--- description: Brian Wilson got a failing grade for the Beach Boys' "Surfin'" revised to an "A" on a visit to Hawthorne High School in Los Angeles. title: Brian Wilson Gets an 'A' in Music From His Old High School image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltefb7a0de7f725d56/6988f8984ee2626045310882/gettyimages-152927325.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Entertainment](/section/entertainment/) ## Entertainment Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [Music](/tag/music/) ## Music Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # The Beach Boys' Legend Brian Wilson Gets an 'A' in Music From His Old High School by [Eli Meixler](/author/eli/) ## Eli Meixler Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jan 18, 2018 2:04 AM CUT  Brian Wilson of The Beach Boys performs on their 50th Anniversary tour at Wembley Arena in London, U.K. on Sept. 28, 2012. Brian Wilson of The Beach Boys performs on their 50th Anniversary tour at Wembley Arena in London, U.K. on Sept. 28, 2012.Matt Ken—WireImage/Getty Images by [Eli Meixler](/author/eli/) ## Eli Meixler Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jan 18, 2018 2:04 AM CUT Brian Wilson, Beach Boys frontman and brainchild of a California sound that changed American music, received a surprise accolade this week from his former high school — [an “A” in music](https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2018/01/17/578583184/be-true-to-your-school-58-years-later-brian-wilson-gets-an-a-in-music "undefined"). Wilson, who attended Hawthorne High School in Los Angeles County in the 1950s—along with his brothers and fellow Beach Boys Dennis and Carl Wilson, their cousin Mike Love, and friend Al Jardine—took a trip down memory lane this week, visiting the his old school and [tweeting](https://twitter.com/BrianWilsonLive/status/952697631632969729 "undefined") #BeTrueToYourSchool. > [](https://twitter.com/BrianWilsonLive/status/952697631632969729) The trip was capped off with an honor befitting an alumni of Wilson’s stature: [an “A” in music](https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/answer-sheet/wp/2018/01/16/the-beach-boys-brian-wilson-got-an-f-on-a-high-school-music-paper-at-75-he-just-got-it-changed-to-an-a/ "undefined") for the Beach Boys’ song “Surfin’.” Wilson, 75, wrote “Surfin,'” for his high school music class, for which he had originally [received an “F”](https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2018/01/17/578583184/be-true-to-your-school-58-years-later-brian-wilson-gets-an-a-in-music "undefined"), NPR reports. The school’s principal Dr. Vanessa Landesfeind, amended his grade to an “A.” > [](https://twitter.com/BrianWilsonLive/status/952951427667824640) The failed assignment eventually became the band’s first single in 1961\. [Co-written with Mike Love](http://people.com/music/the-beach-boys-brian-wilson-returns-school-gets-f-in-music-changed/ "undefined"), the Wilson boys polished off the song while their parents were on vacation, having left the boys $200 for groceries that they [spent instead on music equipment](https://www.presstelegram.com/2018/01/17/beach-boys-co-founder-brian-wilson-returns-to-alma-mater-at-hawthorne-high-school-for-some-justice/ "undefined"), the Long Beach _Press-Telegram_ reports. It appeared on the band’s 1962 album, “Surfin’ Safari,” and was a harbinger of what would become the band’s signature California-surfer sound. The band’s world tour, commemorating the 50th anniversary of their groundbreaking album _Pet Sounds_, [continues in May](http://www.brianwilson.com/tour/ "undefined"). ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/5107249/brian-wilson-beach-boys-surfin-school-grade/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/5107249/brian-wilson-beach-boys-surfin-school-grade/"},"headline":"The Beach Boys' Legend Brian Wilson Gets an 'A' in Music From His Old High School","datePublished":"2018-01-18T02:04:10.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-23T18:54:43.553Z","description":"Wilson originally received an 'F' for the song \"Surfin',\" which he composed while still in school","url":"https://time.com/5107249/brian-wilson-beach-boys-surfin-school-grade/","keywords":["Music","celebrities","onetime","overnight"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltefb7a0de7f725d56/6988f8984ee2626045310882/gettyimages-152927325.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Eli Meixler","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/eli/"}],"articleSection":"Entertainment","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltefb7a0de7f725d56/6988f8984ee2626045310882/gettyimages-152927325.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"The Beach Boys Perform At Wembley Arena","caption":"The Beach Boys Perform At Wembley Arena","creditText":"Matt Ken—WireImage/Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/entertainment/","name":"Entertainment"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/music/","name":"Music"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/5107249/brian-wilson-beach-boys-surfin-school-grade/","name":"The Beach Boys' Legend Brian Wilson Gets an 'A' in Music From His Old High School"}}]}] ```