What year were The Beach Boys formed?

The Beach Boys were formed in 1961.

The group began in Hawthorne, California, with brothers Brian, Dennis, and Carl Wilson, their cousin Mike Love, and friend Al Jardine. Their earliest name was the Pendletones, a reference to the wool shirts associated with Southern California surfers. Brian Wilson helped shape the group’s vocal arrangements, while Dennis’s interest in surfing helped inspire the band’s early image and subject matter.

In September 1961, the group recorded a demo of “Surfin’,” and a more professional recording followed in October. The song became a local success, and Candix Records signed the group in December. Around the time the single was released, the label changed their name to the Beach Boys.

Their first paying performance came on New Year’s Eve 1961 at the Ritchie Valens Memorial Dance in Long Beach. The band’s first national breakthrough followed in 1962, when Capitol Records released “Surfin’ Safari” backed with “409.” That success launched one of America’s most influential rock groups.

The year 1961 refers to the band’s formation, not the release of their first album, Surfin’ Safari, which arrived in 1962.