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.
RCA Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America.
Xavier Cugat was a Spanish musician and bandleader who spent his formative years in Havana, Cuba. A trained violinist and arranger, he was a leading figure in the spread of Latin music. In New York City, he was the leader of the resident orchestra at the Waldorf–Astoria before and after World War II. He was also a cartoonist and a restaurateur. The personal papers of Xavier Cugat are preserved in the Biblioteca de Catalunya.
The Trashmen were an American rock band formed in Minneapolis in 1962 and are best known for their biggest hit, 1963's "Surfin' Bird", which reached No. 4 on the Billboard Hot 100. The original line-up of the group featured guitarists Tony Andreason and Dal Winslow, bassist Bob Reed, and drummer Steve Wahrer.
The Nails were originally a five-piece new wave band that formed in Boulder, Colorado in 1976. In Colorado, they were originally named The Ravers. The band members were Marc Campbell, Dave Kaufman (keyboards), Al Leis (drums), Artie Freeman, and Jon Cormany (bass). The band's roadie, Eric Boucher, went on to be known as Jello Biafra, lead singer of the Dead Kennedys.
Urban Clifford "Urbie" Green was an American jazz trombonist who toured with Woody Herman, Gene Krupa, Jan Savitt, and Frankie Carle. He played on over 250 recordings and released more than two dozen albums as a soloist. He was inducted into the Alabama Jazz Hall of Fame in 1995.
"Malagueña" is a song by Cuban composer Ernesto Lecuona. It was originally the sixth movement of Lecuona's Suite Andalucía (1933), to which he added lyrics in Spanish. The song has since become a popular, jazz, marching band, and drum and bugle corps standard and has been provided with lyrics in several languages. In general terms, malagueñas are flamenco dance styles from Málaga, in the southeast of Spain.
Skip Bifferty were an English psychedelic rock band formed in early 1966. The band featured future members of Ian Dury and The Blockheads.
Elvis' Golden Records Volume 3 is a greatest hits album by American rock and roll singer Elvis Presley, released by RCA Victor as LPM/LSP-2765 on August 12, 1963. The album was the third volume of an eventual five volume collection, and his eighteenth altogether. It is a compilation of hit singles released in 1960, 1961, and 1962.
Martin Gold was an American composer, pianist, and bandleader born in New York City, New York, United States. He was the pianist and arranger for the Korn Kobblers, a popular 1940s novelty group billed as "America's most nonsensical dance band", but was probably best known as the composer of the song "Tell Me Why", which was a hit for The Four Aces in 1951.
Harold Vick was an American jazz saxophonist and flautist.
Wild Wild Winter is a 1966 Universal Pictures beach party comedy film directed by standup comedian Lennie Weinrib and starring Gary Clarke and Chris Noel. It was produced by Bart Patton and is notable for featuring Jay and the Americans and the duo of Dick and Dee Dee in their only film appearances. The Beau Brummels, Jackie and Gayle and The Astronauts also perform onscreen.
The Three Suns were an American pop group, most popular during the 1940s and 1950s.
Theodore Malcolm Nash was a jazz musician who played saxophone, flute, and clarinet. He was a session musician in Hollywood studios. His brother was trombonist Dick Nash and his nephew is saxophonist Ted Nash, who is a member of the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra led by Wynton Marsalis.
Wild on the Beach is a 1965 beach party film directed by Maury Dexter and starring Frankie Randall, Sherry Jackson, Gayle Caldwell, and Jackie Miller. It is notable for the musical acts showcased onscreen, being the film debut of Sonny & Cher in particular. It is one of the few films in the genre to be filmed in black and white.
Surf Party is a 1964 beach party film directed by Maury Dexter and starring Bobby Vinton, Patricia Morrow, Jackie DeShannon, and Ken Miller. It was the first direct imitation of AIP's hit Beach Party, which was released six months earlier, and showcased several musical acts onscreen. It is one of the few movies in the genre shot in black and white.
Sebastian "Billy" Mure was an American guitarist and songwriter who recorded several albums in the 1950s and 1960s in a variety of styles, including surf, Hawaiian, swing, pop, twist and lounge music.
Surfin' Bird is the debut studio album by the Trashmen, released on January 14, 1964. It was named after their novelty hit of the same name. The album peaked at No. 48 at the Billboard 200 chart.
"Two Faces Have I" is a song written by Twyla Herbert and Lou Christie and performed by Christie in his signature falsetto. The song was produced by Nick Cenci and was featured on his 1963 album, Lou Christie. It reached #6 on the Billboard Hot 100, and #11 on the R&B chart. Outside of the US, "Two Faces Have I" peaked at #20 in Australia.
Mondo Cane #2 is an album by jazz trombonist and arranger Kai Winding featuring guitarist Les Spann recorded in late 1963 and early 1964 for the Verve label. The album was released following the chart success of Winding's version of the "More " from the album Soul Surfin'.
