"Sidewalk Surfin'" is a song with music by

Brian Wilson Brian Douglas Wilson (June 20, 1942 – June 11, 2025) was an American musician, songwriter, singer and record producer who co-founded the Beach Boys. Often Brian Wilson is a genius, called a genius for his novel approaches to pop compositio ...

and lyrics by Roger Christian, which was recorded by 1960s American pop singers

Jan and Dean Jan and Dean were an American rock music, rock duo consisting of William Jan Berry (April 3, 1941 – March 26, 2004) and Dean Ormsby Torrence (born March 10, 1940). In the early 1960s, they were pioneers of the California Sound and vocal surf m ...

. The song was recorded as a single and then appeared on the 1964 album ''Ride the Wild Surf,'' and later on the ''Little Old Lady from Pasadena'' album. The B-side of the single is "When It's Over." "Sidewalk Surfin'" reached number 25 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 on October 31, 1964, which was Jan and Dean's lowest-charting single in a year and a half since the release of their number one hit single "Surf City." Jan and Dean were known for their music of the 1960s surf era with songs like " Dead Man's Curve," " Drag City," and "

The Little Old Lady from Pasadena "The Little Old Lady (from Pasadena)" is a song written by Don Altfeld, Jan Berry and Roger Christian, and recorded by 1960s American pop singers Jan and Dean. The song was performed live by The Beach Boys at Sacramento Memorial Auditorium on ...

Composition

Jan Berry Jan and Dean were an American rock music, rock duo consisting of William Jan Berry (April 3, 1941 – March 26, 2004) and Dean Ormsby Torrence (born March 10, 1940). In the early 1960s, they were pioneers of the California Sound and vocal surf m ...

, Dean Torrence's partner in the Jan and Dean duo, wanted to write and compose about a sport other than

surfing Surfing is a surface water sport in which an individual, a surfer (or two in tandem surfing), uses a board to ride on the forward section, or face, of a moving wave of water, which usually carries the surfer towards the shore. Waves suita ...

. He came up with the idea to make music about

skateboarding Skateboarding is an extreme sport, action sport that involves riding and Skateboarding trick, performing tricks using a skateboard, as well as a recreational activity, an art form, an entertainment industry Profession, job, and a method of tr ...

. After trying, unsuccessfully, to come up with a song about that sport by himself, he decided to

parody A parody is a creative work designed to imitate, comment on, and/or mock its subject by means of satire, satirical or irony, ironic imitation. Often its subject is an Originality, original work or some aspect of it (theme/content, author, style, e ...

the Beach Boys The Beach Boys are an American Rock music, rock band formed in Hawthorne, California, in 1961. The group's original lineup consisted of brothers Brian Wilson, Brian, Dennis Wilson, Dennis, and Carl Wilson, their cousin Mike Love, and their f ...

' song " Catch a Wave," a song drawn from the group's 1963 album '' Surfer Girl.'' Berry asked the composer,

and Wilson's then-current lyricist associate, Roger Christian, to rewrite it. They complied, and eventually came up with "Sidewalk Surfin'," which is "Catch a Wave" with different lyrics about skateboarding.

Reissue

When the original recording of "Sidewalk Surfin'" got reissued as a single 12 years later, in the summer of 1976, the single got radio attention once again. This time, the single hovered right under the ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

'' Hot 100, eventually peaking at #107. It became their first, and only, single to get major radio attention, and came close to a placement on the charts, since 1967.

Live versions

Jan and Dean performed a lip-synchronized version of the song on ''

American Bandstand ''American Bandstand'' (AB) is an American Music television, music performance and dance television series that aired in various iterations from 1952 to 1989. It was hosted by Dick Clark who also served as the program's Television producer, pr ...

'' on August 22, 1964. On December 29, 1964, they performed the selection live at the T.A.M.I. Show.

Cover versions

Jan Berry covered the song by himself as a single in 1976, rewriting some of the lyrics to keep up with the new names and tricks of skateboarding of the 1970s. The lyrics were also easier for Berry to sing after the

aphasia Aphasia, also known as dysphasia, is an impairment in a person's ability to comprehend or formulate language because of dysfunction in specific brain regions. The major causes are stroke and head trauma; prevalence is hard to determine, but aph ...

Berry sustained from his car accident near Dead Man's Curve, on April 12, 1966.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sidewalk Surfin 1964 singles Jan and Dean songs Songs written by Roger Christian (songwriter) Songs written by Brian Wilson 1964 songs Liberty Records singles