Article - The "Girls On The Beach" EP

INTRODUCTION

Over the last few years (and before) there has been a long discussion and a large amount of speculation about this Girls on the Beach EP from the Beach Boys.

Since writing this article for Beach Boys STOMP many years ago, and subsequently posting a revised version on this website, I’ve done more research and much discussion with other knowledgeable Beach Boys’ collectors worldwide.

I have now taken the time to rewrite this article, to include newfound information, which I hope will provide insight and new evidence to challenge previous speculation regarding this record’s origin. There are many opinions, and I know this article will not be the “last” word on this EP, but in the very least I hope it will provide additional information and points of views, which will help many adjust or come to a different conclusion. As always, I welcome any feedback.

Panayiotis

July 26, 2017

San Leandro, California, USA

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With the appearance of the Beach Boys in the film The Girls on the Beach in 1965 (Release date, May 12, 1965), some speculation suggests Capitol Records in the USA (i.e. CRUSA) considered issuing a Girls on the Beach EP. This EP might have included the tracks from the film performed by the Beach Boys. Whether this was ever a serious consideration is unknown and very little has been found to indicate any attempt was ever actually made. Still, this EP turned up in the early 1980s, and has continued to intrigue and baffle collectors everywhere.

THE FACTS

The Girls on the Beach EP (i.e. GOTB EP) was pressed using what appeared to be a standard Capitol Orange and Yellow swirl label as used by CRUSA during the 1960s. Side A contains “Little Honda” and “I Get Around”, while Side B pairs “Lonely Sea” with “Memphis Beach”. There is a notation indicating “Film ‘Girls on the Beach’ ” just under “The Beach Boys” on the top of the label. It’s also interesting to note the title track (i.e. “The Girls on the Beach”) is not included on the EP even though it does open the film. Further, “I Get Around” and “Memphis Beach” do not appear in the movie at all. Only “Little Honda” and “Lonely Sea” from this EP appear in the film. (more about “Memphis Beach” below)

A POSSIBLE THEORY

Is it a USA Promotional Release?

In the late 1990s, when I first spoke to Beach Boys Historian Brad Elliott about this release, he told me he assumed “this record was some sort of promotional release, perhaps issued in support of the film”. He continued by telling me the only numbers found on this record were the serial numbers in the deadwax area, showing “X-268” on Side A, and “X-269” on Side B. Elliott’s research could not find any connection with anything which could attach it to anything CRUSA had ever considered, or issued whether it was a custom, commercial or promotional release. It is well known CRUSA did not release “promo” or “custom” releases on the Orange and Yellow Swirl label, which was reserved for stock issues. Thus, this record seems to be an oddity unexplained even through CRUSA itself.

Elliott believed the release not to be a fake or “bootleg”, and “it was undoubtedly a genuine Capitol Records release from somewhere” even though he was not convinced, it was of USA origin. He surmised it “could be from the Far East”—meaning Thailand, Singapore or Korea, “or even from south of the border”—meaning Mexico or one of the Latin or South American countries. He also pointed out the numbers on the deadwax, mentioned above, were not “hand etched”, but rather, “machine stamped”, which he felt was not a usual characteristic of a counterfeit or bootleg.

I think Elliott was wrong in his assumptions to think this EP was a “genuine” Capitol Records release from somewhere. It may have a CRUSA label, but this clearly doesn’t make it a “legitimate” release. I also don’t agree with his speculation about the “machine stamped” serial numbers in the deadwax area as proof. While this might suggest a legitimate release, as a personal observation, I have found repressed bootlegs of many rare doo-wop singles, where the numbers in the deadwax were “machine-pressed”. Most serious Beach Boys’ singles collectors know many of the Capitol singles from certain factories in the USA (and around the world) do have “machine stamped” numbers, while others are clearly “hand etched”. So his opinion and conclusion didn’t validate a “legitimate” release.

More recently, others have come forth and argue that because it clearly says “MFD BY CAPITOL RECORDS INC USA” in the fine print on the bottom edge of the label, it must be from the USA. Could be, but as mentioned above, Elliott’s research could not find any connection to CRUSA, and there is no other concrete evidence that conclusively points the EP to a USA origin. Thus, I disagree with this conclusion as well. I have provided additional information below which backs up my conclusion for this argument.

DIFFERENT SPECULATION

A Far East release?

When the record first appeared in the early 1980s, there was some speculation it was from the Far East. Legendary Beach Boys’ Collector Peter Reum (who owned the first discovered copy) told me how he “acquired the record in a group of singles that also included some odd Beach Boys LP records from Taiwan”. He wasn’t sure why the GOTB EP was included. (Brad Elliott confirmed at this time there were no 7-inch Capitol label records known from Taiwan.) All Taiwan issued Beach Boys’ records were done on “local” labels like Liming and Lyou Feng, and not on Capitol Record labels. Most were LPs on colored vinyl, enclosed in flimsy record covers. The GOTB EP was on black vinyl, which didn’t follow this colored vinyl trend. Because of this, both Elliott and Reum speculated it couldn’t be from Taiwan, but was possibly from Thailand or another country in this region of the world.

Elliott also mentioned, “Sometimes CRUSA, would issue weird things like these X PRO promo albums, which have turned up over the years.” The X PROs are single promotional LP compilations pressed by CRUSA which were sent to their overseas affiliates informing them of the latest CRUSA releases which would be available for release overseas. They were titled “Manufacturing Associate Reference Pressing” across the top of the label. (See an example in box below). The “X” in the catalog number and prefix was for “export”. Elliott concluded perhaps the Matrix numbers on this EP (X-268 and X-269), could have also meant the EP was intended for export. Still with no firm information in CRUSA’s files, there is nothing to support this theory.

The copies of the GOTB EP shown (in two different variations) on this website are the second and third copies which have appeared since the 1980s. Neither copy is the record once owned by Peter Reum. Reum’s copy was sold on Ebay about 15 years ago to a collector in Japan. A fourth copy appeared in mid-2017, and was also auctioned on Ebay. The dealer who sold this copy gave our website some additional information.

This dealer friend told us he had purchased this Girls on the Beach EP while traveling in the Far East and was definite the record was “clearly from Thailand”. He also added, “All 45s pressed in Asia, were usually done in very small quantities. Most are very difficult to find. From what I can tell, most of these issues were done for American GIs, who were visiting the local Bars and Clubs. Many of these establishments had jukeboxes, and during the Vietnam War era many records were pressed in Thailand, probably illegitimately, to service these jukeboxes for the US servicemen stationed there.” He was also certain most of the records weren’t authorized by EMI or Capitol Records (or any other record companies in the US), and explained that “the local Thai businessmen saw an opportunity and took advantage of it. They pressed many records by the Beach Boys, and other popular US and UK artists of this era, to fill the need and demand created by the American servicemen stationed in the region who wanted to hear the popular music from home.”

US AND THAILAND RELATIONS

1960s: The Vietnam War Era

After World War II, Thailand and the US developed an extremely close relationship mostly based on the idea of stopping the spread of communism in Far East region of the world. For the USA, Thailand was viewed as an ally of anti-communism in this region of political uncertainty, but it also represented a valuable “rest and relaxation” (R&R) destination for US servicemen who were stationed in Thailand or fighting in Vietnam. By the mid-1960s, about 80 percent of the American bombing missions flown against North Vietnam and Laos were launched from air bases in Thailand. And just as our record dealer friend mentioned to us above, there was a large population of US Servicemen in the region, and many local businesses and industries who took advantage of this economic opportunity and sometimes contracted with the US Government to provide services or supplies for these same servicemen. Some research I found revealed the influx of American servicemen stationed in Thailand, and those who were on R&R leave from Vietnam, pumped more than $850 million dollars into the local Thailand economy during this era. This generated the manufacture of many products for the US servicemen serving abroad. This clearly would have included entertainment items, including records with the music from home. It is also evident that many US Films from this time period were very popular in this area with US servicemen, and most also became popular with the local population and community.

GIRLS on the BEACH

Malaysian EP Issue

This popularity of the film is confirmed by a different Girls on the Beach EP, which was released in Malaysia. (see also our Malaysia section).

WINTER A-GO-GO

Another Thailand EP Issue

Winter A-Go-Go (Released in the USA, Oct 28, 1965) was another US Teen Movie from this era which was also popular in this region. The idea for the film was to take the beach and teen crowd from the sand and go to the snow. Though not as successful in the USA as some of the other movies for this market, it was popular enough in the Far East to encourage an EP release of several songs from the film in Thailand.

The Winter A-Go-Go EP released in Thailand appears on the Metrodisc label (Serial number EE 1651). I was only able to obtain the Side 2 label for this article. Like most of the previous EPs discussed above, and as can be seen, the EP is missing most of the label credits including the names of the artists.

The front cover is a bit damaged, but has the movie poster or lobby card superimposed like the GOTB EP from Malaysia above. The back cover shows another movie poster or lobby card as well, with the track listing without the artists. The title song “Winter A-Go-Go” is by the Hondells. “Do The Ski With Me” is The Nooney Rickett 4 with Joni Lyman. Joni Lyman also sings “King of the Mountain”. The Reflections do “I’m Sweet On You”, and The Nooney Rickett 4 also perform “Ski City”. Last is James Stacey with “Hip Square Dance”.

Courtesy of the BERLIN BEATET BESTES blog of Andreas Michalke from Berlin, Germany.

You can visit his blog for more information.

These two Winter A-Go-Go EPs are two additional pressings of this EP done in Thailand. One cover has red print, similar to the one shown above while the other shows blue print. Again, both show a movie poster or lobby card superimposed on the front side and also show a notation, near the bottom right, printed in Thai, on the front cover. Both releases were done with a red record label, which is different from the brown Metrodisc label pictured above, but both have the same serial number, EE–1651. The labels appear to be missing most of the same credits missing from the Metrodisc label, and both of the GOTB EPs. Not sure which came first, but this must have been a very popular EP in Thailand to be issued three different times!

OTHER THAILAND RELEASES

Unauthorized? Probably

A) Columbia Records EP by the OUTSIDERS b/w the YARDBIRDS

Once the GOTB EP was posted in the USA section of the website, we heard from many collector friends and Beach Boys’ fans around the world.

I was contacted by one fellow collector who in his email said, “I have a different EP from Thailand, and it has machine stamped numbers exactly like this GOTB Beach Boys’ EP.” He included these photos (see below) of this Red Columbia Label EP which includes two tracks by The Outsiders (on side A) and two tracks by The Yardbirds (on side B). “The A-side deadwax is machine stamped with the number X-480, and the B-side deadwax has X-481, and nothing more,” he shared and noted both were pressed with numbers similar in style to the GOTB EP. He also noted other similarities. “There are no songwriter credits, no publishing credits, and no time credits. And like the GOTB EP, this also says “Printed in USA” on the bottom label edge.” And to connect the record to the country of origin, he explained, “On the Yardbirds side, under the title of the song “Psycho Daisies” are the words “Talung Tempo”. In Thai, the word “talung” means “naughty”. This clearly confirms the record was probably and perhaps definitely from Thailand.” And finally, when he bought the record, the dealer confirmed, that it was “in fact, without a doubt”, released in Thailand.

Anyone who knows about the group The Outsiders, knows they were also on CRUSA in the 1960s. (They also released records on the BELL and KAPP labels during 1970 and 1971). As for the Yardbirds, they released records in the United Kingdom on the Columbia Label, which was an EMI subsidiary in the UK, but unrelated to the US Columbia label, which was part of CBS Records in the US. Columbia in the UK never used this red US Columbia label for any UK release for this band. In the US, most of the single releases by The Yardbirds during this period appeared on the yellow Epic label, which was also a CBS subsidiary in the US. In spite of the Yardbirds being associated with both companies, which were connected to the Columbia label in the UK and in the US, I find it unlikely any of the labels were shared between the two organizations.

So what gives? You can easily conclude that whoever pressed this EP wasn’t too concerned about what label they used and may have used whatever artwork was available to them to make it appear as a legitimate and authorized release. This includes the “Printed in USA” on the bottom edge which seems to be clearly done to add legitimacy. And some might say, “This could be a special press” done by Columbia in the USA. But why would Columbia Records press a record on this label, when one of the artists (i.e. The Outsiders) was clearly not part of their catalog during this time? Further, if it was created in the USA, why wouldn’t the record labels include details regarding the publisher, the composers and the producers, which was usually the standard? It’s also missing the time notations and master numbers, which further makes it questionable. These details, at least in my opinion, point to the record not being printed or made in the USA, and suggest it was more than likely pressed in Thailand.

I received another email, from a different well-known collector friend who informed me, “There’s another Thailand EP pressing on the Capitol label, which has “Little Honda” and “Surfin’ USA” by the Beach Boys on Side A, and “Oh Carol” and “Walking the Dog” by the Rolling Stones on Side B.” He provided the photos below (We also have this on the website). This collector was also certain this release was from Thailand.

Just like the Columbia EP release above, the question is the same: Why would CRUSA issue an EP with tracks by an artist (i.e. the Rolling Stones) when they were clearly not part of Capitol Records at this time, or at any time! Again it clearly points to the EP not being a legitimate or an authorized release.

I’ll take it a step further.

I am also friendly with a well known Rolling Stones expert, who I contacted to ask about the Beach Boys/Rolling Stones Thailand EP above. His email reply indicated he “was very aware of it, and had seen many copies over the years.” He also confirmed to me that “without any question” it was from Thailand. He added, “There are many records and EPs unofficially pressed in Thailand, with titles by the Rolling Stones”, and sent me photos of these two additional Rolling Stones Thailand EP pressings shown below.

THE LAST MYSTERY

“Memphis Beach”

We mentioned above that this GOTB EP has one of the tracks listed as “Memphis Beach”. This record actually plays the instrumental track “Carl’s Big Chance” from the 1964 Beach Boys’ album ALL SUMMER LONG.

Many listeners discovered with the Sea of Tunes Bootleg Collections which came out some years ago, that “Memphis Beach” was actually a working title for “Carl’s Big Chance”. (See & Listen: Sea of Tunes/Unsurpassed Masters Volume 6, Disc 2, Tracks 12-14, listed on cover as “Memphis Beach”.). The instrumental does sound similar to Chuck Berry’s “Memphis” (also later a hit for Johnny Rivers) and because of this, during the April 29, 1964 session, may have compelled Engineer Chuck Britz to make up the title. He is clearly heard saying “Take One Memphis Beach”. Yet, it also sounds as if he says, “Beat” instead of “Beach”. The session continues and he next says, “Detroit Beat Take Two”. Again it sounds like “Beat” instead of “Beach”. Britz was probably not concerned with the song title, but more concerned in getting the band to get on to another take. The reason for making this point is Brad Elliott told me “if at the time of this EP’s release (presumed to be 1965, like the film’s release date) the title “Memphis Beach”, would have already been changed to “Carl’s Big Chance” when it was released in the Summer of 1964, when included on the ALL SUMMER LONG album.” He further argued “the track was recorded under the original title (of “Memphis Beach”), but the title was changed prior to this release—a fact that was completely unknown at the time this EP first turned up”--back in the 1980s. His forays into the subject of “Memphis Beach” being used for the title revealed there was “no indication that Capitol got a tape of the song before the finished master for the ALL SUMMER LONG album was turned in. When it was submitted, the title was already changed to "Carl's Big Chance." He continued by noting that “Carl’s Big Chance” was one of five songs on ASL where ”Capitol Records did not pay for the sessions as the album was being recorded. Instead, the band paid for the sessions for those five songs and then Capitol purchased the masters for a set amount when the album was submitted.” Elliott went on, “I can't find the title "Memphis Beach" in Capitol's files anywhere! Even the original assignment of the master number for the track is to "Carl's Big Chance"! The only place it's noted as "Memphis Beach" is on the original session tapes! So I don't know how the title possibly could have been associated with the track by anybody at that time, yet it was!” And with this information, he concluded, “nobody outside of The Beach Boys themselves and maybe a handful of old Capitol execs might have known the original title for the track!”

And with this fact, Elliott's convinced there's just no way this EP could be illegitimate, a bootleg or a forgery! He continued, “The only way the title “Memphis Beach” could have appeared on a record label before just a couple of years ago is if the record was an authentic Capitol release of some sort, with the title pulled from preliminary documentation for the ALL SUMMER LONG album.” In other words, before the title was actually changed and before the master was given to Capitol. Then the questions become, who else knew, and who was given this early master tape, before the five tracks were turned in? And who authorized this released?

A lot of reasoning and speculation, but the mystery still exists. No one knows for certain how “Carl’s Big Chance” became titled as “Memphis Beach” on this EP. But still this does not prove, in any way, that the GOTB EP was a legitimate release. If you think about it, it can also be suggested that when this GOTB EP was being processed to be pressed, someone heard “Carl’s Big Chance” and possibly didn’t like the title, and because of it sounding similar to “Memphis” that someone suggested calling it “Memphis Beach”. Yes, this is a stretch, and probably unlikely. But who knows? The speculation will continue, and ‘Memphis Beach” continues to remain unexplained.

ANOTHER THAILAND PRESSING

The Beatles’ REVOLVER Album

Many records which come from Thailand, confirm that those who pressed records in Thailand had a clear history of pressing records which were made to look and imitate legitimate, authorized releases. It’s also clear those who pressed these records used any label and artwork which was available to them and not too much care was taken to provide any additional label information or to adjust the artwork.

Note this Parlophone label from the Beatles’ REVOLVER which was pressed in Thailand (on the left) and this label from the same album from a UK pressing (on the right)

SOME LAST SPECULATION and THOUGHTS

Since I first wrote this article for the UK Fanzine Beach Boys STOMP back in the mid-1990s, I’ve heard from and talked to many Beach Boys’ collectors around the world: Most have no idea what to make of this record. One collector I spoke with who knew about movie music being nominated for an Oscar, told me about the process. “What happens is, someone wants to nominate a song or composer. There is a nomination procedure, which includes contacting the academy, the record company and the music publisher. The record company might then make a special record (or nowadays a CD) of the songs or soundtrack to give to those who do the voting, so they can hear the song (or songs) which are being nominated. So with this in mind, this EP may have been created by Capitol Records, because someone may have considered nominating Brian Wilson as the composer or nominating the music from the film for an Oscar.”

I believe it makes for a great story or point of view, but I highly doubt it. And we may never get a definite answer, as most of the Capitol executives from 1965 are gone, as are Murry Wilson and Sea of Tunes who would’ve been the publishers at the time. Lastly, if anyone from Capitol or Murry Wilson would have been contacted or contacted the Motion Picture Academy back then, one would think there would’ve been some story or some recollection about it at this point. But nothing has shown up. So, who knows?

For me, and my feelings about this EP, and what I’ve written above about the other releases from Thailand, and for what much of my research has pointed to, including this Thailand issue of the Beatles’ REVOLVER discussed above, which looks like the UK issue, the GOTB EP is a great imitation of a CRUSA issue and does look like it could be from the USA. But with all of the above evidence about the other EPs where I’ve noted the same “X” in the serial numbers and also the pressing styles (i.e. omitted label credits etc.) and many who can confirm these other EPs clearly being from Thailand, there’s little reason to believe this. It’s definitely not of USA origin. I personally believe the record to be from Thailand without any doubt or question.

PANAYIOTIS

(with thanks to Brad Elliott, Peter Reum, Bgas and a few others who have asked to remain anonymous)