The Original Surfaris - Wheels-Shorts-Hot Rods

The Surfaris who are credited on this budget release (Diplomat, 1965) are not the ones who recorded the big hit Wipe Out in 1963. There were two groups called the Surfaris in southern California at the time and there was a lawsuit over the name. The group with the hit won, but the other group was allowed to call itself the Original Surfaris, apparently because it was formed first.

Wheels-Shorts-Hot Rods was put together to cash in on the short-lived fad for hot rod music, an offshoot of the surf sound that had emerged on the U.S. West Coast. The tracks on this LP for the most part bear little relation to surf or hot rod music and were likely recorded several years earlier -- and only the opening tune, Delano Soul Beat, is actually by the Original Surfaris. For example, Gear Down Boogie is a sax-driven stomper that sounds like it could have been made in the 1950s. All the tracks were apparently recorded by producer Tony Hilder at his small California studio but the groups were not credited, nor were they paid according to various sources.

Gear Down Boogie



By the time Wheels-Shorts-Hot Rods was released the Original Surfaris had disbanded. The group had been planning a true surf music LP for 1963 but the project was shelved in the wake of the legal action involving the other Surfaris. The album finally surfaced on LP and CD in 1995 thanks to Sundazed Records.

This album has been out of print for a number of years. There are a few copies floating around on the web, but they're kind of pricey. Luckily the album's 12 tracks are available for download at a reasonable price. Here's a sample from YouTube.