The Tokens and The Surfaris sing familiar hit tunes during this year’s Cruise Night.Glendale News Press.com
By Joyce Rudolph
Published: Last Updated Tuesday, July 15, 2008 10:11 PM PDT
The Tokens and the Surfaris have more in common than just being entertainers at Glendale’s Cruise Night on Saturday. The groups have hit songs that continue to thrill audiences about 40 years after they were released...
...For the Surfaris, its hit song “Wipe Out” is also still going strong, as it’s the theme for the new ABC-TV game show “Wipeout” on Tuesdays, said Bob Berryhill, the Surfaris’ original guitarist.When the record company was getting ready to release the 45-rpm vinyl record for the surf band in 1963, “Surfer Joe” was selected as the A side and expected to be the most popular, Berryhill said.But “Wipe Out” caught on.The song starts with a crack of a surfboard breaking and is followed by a laugh that was provided by the band’s manager at that time, he said.“It’s just one of the spontaneous songs that came out of guys that were 15 years old,” Berryhill said. “It got more airplay by radio disc jockeys all over the country.”
The song was released on a San Bernardino radio station during its 4:30 a.m. broadcast, he said.“By noon, it was the most requested song of the day,” Berryhill said. “That got us going, and a few months later, it was playing on all the major stations in Los Angeles — KRLA, KHJ and KFWB.”Today, the Surfaris group is a family operation, Berryhill said. Members include his wife Gene on bass and vocals as well as their sons, Deven, who plays rhythm guitar, and Joel on drums.And the surf tradition also continues, as the whole family resides in Laguna Beach.“We all surf and play music together,” Bob Berryhill said. “It’s great to be a dad and have the family around us jamming onstage.”
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http://www.glendalenewspress.com/articles/2008/07/16/entertainment/gnp-cruise16.1.txt
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