Wipe Out The Surfaris

dancemaire

Is there any difference / or are they different versions in the recording of The Surfaris song 'Wipe Out" in

• 1963 Wipe Out (Dot 3535)
• 1963 The Surfaris Play Wipe Out (Decca 4470)

or is it just record labels ?

studiorat

Wow! I used to have the Dot version, wonder how much that's worth now.

"Wipe Out" and "Surfer Joe" were originally recorded in mono in Pal Studios, in Cucamonga, by Paul Buff (1962). It was a local hit on the Princess lable before Dot brought the rights and put it out. Wipe out was actually a B-Side to Surfer Joe.

I think the Decca version was re-recorded in Stereo when the band signed to Decca.

In the winter of 1962, Berryhill was a 15-year-old in Glendora, playing in a surf band with guitarist Jim Fuller, bassist Pat Connolly and drummer Ron Wilson. Wilson had written a song called ``Surfer Joe,'' so Berryhill's mom paid for studio time in Cucamonga to record the track. Though the session went fine, the boys were chagrined to discover they needed a B-side for the single.

Wilson, 17, was the oldest and the principal songwriter. He started playing a riff inspired by a high school marching band cadence, the familiar rolling drum line that forms the backbone of ``Wipe Out.'' Fuller, Berryhill and Connolly hashed out the guitar parts in minutes.

The song was originally called ``Switch Blade,'' and Fuller tried flipping open a knife he bought in Tijuana as a sound effect. But the producer, Dale Smallen, preferred the less-provocative ``Wipe Out,'' and Berryhill's father found a piece of concrete- soaked wood to simulate the crack of a surfboard. Smallen provided the wild laugh and the two-word introduction. In three takes, The Surfaris had their B-side.

But the trouble started almost immediately. ``Wipe Out'' was sold by Smallen to two producers, one of whom, Richard Delvy, had a band called the Challengers. Delvy took the song and included it on a full-length album recorded by the Challengers but sold under the name The Surfaris. Through a series of questionable deals, meanwhile, the boys lost all their royalties, just as the song reached No. 2 on the Billboard charts.

Then came the lawsuits. The Surfaris joined Decca Records and sued everybody, eventually correcting the album credits and receiving a settlement for back sales. From then on, the royalties for ``Wipe Out'' would be divided among the four band members, Delvy and another producer, and, of course, 20 percent for the lawyers.

But for the average music fan, The Surfaris were a trivia question, a one-hit wonder (``Surfer Joe,'' the single, only hit No. 62). Adding to the confusion, another band called The Surfaris (renamed The Original Surfaris after court arbitration) added ``Wipe Out'' to its repertoire. Other groups, like the Ventures and the Beach Boys, also played ``Wipe Out'' in concert. The Surfaris were just high- school kids, and hardly anyone knew their faces or their names. Their song was just part of a scene.

http://www.buriedlede.com/journalism/wipeout.html

Not sure about the Paul Buff/Dale Smallen confusion so I put them both in.

SO that doesn't really answer anything does it. Is the Dot version really the Surfaris or the Challengers? Hard to know...