''Little Deuce Coupe'' is the fourth album by the American

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wale ...

band

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 ...

, released October 7, 1963 by

Capitol Records Capitol Records, LLC (known legally as Capitol Records, Inc. until 2007), and simply known as Capitol, is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group through its Capitol Music Group imprint. It was founded as the first West Coast-base ...

. It reached No. 4 in the U.S. during a chart stay of 46 weeks, and was eventually certified platinum by the

RIAA The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the music recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors that the RIAA says "create, manufacture, and/o ...

. It is considered to be one of the earliest examples of a rock

concept album A concept album is an album whose tracks hold a larger purpose or meaning collectively than they do individually. This is typically achieved through a single central narrative or theme, which can be instrumental, compositional, or lyrical. Som ...

. It was the band’s final album with guitarist

David Marks David Lee Marks (born August 22, 1948) is an American guitarist who was an early member of the Beach Boys. While growing up in Hawthorne, California, Marks was a neighborhood friend of the original band members and was a frequent participant at t ...

until 2012's ''

That's Why God Made the Radio ''That's Why God Made the Radio'' is the twenty-ninth studio album by American rock band the Beach Boys, released on June 5, 2012, by Capitol Records. Produced by Brian Wilson, the album was recorded to coincide with the band's 50th anniversary ...

''. Marks departed from the Beach Boys following disagreements with manager

Murry Wilson Murry Gage Wilson (July 2, 1917 – June 4, 1973) was an American songwriter, talent manager, record producer, and music publisher, best known as the father of the Beach Boys' Brian Wilson, Brian, Dennis Wilson, Dennis, and Carl Wilson. Af ...

. The album was released three weeks after ''

Surfer Girl ''Surfer Girl'' is the third studio album by the American rock band the Beach Boys, released September 16, 1963 on Capitol Records. It is largely a collection of surf songs. The LP reached number 7 in the U.S. and number 13 in the UK. Lead sin ...

''. Four of the tracks from ''Little Deuce Coupe'' (" 409", " Shut Down", " Little Deuce Coupe", and "Our Car Club") had already appeared on previous albums, and discounting an alternate recording of " Be True to Your School", no tracks from the album were issued as an A-sided single.

Production

As with the preceding ''Surfer Girl'' album, the date assigned for recording all eight of the new tracks (September 2, 1963) is highly doubtful. However, as no AFM contracts from these sessions are known to exist, the actual dates are currently unknown. Although

Nick Venet Nick Venet (born Nikolas Kostantinos Venetoulis, December 3, 1936 – January 2, 1998) was an American record producer, who began his career at age 19 with World Pacific Jazz. He is best known for signing The Beach Boys to Capitol Records and p ...

was listed as producer for "Shut Down" and

for "409", the official producer's credit for the entire ''Little Deuce Coupe'' album cites only Brian Wilson. Despite the rushed nature of the album's sessions, Wilson's song arrangements were notably becoming more complex, specifically songs like "No-Go Showboat" and "Custom Machine". This was the last Beach Boys album to officially include rhythm guitarist

until 2012's ''

''. After the album's recording, Wilson re-recorded "Be True to Your School" for single release on October 28, resulting in another top 10 hit. An original Christmas-themed composition, "

Little Saint Nick "Little Saint Nick" is a song by American rock band the Beach Boys first released as a single on December 9, 1963. Written by Brian Wilson and Mike Love, the Christmas song applies hot-rod themes to Santa Claus and his sleigh. The single peake ...

" was also recorded that month and issued as a Christmas single.

Title and cover art

A Deuce Coupe is a 1932 Ford

Coupe A coupe or coupé (, ) is a passenger car with a sloping or truncated rear roofline and typically with two doors. The term ''coupé'' was first applied to horse-drawn carriages for two passengers without rear-facing seats. It comes from the Fr ...

(''deuce'' being for the year). This was considered by many to be the definitive "hot rod". The Model B had four cylinders and the Model 18 featured the

Ford flathead V8 engine The Ford flathead V8 (often called simply the Ford flathead or flathead Ford) is a V8 engine with a flat cylinder head introduced by the Ford Motor Company in 1932 and built by Ford through 1953. During the engine's first decade of production, w ...

when the car was introduced. A ''pink slip'' (mentioned in the lyrics) was the

title A title is one or more words used before or after a person's name, in certain contexts. It may signify their generation, official position, military rank, professional or academic qualification, or nobility. In some languages, titles may be ins ...

to the car, named for the color of the paper then used in

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

. The picture featured on the front cover of the album was supplied by ''Hot Rod'' magazine, and features the body (with his head cropped in the photo) of hot-rod owner Clarence 'Chili' Catallo and his own customized three-window 1932 Ford Coupe – known to hot rod enthusiasts as " the lil' deuce coupe".

Track listing

Notes * Some reissues of the album omit "Car Crazy Cutie" and "Custom Machine". * Because "409" was only available in mono, a

Duophonic Duophonic sound was a trade name for a type of audio signal processing used by Capitol Records on certain releases and re-releases of mono recordings issued during the 1960s and 1970s. In this process monaural recordings were reprocessed into a ...

(fake stereo) mix was used on the otherwise true stereo version of the album. Both stereo and mono mixes are available on the 2012 CD. * Mike Love was not originally credited for "Be True to Your School", "409", "Don't Back Down", and "Custom Machine". His credits were awarded after a 1994 court case.

References

External links

*
New York Times article (11-14-09) on the hot rod on the album cover
{{Authority control The Beach Boys albums 1960s concept albums 1963 albums Rock-and-roll albums Capitol Records albums Albums produced by Brian Wilson Albums recorded at United Western Recorders