And
You'll Never Hear Surf Music Again
It
doesn't seem strange that the "King of the Surf Guitar"
Dick Dale (Richard Anthony Monsour) was born in Boston and raised in
Quincy,Mass. Nor that his father was born in Beirut and his maternal
grandparents arrived in the U.S. from Poland. Nor that the first
musical instrument he played was the tarabaki, a goblet drum he
played under his arm while his Lebanese relatives belly-danced. Dick
Dale is credited with introducing Middle Eastern influences to surf
music in the form of rapid alternating picking and fast scales. “It's
the pulsation, that drumming beat I learned by playing the tarabaki”
A multi-instrumentalist, young Richard gravitated towards the guitar
and surfing once his family moved cross country to El Segundo, Ca.
while he was still in high school.
A
common misconception is that Dick Dale's unique sound was the result
of his Stratocaster played through “wet” spring reverb while
using the vibrato arm to bend the pitch of notes downward. The reverb
and rapid tremolo picking worked for others, but that wasn't Dale's
style. In Ben Marcus' book “Surfing, an illustrated history of the
coolest sport of all time” He laid those misconceptions to rest “I
surfed sun up to sun down, I don't claim to be a musician, I didn't
go to Julliard. I'm into just chopping, chopping at 60 gauge, 50
gauge strings. That's the sound, the sound of the waves chopping. The
surfing is not the reverb. So when historians... so called
historians, say reverb is the surf sound, they don't know what
they're talking about.”
Dick
Dale met Leo Fender in 1959 as he was transitioning away from his old
repertoire of songs which Gordon McClelland described as “mostly
rhythm & blues, funky cowboy music and just a bit of surf music”
(An apt description as Dale favored jazz and country, citing Gene
Krupa as his biggest influence) Problem was, Dick was pushing his
equipment to its limit and simply couldn't duplicate on his guitar
the sound he heard in his head. Leo Fender came up with a solution,
an early prototype spring reverb unit that combined with Dick's
signature staccato picking and heavy guitar strings allowed him to
emulate the sound of the waves he heard while surfing. Another
problem Dale had was that he kept blowing the amps that Fender gave
him, trying to play over the noise of 4,000 stoked up surfers at the
surfer stomps that he helped promote.
Out
of desperation, Leo Fender went to JBL, a pioneering loudspeaker
design company and asked for fifteen inch speakers built to his
specifications. The result was the 15” JBL D130F better known as
the Single Showman Amp (which Dick Dale still uses to this day)
Another note of interest is that Dick Dale being left handed played
his Stratocaster upside down and backwards, rather than re-stringing
(Jimi Hendrix another famous left handed guitarist took that route)
This adaptation amused Leo Fender to no end. But that technique, born
out of necessity, only served to enhance Dick Dale's signature sound
and his growing reputation. Paul Johnson, guitarist for the Belairs
was duly impressed the first time he heard Dick play “The tone of
Dale's guitar was bigger than any I had ever heard and his blazing
technique was something to behold. His music was incredibly dynamic”
If
everybody had an ocean
As
early as 1957 Jan Berry was experimenting with different vocal
techniques at his makeshift home studio in Westwood. His University
H.S. class mates Dean Torrance and Arnie Ginsburg worked along with
him until Torrance left for a stint in the Army Reserves. Jan Berry's
first taste of success came in 1958 with "Jennie Lee" (a
song about Hollywood stripper Virginia Lee Hicks, the “Bazoom Girl”
best known for her strategically placed spinning tassels) Though Dean
had worked on the song before his departure, it was credited to Jan
and Arnie, peaking at #8 on the Billboard chart. Dean Torrance
returned in 1959 and Ginsburg was drafted into the Army, giving rise
to Jan and Dean.
"Baby
Talk" released that year was a Top Ten hit. Sporting blonde flat
tops, white bucks and Pat Boone sweaters, Jan and Dean were still
far removed from the surf scene. Brian Wilson would claim that "Baby
Talk" inspired him to write music, while Jan Berry said he was
equally inspired by the Beach Boys' sound. Either way it wasn't until
Jan & Dean recorded "Surf City" (two Girls for every
boy!) in 1963 that they came to be associated with surf music. Surf
City, a collaboration between Brian Wilson and Jan Berry, went all
the way to #1. That break would lead to Jan and Dean scoring an
impressive string of Top 40 hits, prior to the car accident that
left Jan Berry with serious brain injuries in 1966.
Wilson's
father Murry, who was also the band's manager, was irate about the
song, believing that Brian had given away a number one record which
could have gone to the Beach Boys. Brian took it in stride “I was
proud of the fact that another group had a #1 hit with a song I had
written.... but dad would hear none of it... he called Jan a record
pirate” The three Wilson brothers (Brian, Carl and Dennis) grew up
in Hawthorne, Ca. under the tutelage of their overbearing and abusive
father. The brothers, their cousin Mike Love and class mate Al
Jardine, honed their vocal skills during sessions held in Brian's
bedroom. Creating a vocal style that would give voice to a genre that
up until then had been mostly instrumental.
Originally
known as the Pendletones (they all wore matching Pendleton plaid
shirts, the kind now favored by cholos) Their first session took
place at Bob Keen's recording studio (of Ritchie Valens fame) and
resulted in Surfin' the band's first single release in late 1961. To
the boys' chagrin when they opened the first box of singles (on the
Candix label) the band had been renamed as The Beach Boys (Murry
claimed it was because there was already a group called the
Pendletones, while in reality he had suggested a name change, though
his choice was The Surfers) Surfin' stalled at #74 on the national
charts, though the following sessions would be more productive.
Their
next single Surfin' Safari released in 1962 made it to #14 in the
U.S. While the b-side 409 topped out at #76, putting hot rod music on
the musical map for the first time. The follow up single, Ten Little
Indians limped in at #49. This set the stage for The Beach Boys'
break out year, 1963, which saw them release three Top 10 singles
(Surfin' USA, Surfer Girl, Be True to Your School) and three more Top
40 singles (Shut Down, Little Deuce Coupe, In My Room) Number one
still eluded them, which caused Murry Wilson no small amount of
consternation, but without a doubt, surf music had arrived on the
scene.
Brian
Wilson had his finger on SoCal's teenage pulse, equally proficient at
writing about surfing, hot rods or teen angst in a style not that
different from Eddie Cochran's. He accompanied his operatic tales
with music inspired by (some would say stolen from) Chuck Berry. Mike
Love, often written off as the guy with the receding hairline, was as
vital to the band's success as Brian himself. Mike Love collaborated
with Brian on the majority of the group's songs and it was Mike's
vocal style, a deliberately unhurried SoCal drawl that nailed down
the Beach Boy's surfer aesthetic. Love however was resistant to
change, especially once Brian declared that he was finished with
surfing music in 1964.
Brian
Wilson was without a doubt America's premier pop composer and the
best was yet to come. Today it's hard to remember that The Beach Boys
were once cutting edge, and not just an oldies band led by some
asshole in a baseball cap. Leadership of the group fell to Mike Love,
once Brian came undone. Starting with Pet Sounds (which was viewed as
Brian's solo album) Cousin Mike grew paranoid that the others would
see their roles diminished and he opposed most of Brian's more
progressive musical ideas, insisting that Brian "not fuck with
the formula" In the end, mostly by default, Love would get his
way and The Beach Boys became an insipid novelty act.
“A
solemn moment in a decidedly unsolemn time"
"Don't let it be
forgot, that once there was a spot, for one brief shining moment,
that was known as Camelot...... there'll never be another Camelot
again… It will never be that way again."
Jacqueline Lee
"Jackie" Kennedy 1963
If
you're of a certain age, you know exactly where you were on Nov. 22nd
1963. On that day I found myself on the school playground. For
reasons unbeknownst to us, recess never ended. We just kept galloping
and tussling until it dawned on us that something wasn't right.
That's when I noticed the playground monitor smoking a cigarette, a
scarf tied around her head, wearing a black leather jacket and dark
Ray bans. She seemed oblivious to her surrounding, lost deep in
thought. A teacher smoking on the playground wasn't out of the
ordinary in those days.... but the tears streaming out from behind
her sunglasses were. Other teachers approached, all were crying. They
seemed unsure of what to tell the growing crowd of children around
them. Finally one teacher spoke up “President Kennedy is dead, he
was shot in Dallas, Tx.” we looked around at each other, “Que
dijo?” one kid asked. Another boy translated for him “They killed
the President” puzzled the kid then asked in Spanish “Who, the
president of Mexico?” “No stupid, our president” the translator
replied.
A
few minutes before 1:00 p.m. CST, Ft. Dallas radio station KXOL
interrupted “I Have a Boyfriend” by The Chiffons to report that
the presidential motorcade had been fired upon at Dealey Plaza and
that more reports were forthcoming. The next song cued up was
“Everybody” by Tommy Roe which played in its entirety. An ad for
Hamms beer ran before the next news update. “I'm Leaving It (all)
Up To You” by Dale & Grace was the #1 song in the country that
day and reportedly a Dallas station was playing the song at the exact
moment that gunshots were fired. “You decide what you're gonna do,
now do you want my love.... or are we through”
"Guitar
groups are on their way
out, Mr Epstein."
On
November 18, 1963 NBC’s evening news program, The Huntley-Brinkley
Report, aired a four-minute segment on the Beatles. The same day,
Newsweek ran a one-page article: "Beatlemania" On the
morning of November 22, 1963, The CBS Morning News With Mike Wallace
ran a story on the Beatles for the network’s morning news show. CBS
planned to repeat the segment that evening on Walter Cronkite’s
newscast. Pre-empted by the JFK tragedy, the segment aired Dec. 10,
1963 on the CBS Evening News. Across the pond on November 22, 1963
“With The Beatles”, was released in the U.K., rising to No. 1 on
the British album charts and remaining there for 21 weeks. “With
The Beatles” becomes the Beatles’ first million-selling album.
Thus it was, that in late November as America mourned the death of a
president, a joyous noise oblivious to our sorrow sprang forth.
There
had been a handful of U.S. Releases. In Jan.1963, Vee Jay records of
Chicago obtained a contract to release a limited number of Beatles
recordings in the U.S. They followed through with Please Please Me/
Ask Me Why on Feb. 25th. By March, it reached the #35 spot at Chicago
station WLS, but failed to chart nationally. Undaunted, Vee Jay put
out From Me To You/ Thank You Girl on May 27th. It stalled at #116.
Swan Records a Philadelphia label, released She Loves You/ I'll Get
You on Sept. 16th. it failed to chart. WLS of Chicago was far and
away the first U.S. radio station to play Please Please Me, spinning
it just days after its release. By April, KFXM in San Bernardino, Ca.
And WQAM in Miami both included Please Please Me in their weekly
polls. KNUZ in Houston and KEWB in San Francisco added Please Please
Me to their charts in May.
*In
June 1963, WFRX in West Frankfort, Ill. Received a copy of From Me to
You from George Harrison's older sister Louise, who lived in nearby
Benton. Louise promoted the Beatles to any media outlet that would
listen; bear in mind the group was unknown in the United States at
the time. She petitioned radio and TV stations, sent letters, made
calls, wrote Beatles manager Brian Epstein lengthy letters advising
how to break the band into America. In late Sept.'63. The Beatles
were topping the UK charts and due for a holiday. With the break,
George planned a trip to visit his older sister, initially with
Ringo, who, after learning that Louise had arranged a local TV
appearance, begged off, saying, "If she's going to make us work,
I'm not going." And so it was that George Harrison, along with
brother Peter, stepped off a plane at Lambert Field in St. Louis and
became the first Beatle to set foot on American soil. And no one
cared.
“There
were no throngs of screaming, frenzied young girls, no gang of
reporters, no legions of police, no limo. Instead, there was a
twenty-year-old British traveler with a strange haircut holding his
bags, standing at his designated meeting spot beneath a replica of
Lindbergh's Spirit of St. Louis, waiting for his ride. Louise, the
self-appointed, ever-networking queen of Beatles promo, hooked her
brother up with the hottest band in Southern Illinois, the Four
Vests, a move that resulted in another historic moment: He was the
first Beatle to play onstage in America. Down the road in West
Frankfort. At VFW Post 3479. Interestingly, Harrison — a decade
younger than the Vests — had enough material in common with the
band to fill 90 minutes onstage. And nary a Beatles tune was played.”
*excerpt
from Riverfront Times article “Beatles Sister Louise Harrison
Departs the Midwest After 50 Odd and Entertaining Years” written by
Peter Gilstrap Mar 18th 2015
In
late November, KOIA in Des Moines, Iowa started playing I Saw Her
Standing There and I Want to Hold Your Hand from a copy of “With
the Beatles” owned by a student. Dec. 18th. Carroll
James at WWDC in Washington D.C. Played a copy of “I Want To Hold
Your Hand” that was hand delivered by an airline stewardess flying
in from London. Capitol Records having just obtained all future
rights to Beatles recordings, ordered WWDC to stop playing the song,
then reversed the order and started rushing production in a push to
have some vinyl out before Christmas day. Footnote: Del Shannon's
1963 cover of “From Me to You” has the distinction of being the
first Lennon & McCartney song covered by an American artist...
many more would follow.
The
bombora of British Invasion bands that followed in the wake of
Beatlemania pitted everything that had come before it. By the summer
of 1964, the musical landscape of the U.S. was radically different
from that of the previous summer when baggies and huaraches were in
vogue. Brian Wilson inspired by Lennon & McCartney, shucked his
trunks, dusted off his hands and declared surf music dead to him. It
wasn't of course, even without the Beach Boys, surf music kept
rolling in just like the waves at Haggerty's and Swami's. Surf music
stuck around until 1966 when the advent of flower power pretty much
killed it. As everyone knows; Hippies don't surf. Surfing culture was
suddenly the very definition of square, although those shoobies just loved them some Sha Na Na......
(Marie's
the Name) His Latest Flame- Elvis Presley
Runaway-
Del Shannon
Chains-
The Cookies
Anna-
Arthur Alexander
Let's
Dance- Chris Montez
Surfin'
Safari- The Beach Boys
Surf
City- Jan and Dean
409-
The Beach Boys
Green
Onions- Booker T & The Mgs
Wipe
Out- The Surfaris
Misirlou-
Dick Dale & The Deltones
Devil
in Disguise- Elvis Presley
Louie
Louie- Paul Revere & The Raiders
Hot
Rod Linclon- Johnny Bond
I
Had a Boyfriend- The Chiffons
Everybody-
Tommy Roe
Crying-
Roy Orbison
I'm
Leaving it All Up to You- Dale & Grace
Teardrops
Fall Like Rain- The Crickets
I'm
Blue (Gone Gone Gone)- The Ikettes
Twist
and Shout- The Isley Brothers
King
of the Surf Guitar- Dick Dale & The Deltones
Little
Deuce Coupe- The Beach Boys
I
Fought the Law- The Crickets
Louie
Louie- The Kingsmen
Surfin'
Bird- The Trashmen
Out
of Limits- The Marketts
Baja-
The Astronauts
Surfer
Joe- The Surfaris
Surfin'
USA- The Beach Boys
Surf
Rider- The Lively Ones
From
Me to You- Del Shannon
