The Beach Boys co-founder Brian Wilson remembered in Surf City

When the song “Surf City” hit the radio waves in the 1960s, it wasn’t just a catchy hit – it shared the surf lifestyle with the world.

On Saturday, June 21, a tradition of that surf culture, a “paddle out” to celebrate a life, was held at the iconic Huntington Beach Pier for Brian Wilson, one of The Beach Boys’ founders and co-writer of the famous song that became the namesake of the beach town.

Surfers paddled out into the ocean, forming a circle and sharing words, splashing water to the sky in tribute to Wilson.

The iconic songwriter and musician who helped create a genre of surf rock died on June 11 at age 82.

The seaside service, put on by Visit Huntington Beach, drew fans, community members and civic leaders to reflect on Wilson’s impact — on Huntington Beach and California’s coastal identity and on American music — and to celebrate Wilson’s “enduring contributions to music, culture and the California dream.”

Kelly Miller, president and CEO of Visit Huntington Beach, recalled growing up in Alaska and hearing the Beach Boys for the first time.

“I was just a kid in the third or second grade, and I couldn’t believe it,” Miller said. “My dad had a party, put the Beach Boys on and I was just transported. I’d never heard music like that before.”

And it happened on a fitting day, International Surfing Day, a quasi-holiday every third Saturday in June, when surfers celebrate their beloved culture and sport.

City News Service contributed to this report.