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1963 single by the Beach Boys

"Be True to Your School" is a song by 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.[1] 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 attended. Hawthorne High School`s fight song uses the same melody as "On, Wisconsin!".[2]

The cover photo for this single (and for the associated album Little Deuce Coupe) 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.[3]

Chart history

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Covers and later versions

See also: List of cover versions of Beach Boys songs

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

In popular culture

• The song is featured in an episode of Gilmore Girls, where the town troubadour (portrayed by Grant-Lee Phillips) is playing it during a pep rally.
• DTV, in 1984, set the original Beach Boys version of the song to a collection of Disney shorts including some featuring schools like Teachers Are People, Toot, Whistle, Plunk and Boom and The Legend of Sleepy Hollow.
• The song is played during the title sequence of the 1988 dark comedy Mortuary Academy.
• The song`s title is parodied by heavy metal band Twisted Sister in the song "Be Crool to Your Scuel".
• Mike Love performed the song on a telethon on the Full House episode "Our Very First Telethon"; while the title of a later episode, "Be True to Your Preschool", is a reference to the song.
• The song is featured in the 1980s TV series Riptide. The song is also the title of the episode (season 2, episode 7).
• The song inspired the Ripped Pants song from the SpongeBob SquarePants episode "Ripped Pants”.
• The song was part of an oldies melody in the 2005 Tokyo Disneyland parade/show "Disney`s Rock Around the Mouse".
• The song is featured in the end credits of the HBO series Vice Principals, season 1, episode 1.
• Grace Vanderwaal sings the song in the 2020 Disney+ movie Stargirl. It is also included on the soundtrack for the movie.
• The song was featured on a 1993 Sony Kids` Music album called Camp California, Where the Music Never Ends.
• The song was used in a Macy`s contest and commercial in 2014.