Born:
Richard Anthony Monsour, May 4, 1937, Boston, MA
Genres:
Surf rock, Instrumental rock, Rock and Roll
Instruments:
Guitar, trumpet
Contributions to music:
- Widely considered the inventor of surf guitar, and therefore surf-rock in general
- Instrumental in bringing guitar technology into the modern age, especially through reverb and amplification
- His staccato style was a major influence on heavy metal guitarists
- One of the first rockers to incorporate Middle Eastern melodies into his music
- His wild stage style was an influence on the young Jimi Hendrix
- One of rock's foremost environmental activists
Early years:
Dick was interested in music at an early age, learning to play the piano by nine, and eventually other instruments as well. But it was the ukelele that really caught his ear -- a lefty, Dale played the instrument upside-down and backwards, but without restringing it, which accounts for his staccato guitar style. Eventually his family moved to California, and Dick, now a guitar player and occasional surfer, formed a band called the Del-Tones. (Texas DJ T. Texas Tiny suggested Dale's stage name.)
Success:
The Del-Tones became heroes at Balboa, CA's Rendezvous Ballroom, going from a handful of audience members to over 4,000 in one summer's time, due mainly to Dale's attempt to recreate the oceanic "exotica" effect of Gene Krupa's jazz drums through a guitar. The popular instrumental "Let's Go Trippin'" and its resultant album, 1962's Surfer's Choice, kicked off the surf music craze; the fad was largely over by the mid-Sixties, but a guitar hero was born.
Later years:
A frightening late-Sixties bout with colon cancer and disillusionment with the business led Dale to disappear for a time, but he eventually engineered two comebacks: playing with Stevie Ray Vaughan on the soundtrack to 1987's Back To The Beach, and having his "Misirlou" featured over the opening credits to 1994's epochal film Pulp Fiction. Dale still records and plays today, using a Fender Strat with heavy-gauge Dean Markley strings through Dual Fender Showmen Amps with Ruby Tubes.
Other facts:
- First major influence: Hank Williams Sr.
- Dale's use of Middle Eastern melodies like "Misirlou" is a product of his half-Lebanese ancestry
- Developed reverb merely to aid his voice; only put it on his guitar after his first album
- Helped develop the Fender Showmen Amp and the 15" JBL-D130F speaker
- Dale's cancer battle is mentioned on Hendrix's "Third Stone From The Sun"
- Has owned several jungle cats and exotic horses
- Composed original music for Disneyland's "Space Mountain" ride
Awards/Honors:
- Hollywood Rock Walk of Fame (1996)
- Instrumental Rock Guitar Hall Of Fame (2000)
- Surfing Hall of Fame (1989)
Songs, Albums, and Charts:
Important recordings: "Let's Go Trippin'," "Misirlou," "Surf Beat," "Shake 'N' Stomp," "Riders In The Sky," "Hava Nagila," "Night Rider," "Mr. Eliminator," "Tidal Wave," "Mag Wheels," "Banzai Washout," "The Victor," "The Wedge," "Take It Off," "King Of The Surf Guitar," "One Double One Oh!," "Pipeline," "Nitro," "Shredded Heat," "Bandito"
Covered by: Agent Orange, The Beach Boys, The Surfaris, The Smithereens
Appears in the movies: "Let's Make Love" (1960), "A Swingin' Affair" (1963), "Beach Party" (1963), "Muscle Beach Party" (1964), "Back To The Beach" (1987), "An American Vampire Story" (1997)
Covered by: Agent Orange, The Beach Boys, The Surfaris, The Smithereens
Appears in the movies: "Let's Make Love" (1960), "A Swingin' Affair" (1963), "Beach Party" (1963), "Muscle Beach Party" (1964), "Back To The Beach" (1987), "An American Vampire Story" (1997)
