Without the Industrial Revolution and some newly formed medical ideas, there would be no Beach Boys, beach movies, beach bums or National Beach Day, which is today, August 30.
Beaches weren’t a magnet for sun worshipers until mid-19th century England. The upper class visited the beach for its medical benefits. Soon the working class followed. Visiting the beach spread across Europe. The beach craze crossed The Pond by the end of the 19th century.
The Knights of Columbus from Milwaukee, Wisconsin started the first National Beach Day in 1929, but the idea fizzled. Fast forward 80 years and Colleen Paige, the queen of creating national days, was walking on a Southern California beach when she found a pelican wrapped in some fishing line. She knew what to do, create National Beach Day. The first one was August 30, 2014.
Sheryl Crow gets the nod for Song of the Day over the Beach Boys, Weezer and a half dozen country singers. She wrote “Soak Up the Sun,” with Jeff Trott.
They were flying from rainy Portland, Oregon, to New York City and Trott kept thinking he was going to soak up some sun. He thought the line was catchy. Then he thought of Beach Boy harmonies. They finished most of the song before they landed. The song reached number 17 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in 2002.
Song of the Day is created by Sheldon Zoldan, and produced by Pam James for WGCU. To receive the Song of the Day in your inbox every day, email shzoldan@comcast.net with the subject line ADD ME TO SOTD.
