They were a big part of my ear life when I started surfing in the 60's... sometimes hearing one of their songs allows me to close my eyes and picture 4" to 6" fast and bulbous waves.
Listen to this 1958 Chuck Berry song and focus just on the melody:
It's the same tune. Brian Wilson wrote the Beach Boys lyrics, but Chuck was not credited for the music. It was claimed that the use of his tune was unintentional. But under pressure from Berry's publisher, Chuck did eventually get the composer credit. And I believe he also got part of the royalties.