On 20 July 1963, the American surf duo Jan and Dean began a two-week stint at No. 1 on the US charts with "Surf City", a song co-written by Jan Berry with Brian Wilson of the Beach Boys. The chart-topper marked Wilson's first No. 1 as a songwriter, a year before the Beach Boys themselves reached the summit with "I Get Around". The success mattered because it cemented Jan and Dean, rather than the Beach Boys, as the pioneers who first carried the emerging California surf rock sound to the top of the charts.

The pair had met the Beach Boys at a teen hop in the summer of 1962 and went on to play several shows together, with the Beach Boys backing the duo on stage. Berry and Wilson's ensuing friendship led to a songwriting partnership, though Brian Wilson's father and the band's manager, Murry Wilson, was reportedly furious that his son had handed a potential hit to a rival act. The collaboration continued regardless, with Wilson later appearing on Jan and Dean's debut album and Dean Torrence singing lead vocals on the Beach Boys' "Barbara Ann".