"Dick Dale" (born "Richard Monsour" on May 4, 1937) was one of the pioneers in surf rock, one of the most influential musicians of the early 1960s.His guitar-playing techniques influenced future guitarists as varied as Jimi Hendrix and Eddie Van Halen. Dick was friends with Leo Fender.Dick pushed the Fender Stratocaster's amplifer to its limits.He would reportedly play so fast the amplifier would catch on fire.Leo Fender constantly reengineer the amplifer to make it withstand Dick's playing. Dick is also the pioneer of guitar reverb. Leo actually built reverb into a mircophone so Dick's singing voice would sound better in concert. Dick experimented with the reverb by bringing the microphone down to the sound of the guitar. Due to his skilfull guitar playing--which was often hard and aggressive--some consider Dick Dale a father of heavy metal music.

He was born in Boston to a Lebanese father and a Polish mother, and soon learned to play the drums, ukulele and finally, guitar. Among his early musical influences was his uncle, an oud player performing belly dance music - for example, Dale describes the rhythm on his song "Miserlou" as taken directly from a belly dance piece. In 1954, he moved to southern California and began performing.He also began surfing, and soon began developing the sound that eventually became surf rock.

With his backing band, "The Del-Tones", Dale's live performances became huge local draws.1961's "Let's Go Trippin'" is often regarded as the first surf rock song (see 1961 in music).This was followed by more locally-released songs, including "Jungle Fever" and "Surf Beat".His first full-length album was ''Surfer's Choice'' (1962 in music).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 second album was named after his performing nickname, ''King of the Surf Guitar''.

Though surf rock became the national sound 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 throughout the 1970s and 1980s.He tried to launch a comeback in 1986 (see 1986 in music) and was nominated for a Grammy, and the use of "Miserlou" in a Quentin Tarantino film, ''Pulp Fiction'', effectively launched a comeback within a small but devoted audience.He has released several albums since.

---

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License, which means that you can copy and modify it as long as the entire work (including additions) remains under this license. See http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html for details. It uses material from the Wikipedia article Dick Dale.

---

 Dick Dale in the News
1. Muzzle-loaders hit bull's'-eye of fun at Friendship gathering - - www.courier-journal.com
L L L L L L L L L L L L L P News Item Friday September 17 2004 Muzzle-loaders hit bull s -eye of fun at Friendship gathering Photos by Chris Hall special to The Courier-Journal Kala Warner of Wapakoneta Ohio took aim at her target at the National

2. Manitowoc Herald Times Reporter - United Way lowers ‘04 goal - - www.wisinfo.com
55° F Mostly Cloudy Posted Sept 18 2004 United Way lowers ‘04 goal By Amy Weaver Herald Times Reporter MANITOWOC — For the first time in 10 years the United Way of Manitowoc County has set a fund-raising goal of less than $1 million Organization

3. Primary just a warm-up for Nov. 2 vote - - Tacoma Tribune
The News Tribune - Tacoma WA > > Welcome Story search - Past 14 days · · Bush Primary just a warm-up for Nov 2 vote DANIEL THIGPEN The News Tribune Their names are on the ballot but Tuesday s primary election will have no bearing on who will

4. Local holes-in-one, September 9 - - www.rockymountainnews.com
Search site for Tour Leaderboards Local holes-in-one September 9 September 9 2004 * OVERLAND G C - George Crigler on the 152-yard 10th hole with an 8-iron Witness Jim Crigler Keith Ancell and John Guida Advertisement * BROADMOOR G C - Kevin

5.  Engler's decade: - - The Detroit News
About this series John Engler s 10 years in office has redefined Michigan politics and policies Engler s initiatives will not be changed easily and will be felt well into the 21st century Engler s decade Overall how would you grade on his performance

---

 Dick Dale on the Web
1. Entertainment Ave: dick dale
Review of a concert at The Cubby Bear in Chicago, Illinois.
http://www.entertainmentavenue.com/concert_hall/reviews/d/dick_dale... Open Directory, MSN, Hotbot, Alltheweb

2. dick dale's Official World Wide Website
dick dale: King of the Surf Guitar's Official World Wide Web Site ... "Jimmy dale and his Father dick dale with Quentin Tarantino (Pulp Fiction, Kill Bill 2) and Jill ... special request from Quentin Tarantino, dick dale and crew were driven via ...
http://www.dickdale.com/ MSN, Hotbot, Alltheweb

3. The Official dick dale Homepage: History
... The dick dale Phenomenon. His style is something different and unique ... dick dale invented surf music in the 1950's. Not the '60's as is commonly believed ...
http://www.dickdale.com/history.html MSN, Hotbot, Alltheweb

4. King of the Surf Guitar: dick dale
Surfs 'Em Right: An Interview with dick dale ... Anyone who knows anything about dick dale probably knows that he invented the genre of surf music, that he ... Well hang on--dick dale loves to set the record straight ...
http://www.deuceofclubs.com/write/dickdale.htm MSN, Hotbot, Alltheweb

5. Better Shred Than Dead: The dick dale Anthology - Rhino Product Detail
Better Shred Than Dead: The dick dale Anthology. Let's go trippin'! Leave it to us to compile the most comprehensive dick dale collection ever, spanning the guitar legend's entire 35-plus year career.
http://www.rhino.com/features/72631P.html MSN, Hotbot, Alltheweb

6. Amazon.com: Music: King Of The Surf Guitar: The Best Of dick dale & His Del-Tones
... In the early 60's dick dale (not to be confused with the singer in Lawrence Welk's band) was ... My first discovery of dick dale was two-fold - the use of ...
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B00000348H MSN, Hotbot, Alltheweb

7. Yahoo! Directory Surf Rock Music> dick dale
Yahoo! reviewed these sites and found them related to Surf Rock Music> dick dale ... Surf Rock Music> dick dale. Directory > Entertainment > Music > Artists > By Genre > Rock and Pop > Surf Rock ... dick dale and the Deltones - detailed biography of the surf guitarist ...
http://www.yahoo.com/Entertainment/Music/Artists/By_Genre/Rock_and_... MSN, Hotbot, Alltheweb

8. dick dale
A talk with guitar legend dick dale. ... lazyhome reviews hype webboard interviews. dick dale: Guitar Hero. by Tim McMahan. dick dale was cranky. He'd been on the road, and sick since April 10 with ...
http://www.timmcmahan.com/dick_dale.htm MSN, Hotbot, Alltheweb

9. The Philly Wire: dick dale
dick dale pictures, biography, and news. ... dick dale. Bio On the Web In the News. "dick dale" (born May 4, 1937) was one of the pioneers in surf rock, one of the most influential ...
http://www.phillywire.com/dick_dale.html MSN, Hotbot, Alltheweb

10. dick dale
... Born in Boston, Massachusetts on May 4th, 1937, dick dale popularized and pioneered the sound of instrumental surf ... with surfers at the beach, dick dale became inspired by the beauty ...
http://members.tripod.com/~rubberneck55/dp.html MSN, Hotbot, Alltheweb

11. dick dale (II)
dick dale (II) - Filmography, Awards, Biography, Agent, Discussions, Photos, News Articles, Fan Sites ... Not the dick dale you're looking for? dick dale (II) ... Find where dick dale is credited alongside another name. dick dale ...
http://us.imdb.com/name/nm0197674 MSN, Alltheweb

12. Rock Legends
... Our focus for this month is dick dale - "The King of the Surf Guitar ... Please help us to get dick dale recognized into the Cleveland Rock and Roll Hall of ...
http://www.rockhistory.cc/legends.html MSN, Alltheweb

13. Amazon.com: Music: Better Shred Than Dead: The dick dale Anthology
... artist is still both recording and touring. dick dale is a visionary who lives his life on his ... fortunate enough to witness a dick dale show last month in ...
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B0000033YG MSN, Alltheweb

14. Fender en Español
dick dale Stratocaster, dick dale Stratocaster La dick dale Stratocaster hace honor al pionero de la guitarra "Surf" ya su sonido y estilo de tocar únicos. ...
http://www.fenderusa.com/espanol/main/productos/equipo.php?inst_typ... Google

15. Ryan's Surf Music
History of surf music, with an emphasis on four of the most prominent bands, dick dale, the Beach Boys, the Chantays and the Ventures.
http://members.tripod.com/~rubberneck55 Open Directory

16. LAUT - dick dale (Porträt)
LAUT präsentiert: dick dale. Ausführliches Starporträt mit Biografie, Diskografie, Fotogalerie, CD-Kritiken, Fanshop, News und Surftipps. ... Y, Z, 1-0. dick dale. ...
http://www.laut.de/wortlaut/artists/d/dale_dick/ Google

17. WOLF1490 Tribute Site
Syracuse's WOLF The Big 15. Where greats like dick Clark, Marv Albert, Bud Ballou, dale Dorman, Hank Greenwalk and others started.
http://www.wolf1490.net Open Directory

18. dale, dick
At Rollingstone.com. Includes a biography, discography, photos, articles, links and message board.
http://rollingstone.com/artists/default.asp?oid=1625 Open Directory

19. Still Surfin'
A Washington, DC based band playing the music of The Beach Boys, Jan and Dean, The Ventures, dick dale and other great '60s surf groups.
http://www.stillsurfin.com Open Directory

20. dick dale, Ghostrider of Surf
dick dale, Ghostrider of Surf. There's a first time for everything, and this was the first time for me to see and hear dick dale perform live on stage.
http://www.rockabilly.nl/artists/dickdale.htm Alltheweb