The legendary rock band the Beach Boys formed in 1961 in Hawthorne, California, with an original lineup consisting of brothers Brian, Dennis and Carl Wilson, their cousin Mike Love and friend Al Jardine. Releasing their first album, the iconic Surfin’ Safari, in 1962, the Beach Boys quickly gained fame for their “California Sound,” characterized by intricate vocal harmonies and upbeat songs that celebrated surfing, cars and youth culture. Their debut single, “Surfin’,” along with “Surfin’ Safari” and “409” all cracked the Top 100.

Music critics were underwhelmed, but the public fell in love with the fellas’ wholesome, beach-bound looks and summery sounds — even if they were thousands of miles away from surf-able swells, and the closest they’d get to a Woodie was their dad’s wood-paneled Ford Country Squire wagon.