“Baja” (1963) – The Astronauts

“Baja” (1963) – The Astronauts * Written by Lee Hazlewood * 45: “Baja” / “Kuk” * LP: Surfin’ with the Astronauts * Label: RCA Victor * Charts: Billboard Hot 100 #94

“Baja” was the only charting single for the Astronauts, who conjured up surf music from Boulder, Colorado. The track’s exquisite moodiness suggested that the farther away you were from an actual scene, the better your chances might be to imbue it with mythical qualities. Lee Hazlewood, who produced, wrote for, and helped craft the legendary guitar sound of Duane Eddy, had written “Baja” for a shelved album with the L.A. studio aces he referred to as his “Woodchucks.” Guitarist Al Casey then released an OK version of “Baja” in ’63, produced by Hazlewood, which angled for a “Lonely Bull” feel minus the prominent “olé” shouts that pepper one of the original Woodchuck demos. For the Astronauts’ reading, it’s clear they also used the Hazlewood demos as a source (as opposed to the Casey record), borrowing the approach of giving the upper register guitar line a lower register answer. Where surf music from the era, including Hazlewood’s, can sound overly tick-tocky, the Astronauts’ version is light on its feet, as though dashing through the kind of twilight ocean spray their Surfin’ with the Astronauts album cover promises. The album features two additional tracks (“Movin'” and “Batman”) they’d taken from the Hazlewood tapes which, incidentally, were finally dusted off and issued in 2018 as Cruisin’ for Surf Bunnies and billed to “Lee Hazlewood’s Woodchucks.” (Side B of the Astronauts’ “Baja” single features the only song on the album actually written by the band.)