“Surf City” is part of a proud tradition of songs about imaginary party utopias. It belongs in the same lineage as “Funkytown” and “Love Shack” — starry-eyed dreams about places where everyone is ...

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In The Number Ones, I’m reviewing every single #1 single in the history of the Billboard Hot 100, starting with the chart’s beginning, in 1958, and working my way up into the present. “Surf City” is ...