Richard Anthony Monsour, known professionally as Dick Dale, was an American rock guitarist. He was a pioneer of surf music, drawing on Middle Eastern music scales and experimenting with reverb. Dale was known as "The King of the Surf Guitar", which was also the title of his second studio album.
Surf music is a genre of rock music associated with surf culture, particularly as found in Southern California. It was especially popular from 1958 to 1964 in two major forms. The first is instrumental surf, distinguished by reverb-heavy electric guitars played to evoke the sound of crashing waves, largely pioneered by Dick Dale and the Del-Tones. The second is vocal surf, which took elements of the original surf sound and added vocal harmonies, a movement led by the Beach Boys.
Shadowy Men on a Shadowy Planet are a Juno Award-winning Canadian instrumental rock band, formed in 1984. They remain best known for the track "Having an Average Weekend", of which an alternate version was used as the theme to the Canadian sketch comedy TV show The Kids in the Hall. Although commonly classified as a surf rock band they rejected the label, going so far as to release a track called "We're Not a Fucking Surf Band", although they also later released a compilation box set titled Oh, I Guess We Were a Fucking Surf Band After All.
Carl Dean Wilson was an American musician who co-founded the Beach Boys. He was their lead guitarist, the youngest sibling of bandmates Brian and Dennis, and the group's de facto leader in the early to mid-1970s. He was also the band's musical director on stage from 1965 until his death.
The Sentinals were a surf rock band from San Luis Obispo, California (1961–1965). The band is notable for a Latino influence in some works, such as "Latin'ia" (1962). Notable band members included Tommy Nuñes, drummer John Barbata and Lee Michaels on keyboards.
The Challengers were an instrumental surf rock band started in Los Angeles, California, in late 1962. They represented a growing love for surf music and helped make the genre popular. Their debut album, Surfbeat, was the biggest-selling surf album of all time and helped bring surf music from California to the rest of the world.
"Surfin' Safari" is a song by American rock band the Beach Boys, written by Brian Wilson and Mike Love. Released as a single with "409" in June 1962, it peaked at number 14 on the Billboard Hot 100. The song also appeared on the 1962 album of the same name.
The Revels were an American rock band from California, associated with the 1960s surf music craze. They had hits with "Six Pak", and "Church Key" which was their most famous single.
The Astronauts was an American rock band, which had a minor hit in 1963 with "Baja" and remained successful for several years, especially in Japan. They have been described as being, "along with...(the) Trashmen, the premier landlocked Midwestern surf group of the '60s." For most of their career, the band members were Rich Fifield, Jon "Storm" Patterson, Bob Demmon, Dennis Lindsey, and Jim Gallagher.
The Surfin' Lungs are an English surf music band originally from Bracknell, Berkshire, who were formed in 1981 by Chris Pearce and Geoffo Knipe. The original line-up consisted of: Chris Pearce, Geoffo Knipe, Steve Dean and Lee Money (drums).
The (Original) Surfaris were a surf music band from California. They were active from the early to mid 1960s and had singles released on various labels which included Del-Fi, Northridge, and Reprise.
Dave Myers and The Surftones were a Southern California surf group who are most likely remembered for the few singles they recorded in the 1960s which include their cover of The Revels hit "Church Key" and their time at the Rendezvous Ballroom in Balboa, California.
Surfin' Guitars: Instrumental Surf Bands of the Sixties is a book by Robert J. Dalley which covers the instrumental side of the surf genre in the 1960s and looks at groups and artists from that era. It has been published three times with the first version published in 1988 and the third in 2015. It has been quoted and referred to multiple times in books relating to surf music.
The Insect Surfers are an American band formed in Washington, D.C. in 1979. The group bills itself "Planet Earth’s Longest-Running Modern Surf Band," and has been based out of Los Angeles, California since 1986. Inspired by the psychedelic surf sounds of the 1960s, their instrumental music is propelled by the energy of the punk movement that surrounded them at birth. Founder David Arnson has been the mainstay of the band's sound through numerous personnel changes over the decades. They are sometimes grouped into the category of "second wave" surf, the first wave being that of the 1960s originators, and the third wave being the scores of bands inspired by mid-1990s interest sparked by the soundtrack of Quentin Tarantino's movie Pulp Fiction. Insect Surfers have performed shows all over the US and Europe. Their music has appeared in videos and television shows, and along with a score of their own releases they have been featured on dozens of compilations. While only about a third of their music lacked vocals during their DC incarnations, after Arnson relocated to Los Angeles the band shifted focus to perform primarily instrumental tunes.
The Avantis were a surf group from Los Angeles, California, that was active from around 1963 to 1964. They recorded some singles on a couple of labels. They are known for their 1963 surf rock instrumental, "Wax 'Em Down".
Norman Knowles is a surf musician, band leader, and record producer from California. He is the composer of several classic surf songs, including as co-writer of the surf classic "Church Key", which was a hit for The Revels. He also has been involved in band management, managing another surf band, The Sentinals. Knowles has made a significant contribution to the surf genre.
YJY was an American indie rock band from New Jersey.
"Exotic" is a song composed by Bruce Morgan and recorded by various bands back in 1963 when it was first released.
"Surfin' U.S.A." is a song by the American rock band the Beach Boys, credited to Chuck Berry and Brian Wilson. It is a rewritten version of Berry's "Sweet Little Sixteen" set to new lyrics written by Wilson and an uncredited Mike Love. The song was released as a single on March 4, 1963, backed with "Shut Down". It was then placed as the opening track on their album of the same name.
