Be True to Your School


"Be True to Your School" is a song by the American rock band the Beach Boys from their 1963 album Little Deuce Coupe. Written by Brian Wilson and Mike Love, it was issued as a single on October 28, 1963. There are two versions of this song: the album version, and the single version, which added cheerleader yells by the girl group The Honeys in between verses. The song features the melody of the University of Wisconsin's fight song, "On, Wisconsin!", although it is a tribute to Hawthorne High School, which the Wilson brothers and Al Jardine attended. Hawthorne High School's fight song uses the same melody as "On, Wisconsin!".
The cover photo for this single included member David Marks but not Al Jardine, though Jardine had returned to create a six-member band for the recording sessions for this single and album. This single, with its B-side "In My Room", were the last two of eight charting Beach Boys songs to include Marks in the 1960s.

Personnel

Single version

The Beach Boys
; Additional musicians
unknown – guitar, bass, keyboards, drums, saxophones, percussion

Album version

Chart history

Weekly charts
Chart Peak
position
Australia78
Canada 4
New Zealand 3
Sweden6
U.S. Billboard Hot 1006
U.S. Cash Box Top 1008
US Hot R&B Singles 27

Year-end charts
Chart Rank
U.S. Cash Box69

Covers and later versions

  • 1964 – The Knights, Hot Rod High
  • 1985 – Jan & Dean, Silver Summer.

In popular culture