Everybody's talking 'bout Surfer Dan
Doheny to Nirvana in his Chevy Sedan
Moving so fast you can't see him go by
(Ooh)
He's a gremmie Maharishi in his baggies and beads
Super stock surfer jock down to his knees
He's so ripped he can't see you go by
Surfer Dan someone that everyone knows
(He's so cool, you know, his cool is cool)
27 girls follow wherever he goes
Everybody's looking for Surfer Dan
Skinny Minnie, mom & dad and Uncle Sam
He's so cool they can't see him go by
(Wah hoo, wah, wah wah hoo)
Surfer Dan someone that everyone knows
(He's so cool, you know, his cool is cool)
27 girls follow wherever he goes
(Boss, Stoked, Groovy)
Everybody's talking bout Surfer Dan
Doheny to Nirvana in his Chevy Sedan
Moving so fast you can't see him go by
He's so ripped, he can't see you go by
He's so cool you can't see him go by
Surfer Dan
Surfer Dan
Surfer Dan
Surfer Dan
Surfer Dan
Surfer Dan
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The Turtles Surfer Dan Lyrics Information:
SURFER DAN 1
Written by: The Turtles (Howard Kaylan, Mark Volman, John Barbata, Jim Pons and
Al Nichol).
Performed by: The Cross Fires 2 (aka: The Turtles) 3 -1968.
Appears on: The Turtles Present the Battle of the Bands See 2 below (White
Whale LP #WWS-7118, UA)-1968, (Rhino LP #RNLP-70156, US)-1986, (Rhino CS
#RNC-70156, US)-1986, (Repertoire CD #4332-WY, 6 Bonus Tracks, Germany)-1993 &
(Sundazed CD #SDCD-6038, 2 Bonus Tracks, US)-1994 4 ; Turtle Wax-The Best of the
Turtles, Vol.2 (Rhino LP #R1-70159)-1974, (Rhino CS #R4-70159)-1988 & (Rhino CD
#R2-70159, 6 Bonus Tracks)-1988; 30 Years of Rock'n'Roll: Happy Together (Delta
CD #15969)-1995; 30 Years Together: The Story of Rock & Roll (Laserlight CD
#12601, Europe)-1995 & (Delta CS #72601, US)-2000; Classic Hits (Repertoire CD
#4321) Turtles-2002; Solid Zinc-The Turtles Anthology (Rhino CD
#RCD-78304)-2002; et al.
1 "Surfer Dan!" was released in 1968 on the album, The Turtles Present the
Battle of the Bands. The album peaked at #162 on the Billboard Pop Albums Chart.
"Oh Daddy!" was never released as a single.
2 The Turtles Present the Battle of the Bands, is a comedic, concept-album, on
which the group pretends to be different bands (with such names as, The Bigg
Brothers, Nature's Children, The U.S. Teens, featuring Raoul, & The Fabulous
Dawgs), each with a song in a different genre. The outer covers (on all but the
Rhino reissues) show the Turtles in evening dress, playing hosts of the "show,"
while the inside gatefold shows them in different costumes for each song. The
Turtles wrote nine of the 12 songs on the original LP, with the intention of
mocking the entire spectrum of popular music. There are two bonus tracks on the
Sundazed CD re-issue of 1994.
3 At the time of this recording the band lineup was: Howard Kaylan, born
Howard Kaplan (lead vocals), Mark Volman (lead & backup vocals, guitar,
saxophone), John Barbata (drums), Jim Pons (bass Guitar), Al Nichol (lead
guitar).
A couple of interesting side notes:
The group originally called themselves, The Crossfires from the Planet Mars, but
when they signed with White Whale Records, they changed their name to the
Tyrtles as a homage to the Byrds. Unfortunately, it wasn't long before they
discovered that people were struggling with the pronunciation of the name and
changed it again -- to the correct spelling of the word.
With the break-up of the Turtles in 1970, Kaylan and Volman joined the Mothers
of Invention (Frank Zappa's band) as "The Phlorescent Leech & Eddie," since the
use of the Turtles name (and even their own names) was prohibited by their
contract with White Whale. Flo & Eddie, as they soon became known, recorded
albums with the Mothers and later released a series of records on their own.
Frank Zappa claimed that his association with Kaylan and Volman was inspired by
a DJ's comment that Kaylan & Volman could make the Mothers as big as the
Turtles. "If you want to be as big as the Turtles, have a few Turtles in your
band," Zappa reportedly claimed. The collaboration with Zappa lasted until a
jealous fan attacked and seriously injured Zappa when the Mothers were
performing at the Rainbow Theatre in London in December 1971.
4 Transcribed from the track on this album.
5 Doheny is a street in Beverly Hills, California.
6 Nirvana is considered, by some, to be any place of complete bliss, delight
and peace.
7 Gremmie is surfer-slang for a novice surfer, or one with poor form. So a
gremmie Maharishi would be a guru/teacher for beginners or those needing a
little help with their technique.
8 Baggies refers to the baggy pants that surfers are known to wear.
9 Beads refers to Hippie beads, or surfing beads (pukka shells) that were worn
by the "in crowds" in the late '60s in the U.S.
10 A "Super stock car" is one that was originally just an automobile from a
dealer's inventory, that has been souped up for the purpose of drag racing.
11 Ripped, as it is used here, is slang for being intoxicated on alcohol or drugs.
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