Qualification to The Lucy Museum of Musicians who deserve entry to Lucy's Museum of Musicians is they must have a minimum of three songs which would make me turn up the radio if they came on. The Beach Boys
Qualifying Songs: Surfin' USA, All Summer Long, God Only Knows
Summer wouldn't be Summer without the songs of a trio of brothers, their cousin and their friend singing about surfing, cars, romance and the Californian beach lifestyle.
The tune to 'Surfin' USA' was lifted from Chuck Berry's 'Sweet Little Sixteen' for which he was given a writing credit after Berry's record company threatened to sue.
At some point around the mid-sixties the surf and car music dipped into the sunset and was replaced by more mature songs which glanced back at their younger days, 'All Summer Long' is the ultimate end of summer record although singing about having fun with a pair of thongs means something different on a Californian Beach than on Brighton seafront.
'God Only Knows' is a great love song even if it does start with the lyrics 'I may not always love you...' but it shows their growth from boy racers chasing girls and having fun with thongs to mature men in relationships.
Rolling Stone magazine's put them 12th in their '100 Greatest Artists of All Time' list and they more than satisfy the criteria of 3 songs which get turned up on my radio, especially if the Calendar shows June, July or August and the smell of sun tan lotion hangs heavily in the air.
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