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TL;DR:

  • Al Jardine said one of The Beach Boys’ songs was a “disaster” that could have ended their careers.
  • The song in question was inspired by an infamous nursery rhyme.
  • Jardine said Brian Wilson helped to save the group’s career after the song in question was a flop.
The Beach Boys holding a surfboard
The Beach Boys | Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images

Al Jardine said one of The Beach Boys‘ songs was “a huge disaster.” Subsequently, he said another song “bailed” his band out. Notably, it appears some of Jardine’s memories were false.

Al Jardine hated 1 of The Beach Boys’ songs which was inspired by an offensive nursery rhyme

During a 2022 interview with Consequence of Sound, Jardine was asked about The Beach Boys’ “Surfin’ Safari.” “Well, it was our third single,” he said. “What can I tell you? We just came off a bomb, a huge disaster called ‘Ten Little Indians.'” Contrary to Jardine’s memory, “Surfin’ Safari” was the band’s second single while “Ten Little Indians” was their third. “Ten Little Indians” was based on the nursery rhyme of the same name which is racist and uses the problematic term “squaw.”

Jardine analyzed the “disaster” of “Ten Little Indians.” “The label didn’t know what the hell it was doing and thought that it would be a new direction for us,” he recalled. “Obviously, it wasn’t. So, ‘Surfin’ Safari’ bailed the group out. We thought it was over.”

Al Jardine thanked Brian Wilson for keeping The Beach Boys’ career on track during a difficult time

Jardine left The Beach Boys for awhile but returned. “When ‘Surfin’ Safari’ broke, that was my signal that it was going to be big,” he remembered. “I had already left the band by then, but I knew from the stories that [The Beach Boys’] David [Marks] told me that they thought it was over. And my departure from the band also freaked him out.

“So, there were a couple things going on at the same time,” Jardine continued. “It was kinda complicated, but those two events at the same time kind of foretold doom. But [The Beach Boys’] Brian [Wilson] pulled them out.”

Related

Mike Love Joked 1 of The Beach Boys’ Songs Proved Brian Wilson Could Hear Things Only a Dog Could Hear

“Ten Little Indians” was not a big hit but it was still a hit. It peaked at No. 49 on the Billboard Hot 100, staying on the chart for eight weeks. Meanwhile, “Surfin’ Safari” hit No. 14 on the Billboard Hot 100 and stayed on the chart for 17 weeks.

The tracks appeared on The Beach Boys’ album Surfin’ Safari. The album hit No. 47 on the Billboard 200 and remained on the chart for 12 weeks.

Jardine called “Ten Little Indians” a “disaster” but it didn’t manage to keep The Beach Boys down.

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