Wipe Out – The Surfaris | Top 40 Chart Performance, Story and Song Meaning
Chart Performance: Pop (#2), 1963
Story Behind The Song By Ed Osborne
The surf-imitating sound of a broken board, a blood-curdling scream, breakneck drum solos drawn from traveling music used by the local high school marching band, and an exciting guitar-driven melody – these are the key elements of one of rock’s great instrumentals.
To top off this unlikely story, the members of the Surfaris paid only $100 for the recording session, and composed Wipe Out in the studio. Alas, their naivete resulted in financial and career wipe out.
Royalties from sales of the resulting hit album went to another surf group, The Challengers, whose bass player stole their publishing rights. And, to top it all off, the Glendora, California teenagers were sued over the Surfaris name by a group from Los Angeles.
This content and all Song Meaning articles were created and written by Top 40 Contributing Editor Ed Osborne. © 2024 Ed Osborne. All Rights Reserved. In addition to these song meaning articles, Ed has written our “Year in Music 1960s-1990s” articles.
Composers:
- Bob Berryhill
- Pat Connolly
- Jim Fuller
- Ron Wilson
Lyrics Written by:
- Bob Berryhill
- Pat Connolly
- Jim Fuller
- Ron Wilson
Awards:
- The Surfaris were inducted into the Musicians Hall of Fame in 2019 for “Wipe Out.”
- “Wipe Out” was the first Musicians Hall of Fame Instrumental Song Award winner.
Ed Osborne
Hi. I got my first record at age two and never looked back, spending a decades-long career in radio and the music business. Even after years of reading about and listening to all types of music, I am still fascinated by it. Apart from that, I’m endlessly intrigued by art, nature, and the inner lives of people (and dogs).