Dick Dale, 81, King of the Surf Guitar, Dies

As a guitarist in the instrumental band, The Government Surfers, my bandmate Mark Lamberger and I had the chance to meet my guitar hero, Dick Dale, in 1981. We had made the pilgrimage from Oregon to California in the hope of learning to surf and gaining an audience with the King of Surf Guitar. We bought an old long board in Oxnard and tried our hand at surfing along the Southern California beaches. Then we really hit pay dirt when we located Mr. Dale at the Rendezvous 2, his L.A. nightclub named after the spot where Dick Dale and the Del Tones played with great success in the early 1960s. At the time, I was playing a Fender Jaguar, considered the top-of-the line instrument from the Fender stable of electric guitars. Dick's advice to me was - like the man himself - intense: "Get a Strat!" he instructed. Then he took the time to share stories of working with Leo Fender on the refinement of the Stratocaster guitar and the development of the Showman amp and Fender Reverb unit that is a mainstay of surf music. Thank you, Dick, for your original, influential music and your kindness to a couple of young players who found your music an inspiration!

One of my childhood idols. I learned to play guitar just like him. Sad to see him go.

I was lucky enough to catch him live while he still played the trumpet as part of this act (maybe 15 yrs. ago). Quite a surprise to me that he was totally excellent on that instrument. My research seems to point to the trumpet solo in Misirlou as being him. He put on quite a show that night, also playing the drums and then taking the drum sticks to play on his bass player's fret board. I also caught him maybe 8 years later, with his son on the drums, but no trumpeting (he had more health issues over the years and his steam level was a bit lower, I guess). However the intensity presented still had my rocker friends complaining a bit about "the excessive volume level". As they read today's obituary, I bet they are happy they heard him play that loud. Classic Dick Dale.

I just put my "Dick Dale For President" t-shirt on.

Does anyone feel it is a travesty that Dick Dale had to work, apparently more than he wanted to in his old age, to pay his exorbitant medical bills?

I saw him at the old Knitting Factory factory in maybe the early 90's. A real giant of the Axe. Sorry to see him leave us.

"Surf music ain't got no lyrics!" Can the guitarists out there confirm that he used bass strings throughout his guitar, because they were thicker and withstood the abuse he inflicted on his instrument? RIP and Rip That Curl.

A few years ago when I was 9, I had a homework assignment to research a notable musician. At the time, my dad had introduced me to Dick Dale and I really liked his music, so I decided to research him. I found the contact email on his website, and sent him an email. Later that day, I received a lengthy response from Dick we had a back and forth correspondence for a few days. I was and am a hockey player and Dick was quite proud that the Colorado Avalanche entrance song was “Scalped”. A couple of years later, I went with my dad to his concert at the Birchmere in the DC area and approached him afterwards to get an autograph—he signed a pic with himself and Stevie Wonder! I asked him if he had remembered the email correspondence, and he had. He explained how he was touring to pay his medical bills and that he attributed his ‘survival mode’ condition to his daily routine where he squeezes a full lemon into a glass of water and drinks it just after waking up. He told me to “look it up on the computer”. Although the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame is a for-profit laughingstock at best (requiring inductees to front $25k), the fact that the pioneer of Surf Guitar, inspiration for an entire 60s sound, and forefather of Metal has still not been inducted into the Hall of Fame-- while performers such as Janet Jackson have been-- is an utter travesty. Rest in Peace Dick Dale—blow out those heavenly amplifiers.

Sad to hear about this great giant who was forced to stay on the road to pay his $3,000 a month medical bills. Why was this heartbreaking fact not mentioned in this obit?

"The sand and the sea Are the only life for me. I'm surfin' !" *sigh* Poor Dick suffered the ultimate wipe-out.

A true pioneer. There aren't many of 'em around. Rest in peace.

With all of Quentin Tarantino's money, some of it earned by using Dick Dale's music, you'd think he could have helped Dick out with his medical bills. Heartless movies, heartless director.

Dick Dale's sound will forever be matched with the beach, summer, surfing, bikinis, youth, etc. What folks today don't appreciate was how different the surf guitar sounded relative to the rest of the pop chart. Thankfully, we still have his recordings and the endless summers. Excuse me while a streak my hair.............

When I listened to him, I always thought that the rhythm is exactly how middle easterners play the lute but played with the Guitar. I got curious, so I searched him on Wikipedia, and his roots goes way to Lebanon. He is a Mousour but changed his to name to fit in Rest in peace bro

I started listening to Dick Dale in the 80'stoo and after I moved to Tampa in the late 90's I was fortunate to see him play in person here several times. What a ferocious great performer! I made several converts to Dick Dale and the resurgent international surf music wave when I brought friends with me. I'll miss seeing him but I am sure his timeless music will be rediscovered again and again, with wonder and joy, in the future.

"He developed a musical signature that was influenced by the traditions of his Lebanese father and Eastern European mother…" God bless America, the beautiful melting pot that defines us and makes us the most vibrant, culturally interesting, cool place to be a human being. I recall when we and our presidents used to honor and celebrate that. I still do. I don't fall for the bull. Here's the fruit of that melting pot. Misirlou. https://youtu.be/mKpsuGMeqHI America. Great because we welcome the world.

I was on the highway in the Mid-Atlantic Region last fall, and saw Dick Dale and his energetic wife, Lana at a Shell Station (of all places) in Manassas, VA. They were putting gasoline in their tour vans after playing a gig somewhere in Northern Virginia, and I recognized him, and stopped and talked with him a bit. They were both gracious, even though they were obviously tired. And he looked a lot more tired than her, and I could tell he was just really trying to power through his health problems at that particular moment. It was obvious he did not feel well. Still, as mentioned, very gracious and patient during the conversation, some variation of which I'm sure he had thousands of times before in his life. Loved his music, can't believe he's not in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and may he rest in peace.

RIP - Dick D will not fade away

Venice Beach, California, circa early 90's. The unmistakable "heavy machine-gun staccato" sound of surf music from a Fender Stratocaster shot through the thin, early morning air from the boardwalk into the windows of our dilapidated old (1912) craftsman on Horizon Street two blocks away. It was no more than a single rapid-fire riff. I was incredulous, but how could it have come from anyone else? I dashed out the door and ran to the beach, that riff firing off faster and louder. They were still setting up the stage next to the sand, and he was blasting that inimitable Dick Dale electric guitar sound, loaded with sensuously thick reverb, to help them get the amps (and distortion) dialed in. A few hours later, on a clear, late spring (I think) day, we had the three essential elements of surf music right there with us: the Southern California sun, the Southern California beach, and Dick Dale. An indelible memory of the pure essence of surf music (though somewhere in my boxes I have his autograph from that day).

Mr Dale is a prime example of why we need Medicare for all.

Dick Dale was existential inspired sonic visionary. We live for the better in his sonic wake.

Oh, growing up in the 50's then into the 60's the music was fantastic. Have some of his albums it seems my late wife Tina and I are told we never seemed to have thrown anything out. My favorite movie back then was in 1966 the Endless Summer searching for the perfect wave. Never lived on the West Coast, but at 73 now will be moving in with my daughter in LA and who knows might be a surfer yet. Funny his music is not so loud to me anymore since at my age my hearing is not what it used to be and then maybe listening to all that loud music created part of the problem. I used to listen with earphones and my mother and later Tina told me they could hear it without earphones so how loud did I have it. As mothers used to say, Mark my word, one day you will deaf. But at this age what he said is right can't do anything about yesterday it is about the present. Jim Trautman

Mr. Dale's importance to and influence on rock music cannot be exaggerated. However, he and Leo Fender did not work on guitars together, though they did on amplifiers, resulting in the piggy-back Showman.

For over a decade, I was a close friend and occasional assistant to Les Paul. We had many conversations about guitarists. Other than the early greats (Django, Charlie Christian et al), his two favorite "modern" guitarists were Dick Dale and Danny Gatton. (He also loved Hendrix, Page, Gilmour, and DiMeola, among others.) He spoke about them frequently, and considered Dale far more influential than most people gave him credit for. And he was. A bona fide legend. RIP.

Played his version of Hava Nagila at our wedding

The Rendezvous Ballroom is on Balboa Island near Newport Beach. We did the surfer stomp to “Let’s Go Trippin’” — an unforgettable Dick Dale tune. He was a regular at The BellyUp in Solana Beach (San Diego) for years. Good music for all times!

Leo Fender created the Showman amplifier for Dick Dale.

dick dale was a huge influence on many famous guitar players , but very few admit it like jimi hendrix ,van halen and stevie ray ..this would be a good time for the early english invasion lads to admit where they stole their licks from

In Jimi Hendrix's "Third Stone From the Sun," comes the uttered line, "...and you'll never hear surf music again..." With the passing of Dick Dale, in a way, that's true. To paraphrase an ad slogan relative to Surf music, "Dick Dale didn't set the bar; he IS the bar."

One of my fondest memories is when my girlfriend in High School, Bonnie, talked me into going to Newport Beach, California, to a Dick Dale and the Deltones concert. It was a magical night just before Dick Dale hit the apex of his popularity. It was one of the best dates I went on and just a magical evening by the beach. His music was soon to be followed by a whole genre of surf music that provided the dance music at our high school sock hops. He will be missed.

Not mentioned in the article is the fact that Mr. Dale played left-handed, but the instrument is strung for a right-handed player with the high E string on top and the bass strings on the bottom. Essentially he had to learn the fret board upside down. An accomplished right-hander would be lost trying to relearn this style.

He will be missed. I know he had been going through cancer treatments off and on for some time. Check out Pipeline with Stevie Ray Vaughn on Youtube... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=56SAxtf-RTg

You might have mentioned that he played the instrument upside down, at least according to the pictures provided. Not sure this is obvious to non-players. Most left-handed players use the conventional stringing that right-handed players use.

Listen to the king of the surf guitar Listen to the king of the surf guitar Listen, listen to the king.

Check out the photo; he plays with the bass strings on the bottom. He learned by picking up a right-handed guitar and playing it left handed without restringing it. Unreal.

started listening to dick dale in 1980. bought his come back album in 93. saw him play in 97. was just looking at his autograph on the wall on saturday. his influence cannot be put into words...... also. played a right hand tuned guitar left handed.......

Rarely has a musician dominated a genre the way Dick Dale did.

In my first novel, "Blood Red Syrah," Avventura Press, I pay tribute to Dick Dale and his savage surf guitar licks that drive my white hot protagonist to the edge of the waves where riptides control our destiny. Long live Dick Dale's inspiration that melts guitar picks.

An absolute legend! Rest in peace Dick Dale and thanks for all the memories I have wrapped up in your songs. I'm going to play them all day today.

Oh long may that sweet man’s music continue to shred!!!

I rarely think in terms of times in my past that are now gone. This is one of those moments. Man, I loved his music! It just stunned me, hearing it as a 13-14 YO out on the northern plains. California dreaming was a reality for us! Thanks to his music.

thank u dick dale for decades of ur unique sound, soaring, crashing, speed-thrashing thru cross currents more felt than heard..an intense vibrating tribal call of all-inclusive oneness.. thank u. play on brother, we hear u.

In the early 1990's, I was lucky to see Dick Dale play a very small restaurant on Coast Highway in Corona del Mar, CA. He impressed me with his playing but also his friendly, approachable manner.

And note in the accompanying photos that the guitar is 'right handed' being played 'upside down'. The low E is on the bottom as it is fingered. Jimi used conventional string placement on a right handed instrument.

RIP Dick. You were one of a kind. Misrlou -one of the 1st tunes I learned to play on Guitar when I was a teenager. As a longtime lover of Jazz / Rock / Fusion, I could always hear a little of that tune in much of the music.

I remember hearing Dick Dale's music on AM radio when I was a little kid. Every time it came on the airwaves I cranked up the radio. RIP Mr. Dale.

Rest in peace, Dick Dale! May we hear surf music forever. Thank you.

When I was 15 I learned to play the guitar upside down. Someone said, "Hey, that's like Dick Dale!" I didn't know who that was, so I asked my 8th grade language arts teacher and she made me a tape. Her husband was an avid guitar collector and I learned to play from him. He sold me a Dual Showman amp, just like Dick Dale, and I got a left handed Fender Strat to go with it. A few years ago, some twenty years later, I was lucky enough to see Dick Dale perform in Detroit and it was every bit as raw, visceral, and LOUD as those recordings I listened to when I was younger. His style was unlike anything I had ever seen, and there he was in real life--lefty Fender Strat and two Dual Showman amps. He created something completely new and never stopped sharing his gift with the world. His music will always be a part of my life, and I'm sure many other fans feel the same way. Rest in Peace, my dude.