Dick Dale, Pioneer Of Surf Music, Dies at 81

Mar 18, 2019 by apost team

The Guardian confirmed the death of guitar virtuoso and surf music pioneer, Dick Dale. The guitarist died this Saturday night, March 16, at age 81. The cause of his death is yet to be revealed.

People call Dale the “King of the Surf Guitar,” because he is known for originating surf music. He was famous for his unique style of playing the guitar, he combined a heavy spring-reverb texture with Middle Eastern scales as well as a rapid tremolo picking style. Dale was left-handed but still chose to play a right-handed guitar, not even restringing the guitar strings – this gave his playing a particularly treble-heavy tone that made his music one of a kind. Years later, Jimi Hendrix left-handedly played a right-handed guitar, just like Dale.

In 1937, Dick Dale actually started off with playing the ukulele before he learned how to play the guitar. Dale was originally named Richard Anthony Monsour and the son of a Lebanese immigrant. His father was the one who taught Dick Dale the Middle Eastern scales that would years later shape the sound of his surf music.

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In the mid-1950s Dale packed his bags and decided to head to Southern California, where he became a passionate surfer. In 1961 he and the Del-Tones released the single “Let’s Go Trippin’ ” which is frequently cited as the first surf rock song in history. The Beach Boys actually ended up covering the song in 1963 and released it on their famous album Surfin’ U.S.A. 

In 1962 Dick Dale came out with the song “Misirlou,” his version of a classic Middle Eastern song. The song impressed musicians from all over the world and was covered by numerous musicians, including Martin Denny and Arthur Lyman. In 1994 the song even ended up being featured in Quentin Tarantino's Pulp Fiction.

The years leading up to his death weren't always easy for Dale, he had to deal with numerous health issues. In 2010, Dale revealed that he was fighting rectal cancer. To pay his medical bills, Dale tried to keep up with an intense tour schedule. “I have to raise $3,000 every month to pay for the medical supplies I need to stay alive, and that’s on top of the insurance that I pay for,” he told Pittsburgh City Paper in an interview in 2015.

Dale has been an inspiration to multiple musicians like Eddie Van Halen or Stevie Ray Vaughan, who are modeling their own sounds on Dale’s signature style. In 1986 Vaughan and Dale performed a cover of the Chantays’ “Pipeline” ' – At the 1987 Grammys the same cover earned both of them a nomination for Best Rock Instrumental Performance

Are you a fan of Dick Dale and his music? Were you aware that his song was featured in Pulp Fiction?  Let us know in the comments and be sure to let all of his fans know about his passing! Dick Dale will continuously enrich the world of music!