58 years later, Brian Wilson's high school changes his 'F' in music class to an 'A'

Brian Wilson.
(Image credit: Suzanne Cordeiro/AFP/Getty Images)

It might not have impressed Brian Wilson's high school music teacher, but "Surfin'" was good enough to launch The Beach Boys to stardom.

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While a student at Hawthorne High School 58 years ago, Wilson composed "Surfin'" and received an "F" from his teacher, Fred Morgan. On Twitter Monday, Wilson shared that he went back to visit his alma mater, and a new teacher changed his grade to an "A." Morgan used to say the composition earned an "F," Wilson wrote, "but it made a million dollars."

"Surfin'" was The Beach Boys' first hit off of their debut album, Surfin' Safari, and although Wilson was known for writing song ("Surfin' USA") after song ("Catch A Wave") about surfing, the 75-year-old wrote in his autobiography, I Am Brian Wilson, that he failed miserably at the sport. "I tried once," he wrote, "and got conked on the head with the board." Catherine Garcia

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Catherine Garcia, The Week US

Catherine Garcia is night editor for TheWeek.com. Her writing and reporting has appeared in Entertainment Weekly and EW.com, The New York Times, The Book of Jezebel, and other publications. A Southern California native, Catherine is a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.