Dick Dale | |
|---|---|
 Dale in 2013 | |
| Background information | |
| Birth name | Richard Anthony Monsour |
| Also known as | The King of the Surf Guitar |
| Born | (1937-05-04)May 4, 1937 Boston,Massachusetts, U.S. |
| Died | March 16, 2019(2019-03-16) (aged 81) Loma Linda,California, U.S. |
| Genres | |
| Occupation | Musician |
| Instrument | Guitar |
| Years active | 1955–2019 |
| Labels |
|
Richard Anthony Monsour (May 4, 1937 – March 16, 2019), known professionally asDick Dale, was an Americanrock guitarist. He was a pioneer ofsurf music, drawing onMiddle Eastern musicscales and experimenting withreverb.[1] Dale was known as "The King of the Surf Guitar", which was also the title ofhis second studio album.
Dale was one of the most influential guitarists of all time and especially of the early 1960s.[2] Most of the leading bands in surf music, such asThe Beach Boys,Jan and Dean andThe Trashmen, were influenced by Dale's music, and often included recordings of Dale's songs in their albums.[3] His style and music influenced guitarists such asJimi Hendrix,Pete Townshend,Eddie Van Halen andBrian May.[3][4]
He has been credited with popularizingtremolo picking on electric guitar, a technique that is now widely used in many musical genres (such asextreme metal,jazz fusion, etc.).[5] His speedy single-note staccato picking technique was unrivaled until guitarists like Eddie Van Halen entered the music scene.[6]
He is cited as one of the fathers of heavy metal for pushing the limits of amplification.[7] Working together withLeo Fender, Dale helped to develop new equipment that was capable of producing thick and previously unheard volumes including the first-ever 100-wattguitar amplifier.[8] Dale also pioneered the use of portable reverb effects.[9]
The use of his recording of "Misirlou" byQuentin Tarantino in the filmPulp Fiction led to his return in the 1990s, marked by four albums and world tours. He was also nominated for aGrammy in the Best Rock Instrumental Performance category for the song "Pipeline" withStevie Ray Vaughan.[10] In "Rolling Stone's 100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time", Dale was ranked 31st in 2003 and 74th in the 2011 revision.[11]
Dick Dale was born Richard Anthony Monsour inBoston, Massachusetts, on May 4, 1937. He was ofLebanese descent from his father, James,[12] and ofPolish-Belarusian descent from his mother, Sophia "Fern" (née Danksewicz).[12][13][14][15] His family subsequently moved toQuincy, Massachusetts, which at the time had a significant Lebanese population in the neighborhood ofQuincy Point. He learned the piano when he was nine after listening to his aunt playing it.[16][17] He was given a trumpet in seventh grade, and later acquired aukulele (for $6part exchange), after having become influenced byHank Williams.[18][19] The first song he played on the ukulele was "Tennessee Waltz".[18][19] He was also influenced musically by his uncle, who taught him how to play thetarabaki and could play theoud.[20][21][22]
Dale then bought a guitar from a friend for $8, paying him back in installments. He learned to play the instrument, using bothlead andrhythm styles, so that the guitar filled the place of drums. His early tarabaki drumming later influenced his guitar playing, particularly his rapidalternate picking technique. Dale referred to this as "the pulsation", noting all instruments he played derived from the tarabaki.[22] He was raised in Quincy until he completed the eleventh grade atQuincy High School in 1954, when his father, a machinist, took a job working forHughes Aircraft Company in the Southern California aerospace industry.[23][24][19] The family moved toEl Segundo, California. Dale spent his senior year at and graduated fromWashington Senior High School.[25] He learned to surf at the age of 17.[26] As a Lebanese-American, he retained a strong interest inArabic music, which later played a major role in his development of surf music.[22]
Dale began playing in local country western rockabilly bars where he met Texas Tiny in 1955, who gave him the name "Dick Dale" because he thought it was a good name for a country singer.[27]
Dale employed non-Westernscales in his playing. He regularly usedreverb, which became a trademark of surf guitar. Being lefthanded, Dale would become known for his unorthodox method of playing a right-handed guitar upside-down, doing so (likeAlbert King) without restringing the guitar (while Hendrix, by comparison, would restring his guitar). Even after he acquired a proper left-handed guitar, Dale continued to use his reverse stringing.[20] He often played by reaching over the fretboard, rather than wrapping his fingers up from underneath.
He partnered withLeo Fender to test new equipment. In interviews Dale noted that Fender had stated "When it can withstand the barrage of punishment from Dick Dale, then it is fit for the human consumption." His combination of loud amplifiers and heavy gauge strings led him to be called the "Father of Heavy Metal".[19] After Dale blew up several Fender amplifiers, Leo Fender andFreddie Tavares saw Dale play at theRendezvous Ballroom,Balboa, California, and identified the problem arose from him creating a sound louder than the audience screaming. The pair visited theJames B. Lansing loudspeaker company and asked for a custom 15-inch loudspeaker, which became theJBL D130F model, and was known as the Single Showman Amp. Dale's combination of aFender Stratocaster with a Fender Showman Amp allowed him to attain significantly louder volume levels unobtainable by then-conventional equipment.[28] Furthering the development, the Showman Amp later added a second 15-inch JBL D-130 speaker, and it was named the Dual Showman Amp.
Dale's performances at the Rendezvous Ballroom in Balboa in mid to late 1961 are credited with the creation of the surf music phenomenon. Dale obtained permission to use the 3,000 person capacity ballroom for surfer dances after overcrowding at a localice cream parlor where he performed made him seek other venues.[29] The Rendezvous ownership and the city ofNewport Beach agreed to Dale's request on the condition that he prohibit alcohol sales and implement adress code. Dale's events at the ballrooms, called "stomps", quickly became legendary, and the events routinely sold out.[29]
"Let's Go Trippin'" is one of the first surf rock songs.[30] This was followed by more locally released songs, including "Jungle Fever" and "Surf Beat" on his own Deltone label. His first full-length album wasSurfers' Choice in 1962. The album was picked up byCapitol Records and distributed nationally, and Dale soon began appearing onThe Ed Sullivan Show, and in films where he played his signature single "Miserlou". He later stated, "I still remember the first night we played it ("Misirlou"). I changed the tempo, and just startedcranking 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."[31] His second album was named after his performing nickname, "King of the Surf Guitar".[32]
Dale later said "There was a tremendous amount of power I felt while surfing and that feeling of power was simply transferred into my guitar". His playing style reflected the experience he had when surfing, and projecting the power of the ocean to people.[33]
Dale and the Del-Tones performed both sides of his Capitol single, "Secret Surfin' Spot" in the 1963 movieBeach Party, starringFrankie Avalon andAnnette Funicello.[34] The group performed the songs "My First Love", "Runnin' Wild" and "Muscle Beach" in the 1964 film,Muscle Beach Party.[35]
Surf rock's national popularity was somewhat brief, as theBritish Invasion began to overtake the American charts in 1964. Though he continued performing live, Dale developedcolorectal cancer.[35] In the liner notes ofBetter Shred Than Dead: The Dick Dale Anthology, Dale quotedJimi Hendrix saying: "Then you'll never hear surf music again" in response to hearing he might be terminally ill. Dale covered "Third Stone from the Sun" as a tribute to Hendrix.[36] Though he recovered, he retired from music for several years. In 1979, he almost lost a leg after a pollution-related infection of a mild swimming injury. As a result, Dale became anenvironmental activist and soon began performing again. He recorded a new album in 1986 and was nominated for a Grammy. In 1987, he appeared in the movieBack to the Beach, playing surf music and performing "Pipeline" withStevie Ray Vaughan.[35] In 1993, he recorded a guitar solo for the track "Should Have Known" released as a vinyl single by the Southern Californiaindie band, The Pagodas.[37]
The use of "Miserlou" in the 1994Quentin Tarantino filmPulp Fiction gained him a new audience. The following year,John Peel praised his playing following a gig in the Garage, London.[38] Peel later selected "Let's Go Trippin'" as the theme tune for hisBBC Radio 4 seriesHome Truths.[39] The same year, he recorded a surf-rock version ofCamille Saint-Saëns's "Aquarium" fromThe Carnival of the Animals for the musical score of the enclosed roller coaster,Space Mountain atDisneyland inAnaheim, California.[40]
Dale was inducted to the Hollywood Rock Walk of Fame in 1996. In 2000 the U.S. House of Representatives elected Dale into the Library of Congress Hall of Records for outstanding achievements in music.[41] In March 2005,Q magazine placed Dale's version at number 89 in its list of the 100 Greatest Guitar Tracks.[42]
In 2009, Dale was inducted into theMusicians Hall of Fame and Museum inNashville, Tennessee.[43] Dale is also a 2011 inductee into the Surfing Walk of Fame inHuntington Beach, California, in the Surf Culture category.[44]
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In June 2009, Dale began a West Coast tour fromsouthern California toBritish Columbia, with approximately 20 concert dates. "Forever Came Calling" (or FCC) featured Dale's then-17-year-old son, Jimmie Dale on drums, who opened for him. He was scheduled to play the Australian One Great Night On Earth festival to raise funds to benefit those affected by theBlack Saturday bushfires and other natural disasters.[45]
Dale said that he was forced to keep touring to the end of his life, because of his inability to afford his medical costs.[46][47] He had many health issues, including diabetes,kidney failure, and vertebrae damage that made performing excruciatingly painful.[48] At the time of his death, Dale had tour dates scheduled into November 2019.[46]
Dale was married three times. His first wife Jeannie in the 1970s was a Tahitian dancer in Hawaii and provided backupvocals for the 1975 release "Spanish Eyes".[citation needed] Together, they created a musical revue and toured at resorts in Las Vegas, Reno and Lake Tahoe. From the proceeds, the couple made successful investments in nightclubs and real estate, allowing Dale to purchase his three-story 17 room dream mansion at "the Wedge" in Newport Beach. Jeannie toured with Dale and his Deltones through the early '80s up until their very public and bitter divorce in 1984, which depleted much of Dale's accumulated wealth.[49]
He met his second wife Jill in 1986.[50] Together they had a son, James (who later performed professionally as Jimmy Dale), born in 1992. Dale credits Jill for his transition from surf music to a more raw and stripped-down style that consisted of just him and two other musicians. Jill provided back up vocals and drum tracks for Dale's 1993Tribal Thunder album.[51] Dale married his third wife Lana in 2011. Dale later owned a home with a small private airstrip in the Mojave Desert east of Los Angeles, and flew his own private aircraft (aPiper Tri-Pacer). The airstrip was marked as "Dale" on the NOAA aeronautical charts.
He said that, for health reasons, he never usedalcohol or otherdrugs, and discouraged their use by band members and road crew. In 1972, he stopped eatingred meat.[citation needed] He studiedKenpo karate for over 30 years.[28][52][22][53] In early 2008, he experienced a recurrence of colorectal cancer and completed a surgical,chemotherapy, and radiation treatment regimen.[54]
Dale died inLoma Linda, California, on March 16, 2019, at the age of 81.[38][55] He was treated forheart failure andkidney failure prior to his death.[15]
| Year | Titles (A-side, B-side) Both sides from same album except where indicated | Label & number | Album | US[57] | AU |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1958 | "Ooh-Whee-Marie" b/w "Breaking Heart" | Deltone 5012 | Non-album tracks | - | - |
| 1959 | "Stop Teasing" b/w "Without Your Love" | Deltone 5013 | – | - | |
| 1960 | "St. Louis Blues" b/w "Jessie Pearl" | Deltone 5014 | – | - | |
| "We'll Never Hear The End Of It" b/w "The Fairest Of Them All" | Concert Room 371; Cupid 103 | – | - | ||
| 1961 | "Let's Go Trippin'" b/w "Del-Tone Rock" (Non-album track) | Deltone 5017 | Surfer's Choice | 60 | - |
| 1962 | "Jungle Fever" b/w "Shake-N-Stomp" (fromSurfer's Choice) | Deltone 5018 | Non-album tracks | – | - |
| "Miserlou" b/w "Eight Till Midnight" | Deltone 5019; Capitol 4939 | – | - | ||
| "Peppermint Man" b/w "Surf Beat" | Deltone 5020; Capitol 4940 | Surfer's Choice | – | - | |
| 1963 | "A Run For Life" b/w "Lovin' On My Brain" | Deltone 5028 | Non-album tracks | – | - |
| "King Of The Surf Guitar" b/w "Hava Nagila" | Capitol 4963 | King Of The Surf Guitar | – | - | |
| "Surfin' and A-Swingin'" b/w "Secret Surfin' Spot" | Capitol 5010 | Non-album tracks | – | - | |
| "The Scavenger" b/w "Wild Ideas" (Non-album track) | Capitol 5048 | Checkered Flag | 98 | 93 | |
| "The Wedge" b/w "Night Rider" | Capitol 5098 | – | - | ||
| 1964 | "Mr. Eliminator" b/w "The Victor" | Capitol 5140 | Mr. Eliminator | – | - |
| "Wild Wild Mustang" b/w "Grudge Run" (fromCheckered Flag) | Capitol 5187 | Non-album track | – | - | |
| "Glory Wave" b/w "Never On Sunday" | Capitol 5225 | Summer Surf | – | - | |
| "Who Can He Be" b/w "Oh Marie" | Capitol 5290 | Non-album tracks | – | - | |
| 1965 | "Let's Go Trippin' 65" b/w "Watusi Jo" | Capitol 5389 | Live at Ciro's | – | - |
| 1967 | "Taco Wagon" b/w "Spanish Kiss" (fromSummer Surf) | Cougar 712 | Mr. Eliminator | – | - |
| 1975 | "Let's Go Trippin'" b/w "Those Memories Of You" | GNP Crescendo 804 | Greatest Hits | – | - |
| 1987 | "Pipeline" (withStevie Ray Vaughan) b/w "Love Struck Baby" by Stevie Ray Vaughan (Non-album track) | Columbia 38-07340 | Back To The Beach (soundtrack) | – | - |
Let's Go Trippin'.
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