Fun, Fun, Fun

The song was written by Brian Wilson and Mike Love. The lyrics are partly inspired by events from Dennis Wilson’s life.[6][7] Russ Titelman recalled that he visited Brian while he was working on the song, and that its original lyric was "Run, Run, Run".[8] Then-manager Murry Wilson was dissatisfied with the song, and had engineer Chuck Britz cancel one of its recording sessions. However, Brian rescheduled the session after discovering what happened.[7]

According to Salt Lake City radio manager Bill "Daddy-O" Hesterman of KNAK, an early promoter of the Beach Boys who brought them to Utah for appearances and concerts, the song was inspired by an incident involving Shirley Johnson, the station owner's daughter.[9] Johnson had borrowed her father's 1963 Thunderbird, which had a University of Utah parking sticker, ostensibly to go study at the University library. Instead, she went to a drive-in theater. When the deception came to light, her driving privileges were revoked. In 2007, Johnson told KSL News that she was complaining loudly about the incident at the radio station, where she worked as a part-time secretary, when the Beach Boys happened to be there for an interview. Hesterman said that Wilson and Love, amused by the incident, jotted down the beginnings of the song as he took them to the airport that afternoon.[10]

The opening electric guitar introduction of the song was based on Chuck Berry's "Johnny B. Goode".[11][12] The track's punctuated drum fills were inspired by the work of Phil Spector.[1] Phil Lambert noted that the initial two phrases of the song are based on almost the same chord progression as the first two phrases of "Da Doo Ron Ron", and are melodically similar.[13]

The song was recorded on January 1, 1964, at United Western Recorders Studio 3. Vocals and additional overdubs followed on either January 8 or 9.[14]

The stereo and mono mixes stem from the same recording but have a significant difference: the fadeout on the stereo mix fades out early into the song's outro, with the instruments fading away before the vocals (and an overdubbed drum part). The mono mix, as heard on the 45 as well as mono copies of Shut Down Volume 2 has an extended outro.

Track details courtesy of session archivist Craig Slowinski.[14][15]

The Beach Boys

• Al Jardine – harmony and backing vocal, bass guitar, rhythm guitar
• Mike Love – lead and bass vocal
• Brian Wilson – harmony and backing vocal, producer, piano, Hammond B3 organ, bass guitar
• Carl Wilson – harmony and backing vocal, lead and rhythm guitars
• Dennis Wilson – harmony and backing vocal, drums

Additional musicians

• Hal Blaine – tambourine, drums
• Steve Douglas – tenor saxophones
• Jay Migliori – baritone saxophones
• Ray Pohlman – 6-string electric bass guitars

The "Fun, Fun, Fun" single backed with "Why Do Fools Fall In Love?" was released in the United States in February 1964. The single peaked at the number 5 spot on the Billboard chart.

In the United Kingdom, the single was released in March 1964 through Capitol Records, but failed to chart. In Australia, the single peaked at the number 6 position, which was the band's highest charting single in Australia at that time. In West Germany, the single became their first single to chart in the country when it peaked at the number 49 position. According to various national charts published in Billboard through the 1960s, the single peaked at number 4 in The Philippines (February 1965) with thirteen weeks in its top 10, and spent four weeks at number 3 in Hong Kong (December 1965) with ten weeks in its top 10.

• Lyrics of this song at MetroLyrics