Aww, sweet nostalgia. This 1990s-era throwback combines both Toby Keith and the Beach Boys. Sounds like an odd mix of styles. Keith’s got that good ol’ boy, country swagger. The Beach Boys were all California cool, a mostly-family group singing about surfing and other fun in the summertime.
But to borrow a phrase from the Beach Boys, it was some “fun, fun, fun.”
Here’s Keith singing the Beach Boys classic that first hit the airwaves in October 1963. For the performance in 1996, Keith was wearing a Dallas Cowboys jersey. He’s a super fan of the NFL team. The Beach Boys song was a tribute to their alma mater, Hawthorne High School, which borrowed from the Wisconsin school song.
We’ll tell you why Keith was a Beach Boy for a day when you finish listening.
So Why Was Toby Keith Singing With The Beach Boys?
Keith was one of several country stars who sang Beach Boys songs in the mid-1990s.
It was all part of a novel album concept. The Beach Boys decided to put together an album of them singing their songs with various country stars.
After all, they were the All-American group of the 1960s. Country music was hitting its patriotic stride in the 1990s. The Beach Boys called the album “Stars and Stripes Volume 1.” Sadly, there never was a volume 2. This was the Beach Boys only foray into country music. They recorded it from October 1995 to June 1996.
The album did modestly well.
It hit No. 12 on Billboard’s country album charts. It peaked at 101 among Billboard’s top 200 albums.
The song “I Can Hear Music” with Kathy Troccoli peaked at No. 16 on the adult contemporary charts.
Country music fans didn’t buy in as much.
“Long Tall Texan”with Doug Supernaw ranked at No. 69 on the country charts. So did “Little Deuce Coupe” with James House. “Don’t Worry Baby” with Lorrie Morgan was the only other single on the charts at No. 73.
But big-time country stars sang on the album. Willie Nelson was featured on “The Warmth Of The Sun.” Ricky Van Shelton sang “Fun, Fun, Fun.”
The studio album also was the last one featuring Beach Boys founding member Carl Wilson. He died in 1998.