Dick Dale (The Del-Tones)

Name: Richard Anthony Monsour
Born: 4th May, 1937 (Boston, Massachusetts, USA)

Profile: He is a surf-rock guitarist, known as 'The King of the Surf Guitar'. He experimented with reverberation and made use of custom made Fender amplifiers, including the first-ever 100-watt guitar amplifier.

History: In 1954, Dale moved to Massachusetts to Orange County, California. He learned to surf and became interested in music. He soon learned to play the drums, the trumpet, but it was the ukelele that really caught his ear - a lefty, Dale played the instrument upside-down and backwards but without restringing it, from ukelele it evolves to playing the guitar. Eventually, he formed a band called "The Del-Tones" (Texas DJ; 'T. Texas Tiny' suggested Dale's stage name).

Much of his early music shows a Middle Eastern influence; Dale is often credited as one of the first electric guitarists to employ non-Western 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 that would give the guitar a 'wet' sound, which has since become a staple of surf music, it was Dale's tremolo picking that was his trademark.

With his backing band "The Del-Tones", Dale's live performances became huge local draws. The song '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. His signature single 'Misirlou' went to #1 in America, followed by his second album, named after his performing nickname, 'King of the Surf Guitar'.

In 1964, surf rock briefly became nationally popular in the US, but the British Invasion began to overtake the American charts. In 1986, he recorded a new album 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 tour.

In 1987, he appeared in the movie 'Back to the Beach'. He features playing surf music, also playing 'Pipeline' with blues legendary, the late Stevie Ray Vaughan. And in 2005, the "Black Eyed Peas" song 'Pump It' from the 'Monkey Business' album heavily samples Dale's 'Misirlou'. 'Misirlou' is also featured on games such as the infamous; Guitar Hero II, as well as Rayman Raving Rabbids.

Influences: Hank Williams, Gene Krupa and Harry James

Axology: Fender Stratocaster guitar and Fender Dual Showman amplifiers

Signature song(s): Misirlou - Dick Dale and The Del-Tones (Surfer's Choice, 1962)

Link(s):

http://www.dickdale.com/ (Official website)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m6M6kd8cmpI

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kXq7e4Zbrx0&feature=related