DICK DALE

'Dick Dale' (born 'Richard Anthony Monsour' on May 4, 1937, in Quincy, Massachusetts) is "The King of the Surf Guitar": a pioneer of surf rock and one of the most influential guitarists of the early 1960s. He experimented with reverberation and made use of custom made Fender amplifiers, including the first ever 100 watt amp.

Contents

Biography

Lifestyle

Peel Sessions

Discography

Albums

Singles

Compilations/Anthologies/Soundtracks

References

External links

Biography

Dale was born to a Lebanese father and a Polish mother, and soon learned to play the drums, the ukulele, the trumpet and finally the guitar. Among his early musical influences was his uncle, an oud player performing belly dance music. Much of his early music shows a middle eastern influence; Dale is often credited as one of the first electric guitarists to employ exotic scales in his playing. Dale himself was an amateur surfer and wanted his music to reflect the sounds he heard in his mind while surfing. While he is primarily known for introducing the use of guitar reverb which would give the guitar a "wet" sound, which has since become a staple of the surf sound, it was Dale's fast staccato picking that was his trademark. Since Dale was left-handed he was initially forced to play a right-handed model, much like later guitarist Jimi Hendrix would do a few years later. However, he did so without restringing the guitar, leading him to effectively play the guitar upside-down (while Hendrix would restring his guitar) and often plays by reaching over the fretboard rather than wrap his fingers up from underneath. Even after he acquired a proper left-handed guitar, Dale continued to use his reverse stringing. Dale is also noted for playing his percussive, heavy bending style while using what are, for most guitarists, extremely heavy gauge string sets 16p, 18p, 20p. 38w, 48w, 58w^[1] (standard electric guitar string set may range from 9 to 42).
With his backing band The Del-Tones (bassist Ron Eglit, drummer Ron Fish and guitarist Carl Verhein), Dale's live performances became huge local draws. 1961's "Let's Go Trippin'" is often regarded as the first surf rock song. This was followed by more locally-released songs, including "Jungle Fever" and "Surf Beat" on his own Deltone label. His first full-length album was ''Surfers' Choice'' in 1962. The album was picked up by Capitol Records and distributed nationally, and Dale soon began appearing on the ''Ed Sullivan Show'' and in films. His signature single Misirlou went to #1 in Los Angeles. He later stated, "I still remember the first night we played it (Misirlou). I changed the tempo, and just started ''cranking'' on that mother. And...it was eerie. The people came rising up off the floor, and they were chanting and stomping. I guess that was the beginning of the surfer's stomp."^[2] His second album was named after his performing nickname, ''King of the Surf Guitar''.
Though surf rock became nationally popular in the U.S. briefly, the British Invasion began to overtake the American charts in 1964. Though he continued performing live, Dale was soon set back by rectal cancer. He recovered, though, and retired from music for a time. In 1979, he almost lost a leg after being injured while swimming; a pollution-related infection made the mild injury much worse. As a result, Dale became an environmental activist and soon began performing again. He recorded a new album in 1986 and was nominated for a Grammy, and the use of "Misirlou" in the Quentin Tarantino film, ''Pulp Fiction'', gained him a new audience. He has released several albums since and continues to actively tour.
In 1993 he recorded a guitar solo with a Southern California indie band "The Pagodas" (David Lane & John Purcell) which was released as a vinyl single.
In the late 1990s, he recorded a surf-rock version of Camille Saint-Saëns's "Aquarium" from The Carnival of the Animals for the musical score of the enclosed roller coaster, Space Mountain at Disneyland in Anaheim, California.
In 2002, Dale appeared in The True Meaning of Christmas Specials, he also played several original songs for the program.
Of recent interest, the Black Eyed Peas song "Pump It" (from the 2005 album ''Monkey Business'') heavily samples Dale's "Misirlou". "Misirlou" is also featured in the PlayStation 2/XBox 360 video game, ''Guitar Hero II'', as well as the Wii launch title ''Rayman Raving Rabbids''.

Lifestyle

Dale has never used alcohol or drugs, and discourages use by band members and road crew. Health is a priority for him; decades ago he ceased eating red meat, and he has studied Martial arts for 30 years.^[3][4] At age 70+ he still puts on a physically energetic live show.^[5]

Peel Sessions

Dick Dale made four recordings for John Peel's Peel Sessions
# March 30, 1995 (Maida Vale 4)
# July 10, 1995 (3 Mcr.)
# August 28, 2002 (Maida Vale 4)
# March 24, 2004 (Maida Vale 4)
''(Taken from the BBC Radio 1 John Peel minisite; see external links)''
Peel later selected ''Let's Go Trippin''' as the theme tune for his BBC Radio 4 series Home Truths.

Discography

Albums

★ Surfers' Choice (Deltone 1962)

★ King of the Surf Guitar (Capitol 1963)

★ Checkered Flag (Capitol 1963)

★ Mr. Eliminator (Capitol 1964)

★ Summer Surf (Capitol 1964)

★ Rock out with Dick Dale and his Del-Tones: Live at Ciro's (Capitol 1965)

★ The Tigers Loose (Balboa 1983)

★ Tribal Thunder (HighTone 1993)

★ Unknown Territory (1994)

★ Calling Up Spirits (Beggars Banquet 1996)

★ Spacial Disorientation (Dick Dale Records / The Orchard 2001)

★ Surfers Choice (Sundazed Records: ReRelease October 2006

Singles

★ Let's Go Trippin'/Del-Tone Rock (Deltone 1961)

★ Jungle Fever/Shake-N-Stomp (Deltone 1961)

★ Misirlou/Eight 'Til Midnight (Deltone 1962)

★ Secret Surfin Spot/Surfin' and Swingin' (Capitol 1963)

★ Let's Go Trippin' '65/Watusi Jo (Capitol 1965)

★ "Pipeline" With Stevie Ray Vaughan, Nominated for a Grammy

Compilations/Anthologies/Soundtracks

★ Hot Rod Music on Capitol (Capitol 1963)

★ The Big Surfin' Sounds on Capitol (Capitol 1964)

★ Golden Summer (United Artists 1976)

★ (Rhino 1986)

★ Pulp Fiction Soundtrack (MCA 1994)

★ Cowabunga Surf Box Set (Rhino 1996)

★ Rocket Jockey (Rocket Science Games/SegaSoft 1996)

★ Better Shred Than Dead: The Dick Dale Anthology (Rhino 1997)

★ MOM II Music for our Mother Ocean: (Surf Dog Records 1997)

References

1. Dick Dale interview on Fresh Air from WHYY/NPR, July 26, 1993, rebroadcast May 25, 2007
2. "Washed out for a decade, surf's up again," Los Angeles Times, February 1, 1981
3. Dick Dale's Official Web Site
4. Brainyquote, Dick Dale
5. U.S. Department of State, "Guitarist Dick Dale Brought Arabic Folk Song to Surf Music"


★

External links

★ Official Dick Dale website

★ Technical specs for Fender's ''Dick Dale Signature model Stratocaster

★ Interview with some autobiographical information

★ Dick Dale at the BBC Radio 1 John Peel minisite

★ 2006 Video Interview - Dick talks about his musical origins and offers advice for musicians

★ Dick Dale's advice for musicians, by Tommy Liberto (http://www.myspace.com/tommyliberto)