How did surf music originate?

Question: How did surf music originate?

Answer: Although guitar heroes like Duane Eddy ("Rebel Rouser") and Link Wray ("Rumble") had already been experimenting with guitar effects on their classic instrumentals, the real godfather of surf is Dick Dale, whose ultra-reverbed, amazingly fast runs on the fretboard had gained him a loyal following in Southern California by the beginning of the Sixties. Appearing at the Rendezvous Ballroom on the Balboa Peninsula in Balboa, CA, Dale -- who had remarked offhandedly that his unique double-picking style sounded like the waves of the ocean -- found a match for his sound in the burgeoning surf culture of the area. (Oddly enough, he'd started out a country musician, and the inspiration for his heavily rhythmic style was actually jazz drummer Gene Krupa.)

Dale, who played one of the very first Fender Stratocasters through a 15'' JBL D130F speaker (albeit upside-down and backwards), soon came to define the sound, and instrumental groups began popping up in garages all over the country. Even though his "Let's Go Trippin'," considered the first surf song ever recorded, was a huge regional hit in 1961, Dick didn't have the first national surf hit. That honor belonged to the Beach Boys and their vocal surf hit "Surfin' Safari," which reached #14 in 1962. (The Chantay's "Pipeline" is considered the first Top 40 instrumental surf-rock hit; The Bel-Airs' "Mr. Moto" is thought to be the first regional instrumental surf hit to be performed by a specifically surf band.)