(Frank Gari - James Roger McGuinn)
Australia
#3 Sydney #8 Brisbane
Single on the Reg Grundy label, RG-496, through Festival (the label number fits the Festival catalogue sequence). Also released in the US in 1964 on Atlantic #2247.
Co-written by Roger McGuinn, future member of The Byrds who performed on the City Surfers’ original version.
♫ Listen at YouTube
Jimmy Hannan was best known as a television compere and entertainer, seen on numerous programs from the early 60s.
Backing vocals are by the Bee Gees.
Thanks to Colin French.
Cette page a été réalisée avec la participation de Philippe Edouard.
(Frank Gari - James Roger McGuinn)
USA
Original version
Single on Capitol July 1963. Also on the album Live From Mars (1996) and on the Raven collection Byrd Parts 2 (2003).
Beach Ball earns a place in the pre-history of The Byrds, thanks to the participation of Roger McGuinn (still Jim or Jimmy McGuinn at this time). He was later an essential and enduring foundation member of The Byrds, but before that he toured with Bobby Darin and wrote for Darin’s publishing company T.M. Music.
The City Surfers were a studio band with McGuinn, Darin, and Beach Ball co-writer Frank Gari.
In 1962 … Bobby Darin offered [McGuinn] a job as a backing guitarist.
The Byrd Watcher website (defunct but archived here)
… Darin had decided to open his own music publishing company, T.M. Music, in New York’s Brill Building … [and] hired McGuinn as part of his songwriting stable.
With fellow songwriter Frank Gari, McGuinn wrote a handful of surf songs in the style of the Beach Boys. These were released as singles by the City Surfers, a pre-fab studio group featuring McGuinn on guitar, Darin on drums, and Gari on vocals. In the US, the A-side of the first single “Beach Ball”/“Sun Tan Baby” (Capitol, July 1963) received some airplay in New York City but little elsewhere; later a cover of the song was a hit in Australia.
(Frank Gari - James Roger McGuinn)
USA
Later version
On the album Fun Fun Fun on Ric, #1006, produced by Terry Melcher.
♫ Listen at YouTube
With the participation of Bruce Johnston along with Wrecking Crew session regulars Leon Russell (piano), Hal Blaine (drums) Tom Tedesco, Billy Strange and Jerry Cole (guitars), and Steve Douglas (sax).
Multi-instrumentalist Johnston and producer-singer Melcher teamed up for several singles on Columbia 1963-66 as Bruce & Terry, and they both contributed to The Rip Chords’ hit Little Cobra (1964, #4 USA).
(Steven Howard [Herb Newman] - Joseph Van Winkle - Fred Darian- Al De Lory)
USA
Red herring
Same title but not the same song as ‘Beach Ball’ by Jimmy Hannan.
Instrumental single on Bamboo. Herbie was Era Records main man Herb Newman: see (And Her Name Is) Scarlett, also written by Herb Newman using the name Steven Howard.
Two more red herrings:
Joe Henderson – Beach Ball (Joe Henderson)
Single on Parlophone UK May 1962
Instrumental
Label credit: With accompaniment directed by Geoff Love.
The Daisy Chain – Beach Ball (D. Preston – M. Bernardini)
B-side on Fontana USA Sept 1968
All-female garage rock and psychedelic band from Fullerton, California (Wikipedia)
Pop Archives
Australia's premier song history site since 2004
Website by Lyn Nuttall. © Lyn Nuttall 2004-2025. Chart positions courtesy of Gavin Ryan’s Australian Chart Books and Dean Scapolo’s Complete NZ Music Charts. Special thanks to Terry Stacey for information, corrections and suggestions. Thanks also to Tony Watson, Philippe Edouard, Dave Overett.., More…
