In 1962, Marilyn and Diane Rovell went to Pandora’s Box in Hollywood, California, to see The Beach Boys. The sisters were part of a singing group with their cousin Ginger Blake named The Honeys. Producer Gary Usher encouraged them to go to the show, and before the end of the night, they struck up a conversation with Brian Wilson. At first, Marilyn was interested in Carl Wilson and Diane pursued Brian, but eventually, Marilyn and Brian began dating.
Brian Wilson wanted to work with The Honeys as he had always envisioned a female version of The Beach Boys. They released a series of singles on Capitol Records with limited regional success. They did, however, make their mark on big, hit records by Jan & Dean. They provided background vocals on “Dead Man’s Curve,” “The New Girl in School,” and “The Little Old Lady from Pasadena.” Brian Wilson also utilized them when he took an album cut and rerecorded it to add cheerleader yells between the verses. Let’s look at the story behind “Be True to Your School” by The Beach Boys.
When some loud braggart tries to put me down
And says his school is great
I tell him right away
Now, what’s the matter, buddy
Ain’t you heard of my school
It’s number one in the state (Hey, hey! Take it away! Get that ball and fight!)
So be true to your school now
Just like you would to your girl or guy
Be true to your school now
And let your colors fly
Be true to your school
Hawthorne High School
Brian, Carl, and Dennis Wilson all attended Hawthorne (California) High School. Guitarist Al Jardine played fullback on the school football team and met Brian, the backup quarterback. The Wilsons’ cousin, Mike Love, attended Dorsey High in the View Park area of Los Angeles. He remembered the birth of the song in his 2016 autobiography Good Vibrations: My Life as a Beach Boy, “When we recorded “Be True to Your School” for the album, Brian had the title and instrumental tracks but not the lyrics. So, I wrote them on the fly—a breezy ode to our high school days, with references to a letterman’s sweater, Friday-night football games, and cheerleaders. I took great care in every word.”
I got a letterman’s sweater
With a letter in front
I got for football and track
I’m proud to wear it now
When I cruise around
The other parts of the town
I got a decal in back
So be true to your school now
Just like you would to your girl or guy
Be true to your school now
And let your colors fly
Be true to your school (Do it again, do again, we like it, we like it)
Rerecorded for the Single
The Hawthorne Cougars fight song, “Scarlet and Gold,” borrowed the melody from the University of Wisconsin’s “On Wisconsin!” After The Beach Boys recorded “Be True to Your School,” Brian felt it had potential to be a single if he added some new elements. He called in The Honeys to supply the cheerleader parts. Love continued, “The album cut was fine, but we thought it had more potential, so we rerecorded it as a single, including marching drums and cheerleaders. Released three weeks after the album, it reached No. 6 (and also hit No. 6 in Sweden). The B side, “In My Room,” rose to No. 23.”
(Rah rah rah) Come Friday, we’ll be jacked up on the football game
And I’ll be ready to fight
We’re gonna smash ’em now
My girl will be working on her pom-poms now
And she’ll be yelling tonight
So be true to your school now
Just like you would to your girl or guy
Be true to your school now
And let your colors fly
Be true to your school (Push them back, push them back)
Sea of Tunes
Mike Love was routinely left off of the writing credits of Beach Boys songs. He filed a lawsuit in the 1990s for royalties of songs he had co-written. Love wrote, “Once again, neither the album cut nor the single of “Be True to Your School” credited me as a co-writer. Only Brian’s name was listed. When I asked Brian about it, he shrugged, said, ‘My dad f—-d up,’ and dismissed it. I was disappointed that he didn’t take it more seriously. The next time I saw my uncle, I asked him about it, and he told me he would take care of it. No big deal. I asked him several times over the next year or so, and each time he told me the same thing. I had no reason to worry. The previous year, my uncle and Brian had established the Sea of Tunes, a music publishing company that would hold the copyrights of our songs, and Brian told me that the Sea of Tunes allowed him to control the numbers while his father handled the paperwork. I didn’t understand the logistics, but I figured I didn’t have to. I trusted Brian and assumed that his father would take care of the details and my name would eventually appear on the records. This was, after all, a family business.”
Rah rah rah, be true to your school
Rah rah rah, be true to your school
Rah rah rah, be true to your school
Rah rah rah, be true to your school
In 1994, a jury found Mike Love and Brian Wilson were partners, and Love was owed the royalties on 35 songs, including “Be True to Your School.” Wilson had faced legal troubles before when Chuck Berry brought a lawsuit regarding “Surfin’ USA.” Love reflected, “Frankly, I had no idea how much money I was being ripped off each year. Before the trial, I was receiving about $75,000 a year in songwriter royalties. After the trial, the amount jumped to over $1 million a year. Even that doesn’t reflect what I’m owed. I never received credit for ‘Surfin’ USA,’ the most popular surfing number in history, as it was never part of Sea of Tunes. It was published instead by Arc Music, Chuck Berry’s publisher. This apparently stemmed from Chuck’s lawsuit against Brian and Capitol, which resulted in Chuck receiving the songwriting credit. I don’t know how much money ‘Surfin’ U.S.A.’ has generated in songwriter royalties over the past 53 years, but if I’m going to lose out on millions, it might as well be to Chuck.”
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