborated with the Beach Boys’ creative genius, co-writing several hits, including the iconic 409. This song first appeared on Surfin’ Safari in 1962 before being included on the car-centric Little Deuce Coupe album the following year.
409 is packed with car enthusiast delights, celebrating a “’four-speed, dual-quad, Posi-Traction 409” that dominates on both the street and the drag strip. The numbers “409” refer to Chevrolet’s legendary 409-cubic-inch big-block V-8 engine. Available in various full-size and intermediate Chevy models in 1962, it produced a formidable 409 horsepower in its top configuration, leaving competitors in the dust. The revving engine sounds at the beginning of the song are actually recordings of Usher’s own older Chevy V-8, captured on tape right outside Brian Wilson’s home.
Fun, Fun, Fun
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Fun, Fun, Fun serves as a perfect snapshot of 1960s teenage rebellion, a time before long hair and LSD defined the counterculture. Instead, we get a story of a young woman who cleverly deceives her parents to borrow the family car. The chorus famously declares she’ll have “fun, fun, fun ’til Daddy takes the T-Bird away.” This lead track from Shut Down Volume 2 reached No. 5 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in 1964, during a week when the Beatles remarkably held the top three positions. The “T-Bird” in question is, of course, the Ford Thunderbird, a symbol of cool and youthful freedom in the early sixties.
Shut Down
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Shut Down is the closest the Beach Boys ever came to capturing the play-by-play street racing style popularized by Jan and Dean. It’s a detailed account of a drag race, with the narrator behind the wheel of a fuel-injected Corvette Stingray, going head-to-head with a Mopar powered by a 413 Max Wedge engine, complete with Ram Air induction and dual quad carburetors. Despite being set on the streets, the Corvette is equipped with slicks, and we hear about the driver “riding the clutch” to maximize traction while his “pressure plate’s burnin’.”
This song is another product of Roger Christian’s lyrical contributions, which explains the authentic, gearhead language throughout. Many have long assumed the Stingray emerges victorious from this race, but a close examination of the lyrics reveals the song actually ends before we definitively learn the outcome. Whether the Chevy closes the gap completely remains ambiguous, unless you interpret the final verse’s “shut it off, shut it off, buddy now I shut you down” as the victor’s declaration. Sadly, Shut Down, Part II offers no resolution, as it’s an instrumental track.
Our Car Club
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From the Little Deuce Coupe album, Our Car Club paints a picture of early 1960s innocence. It depicts a group of friends cruising in their cars who decide to formalize their camaraderie by starting a car club, complete with jackets, sponsors, and membership dues. The song name-drops several iconic cars: a Deuce Coupe, a Jaguar XKE, a Stingray, and a rail job dragster. It boasts about achieving “some low ETs” (elapsed times in drag racing) and hints at a rigorous initiation process that will “really put you through the grind,” a slightly darker undertone that contrasts with the otherwise feel-good vibe of the song.
Ballad of Ole’ Betsy
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Another gem from Little Deuce Coupe, Ballad of Ole’ Betsy is, predictably, an ode to another Deuce Coupe. This song chronicles the car’s journey from being built in Detroit and shipped to the California coast, eventually ending up slightly worn but loved in Brian Wilson’s garage. It’s a mellow and sentimental doo-wop ballad. While we never learn why the car is named Betsy, we understand she’s “been more loyal than any friend could be,” and that “Betsy’s growing old,” a fact that evokes emotion in the singer. It’s a feeling many car enthusiasts can relate to.
In My Car
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In 1989, the Beach Boys experienced a resurgence in popularity thanks to Kokomo, a hit song featured in the Tom Cruise movie Cocktail. This success led to the idea of a Beach Boys album featuring songs that had appeared in movies. However, this concept took an unexpected turn when, according to band member Mike Love, Brian Wilson’s controversial psychiatrist Eugene Landy insisted on including In My Car on the record.
While In My Car hadn’t been featured in a movie soundtrack before, it became the last car-specific song the Beach Boys ever recorded. It’s a nostalgic tribute to the Corvette, reminiscing about the golden days of cruising while also acknowledging the midlife crisis connotations often associated with Corvette ownership (“In my car I’m captain of my destiny”). The resulting album, Still Cruisin’, achieved gold status and marked the Beach Boys’ final album with Capitol Records. Interestingly, while not initially written for a movie, its inclusion on Still Cruisin’ album, prompted by the success of Kokomo in Cocktail, indirectly links a Beach Boys car song to the world of film, subtly connecting to the idea of a “car movie featuring a member of the Beach Boys” through the band’s later career trajectory.
Spirit of America
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Spirit of America concludes our list with a song dedicated to the Bonneville Salt Flats, land speed records, and one of the fastest cars to ever grace the salt. Brian Wilson and Roger Christian collaborated again to create this two-minute tribute to the Spirit of America jet car, built and driven by Craig Breedlove in the early 1960s. This “jet without wings,” as the lyrics describe it, was powered by a “J-47, a jet for his power,” and helped Breedlove achieve an average speed of “four-o-seven per hour.” Forget history books, the Beach Boys have your Bonneville speed records covered in this high-octane track.
Did I miss any other Beach Boys songs that name-drop specific cars? Let me know in the comments below!
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