Dick
Dale, known as the "King of the Surf Guitar," was born Richard
Monsour in Boston on May 4, 1937 to Lebanese and Polish parents. His
family moved to Southern California in 1954 where he learned to surf,
and with the encouragement of his father, began to develop the guitar
style for which he is famous. A lefthander, he began by playing a right-handed
guitar upside down, without restringing it, adding to the unique sound
he was creating, and when he finally could afford a lefty guitar, he
continued to string it with the bass strings on the bottom.
Beginning as a local rockabilly act, he changed his name to Dick Dale
and recorded his new instumental music on his father's Del-Tone label.
With his backing band, the Del-Tones, he became a local favorite, and
in September of 1961 the Del-Tone label released "Let's Go Trippin',"
his first hit. He quickly followed that up with "Jungle Fever,"
"Miserlou," and "Surf Beat," and in 1962 released
the album, Surfer's Choice. A constant innovator, he helped develop
portable reverb effects for his guitar, as well as working with Leo
Fender to develop more powerful amplifiers.
The popularity of Southern Californian groups like Jan and Dean and
the Beach Boys, as well as the Frankie/Annette beach movies helped make
Surf music a national fad, and Dale was signed to Capitol in 1963, releasing
four albums with them in the next two years. Although the British Invasion
effectively ended the Surf craze, Dale enjoyed a resugence when his
music was featured in the movie Pulp Fiction. He continues to tour and
record.