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Dick Dale, "The King of the Surf Guitar", died a
week ago on Saturday, March 16th. At the time of his death, he had tour
dates scheduled into November, 2019. He was 81 years old.
Dale was born Richard Anthony Monsour in
Boston, Massachusetts, on May 4, 1937. He was of
Lebanese descent from his father, James, and of
Polish-
Belarusian descent from his mother, Fern. He learned the piano when he was nine, was given a trumpet in seventh grade, and later acquired a
ukulele (for $6
part exchange), after having become influenced by
Hank Williams. The first song he played on it was
Tennessee Waltz; a 1950 recording of the song by
Patti Page would become a
Top 40 Hit. He was also influenced by his uncle, who taught him how to play the
tarabaki and the
oud.
photographer unknown
According to
Fender (
link below), while in the
ukulele phase, Dale originally wanted to be a country singer; fortunately he graduated to the guitar which he bought from a friend for $8, paying him back on
installments. He learned to play it, using a combination of
styles incorporating both
lead and
rhythm
styles, so that the guitar filled the place of drums. His early
tarabaki drumming later influenced his guitar playing, particularly his
rapid
alternate picking technique. Dale referred to this as "the pulsation", noting all instruments he played derived from the
tarabaki.
He was raised in
Quincy, Massachusetts until he completed the eleventh grade at
Quincy High School in 1954, when his father, a machinist, took a job working for
Hughes Aircraft Company in the
Southern California aerospace industry in
El Segundo, California. Dale spent his senior year at and graduated from
Washington Senior High School. He retained a strong interest in
Arabic music, which later played a major role in his development of
surf rock music. He learned to surf at the age of 17.
Dale did a cover of the 1927
Greek rebetiko /
tsifteteli composition
Miserlou which had been a big hit in the 40's; Dale updated it to a surf rock hit in the 60's and performed it on the
Ed Sullivan show in 1963; he sings as well.
Dick Dale and the Del-Tones also performed it in the 1963 film,
A Swingin Affair (
links below). The song was the opening for the 1994
Quentin Tarantino film,
Pulp Fiction (
link below).
Dick Dale and the Del-Tones also appeared in the 1964 film,
Muscle Beach Party, with
Stevie Wonder who was thirteen years old at the time and billed as "Little Stevie Wonder."
Frankie Avalon,
Annette Funicello and
Don Rickles were also in the film.
He has been called the "Father of Heavy Metal". This is admirably demonstrated with videos of him performing
Nitro during a broadcast on KEXP (
link below), when he performed with
Stevie Ray Vaughn in 1987. He influenced the
The Beach Boys,
The Cure,
Eddie Van Halen and
Jimi Hendrix, among others.
His interests spread far beyond music. He was a licensed pilot and
had an air strip at his property in
Wonder Valley. He recollected
training under martial arts masters; speeding on a motorcycle at 170 mph
and fearlessly going into the cages of tigers and lions.
date & photographer unknown
However, he admitted playing a gig at
Disneyland in 1998
made him a little nervous — he performed atop
Space Mountain without a
safety harness.
Jimi Hendrix
Net links:
Dick Dale & Stevie Ray Vaughan ~ Pipeline (1987)
A Swingin Affair, with the Del Tones ~ Miserlou (1963)
date & photographer unknown
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