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Surf Music kept the Rock movement alive from its original Rock'n'Roll origins into the British Invasion, and continues today.
Here are two Music Players charting that enduring influence on Rock history.
Music Player Quick Links:
𝟭 SURF ROCK: : the First Wave of the 1960s
𝟮 SURF ROCK Disciples: from 1962 to today
Each Music Player is in chronological order, from the '50s to the present.
𝟭
Tidal Waves:
1958-1964
SURF ROCK: 1958-1964
by Tym Stevens
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This first Music Player covers the initial rise of Surf Rock from 1958 to its mainstream peak in 1964, in chronological order.
_________________________
The rhythm sections made it
Roll but guitars made it
Rock.
There was a bristling edge to those pulsing strings that was unearthly yet dirty, as ebullient as it was evil. The stinging leads in those first 1950s
Rock'n'Roll> songs jolted every kid in their tennies and rung them like tuning forks.
Many unsung heroes electrified the star's hits:
Charlie Christian (Bennie Goodman),
Scotty Moore (Elvis Presley),
James Burton (Ricky Nelson),
Cliff Gallup (Gene Vincent),
Paul Burlison (Johnny Burnette Trio),
Hubert Sumlin (Howlin' Wolf),
Joe Maphis (Wanda Jackson),
Danny Cedrone (Bill Haley), and many more.
Chuck Berry> broke through because he was able to write and sing as well as he played. But slowly, the guitarists started to get the limelight of their own.
Two of the new Guitar Stars paved the course.
Link Wray, sartorial sharpie in a pompadour, was the sonic equivilent of a knifefight. Naturally his breakout was the moody instrumental
"Rumble". His hard reverbing strings and prickly chords would open up the door to Surf, Garage Rock, Hard Rock, Heavy Metal, Punk, and beyond. His peer
Duane Eddy tuned his weapon to echo a brutal twannng that would mug you as soon as look at you. His rocking take on Henry Mancini's
"Peter Gunn Theme"> launched a thousand covers and clones. Their sound and its attitude paved the wave of instrumental breakdown that followed.
Now the undercurrents churned to the surface with the rise of guitar-driven
instrumental rock bands. Riff hits like
"Raunchy" and
"Tequila" roiled a swell of instro acts by 1959 like
Santo And Johnny,
The Vampires,
The Montereys,
Sandy Nelson, and
The Frantics. This cascaded into the huge success of
The Ventures'
"Walk Don't Run" (1960), a sunny island melody on clanging guitar with a rolling drum break that brought the rogue wave into vogue.
The underflow is in motion, even if the mainstream hadn't reeled in the notion. They were too busy trying to sink Rock'n'Roll at the dawn of the '60s. And with the almost simultaneous loss of most of its singing figureheads (to the Army, death, God, or marrying your underage cousin), it seemed to be capsizing itself. Maybe this new punk music had only been a fad after all, like the quaking straights had been shreiking.
But the flame was kindled in the beach fires of the budding surf communities of southern California. The Pacific sport had hit the beaches and swept up the young with it. Kids practicing in garages began pounding out their covers of Rock'n'Roll and Rhythm'n'Blues in beach houses and party clubs, and then surfed the rest of the time. One of these guys, a Lebenese fan of Hank Williams and Mediterranean melodies, had an epiphany.
Dick Dale wanted to channel the roaring rush of power he got from surfing through his amplifier. He worked with nearby guitar maker
Leo Fender to develop an amp that could project and withstand his aural assault. After myrad exploded amps they developed the
Fender amps that rockers use to this day. Leo also came up with the Fender Reverb Unit, a crucial pedal that Dale used to create the signature tough-echo Surf Music sound. Dale rode the crest of fame up and down the west coast, christening acolytes by the score. The new wave of Rock had risen.
Instro bands worldwide caught a ride. Surfin' the USA were
The Lively Ones,
The Sentinels,
The Surfaris,
The Challengers, and
The Trashmen. From the UK, idiosyncratic producer Joe Meek streamed
The Tornados,
The Shadows, and
The Outlaws (with Ritchie Blackmore).
"Catch a wave/ and you're riding on top of the world."
The novice narrative tells you that Surf was a local Cali scene that subsided. In reality, it was reflected worldwide and has never really stopped. Surf had liberated Rock in a way that chartwatchers and fadflits miss: it democratized Rock by lacking vocals and including world melody styles. It became a purely musical language beyond borders that could include anyone playing their music in its style. For every Cali band that imagined surfing in Mazatlan, Hawaii, and Bangalore, there were
world acts likewise teeming with California dreaming.
Rolling in on the flip were
The Spotnicks and
The Noise Men (Sweden),
The Twangies (Indo-Rock from the Netherlands),
The Skyliners (Belgium),
Les Crescendos (Canada), and
Los Sleepers (Mexico). The Ventures had as much impact on Japan as The Beatles would everywhere else, inspiring the 'Group Sounds' guitar bands like
The Spiders, The Quests, The Pinky Chicks, and The Golden Cups. Spain cruised the slews with
Equipe 84,
Los Sirex,
Los Continentales, and
4 Jets.
Surf also advanced Rock in another way. Like Jazz and Bluegrass before it, Surf brought
chops, speed, and diversification through an exploratory instrumental style. (Psychedelia would extend this as a response to Free Jazz.) It amplified and intensified Rock pace and power into a fierce surge beyond the gallop of Rockabilly, mapping the course for every single harder Rock form that would follow.
The Beach Boys and Annette Funicello
in THE MONKEY'S UNCLE (1965).
But if instros set the mood, vocals set the scene. The tides of Surf really broke nationally when
The Beach Boys and
Jan And Dean wrote
Pop postcards about the surfari. The harmony hooks and slang lyrics pulled in the popular imagination with dreams of this sunshine fantasia. One deeply profound sea change from this financial windfall was the recentralizing of the recording industry from New York to Los Angeles. There, in sunbaked new studios, young upstarts like producer
Phil Spector and
Brian Wilson> pipelined hits like the tides, with the brilliant L.A. session mob "The Wrecking Crew". They inspired and competed with each other with classics at a ferocious clip.
The torrents tumbled laterally. Spector's astute arranger
Jack Nitzsche literally scored a hit with the majestic
"The Lonely Surfer" (1963). He wasn't the only composer so inspired. Surf had become a whirlpool of stinging echo guitar, tribal rhythms, Spanish flamenco inflections, Latin claves, Mediterranean and Middle Eastern and Polynesian melodies, and often intense horns. It was cinematic and cosmopolitan in ways that film and TV composers quickly channeled.
In London, former Rock/Jazz combo leader
John Barry> tersed up this heady mix into his first film scores. His bold move of placing
Vic Flick's severe Surf lead upfront gave the JAMES BOND films their cutting edge. Quick on his wave was
Ennio Morricone, who deconstructed all of these new pop influences into a darker avant tsunami of his own. His textural and experimental scores for the Italian westerns
> and thrillers ricocheted with the hard clang (and whistle) of
Alessandro Alessandroni; from NAVAJO JOE and THE GOOD, THE BAD, AND THE UGLY, to DANGER: DIABOLIK and ONCE UPON A TIME IN THE WEST.
Surf's success opened the floodgates of
Beach Movies, often starring Annette Funicello and Frankie Avalon, which projected the technicolor fantasy to every shore, and included guest performances by hit Pop artists. The GIDGET books and films led to the TV series starring newcomer Sally Field. [The trend of combing beach culture continued into later films like AMERICAN GRAFITTI (set in Cali', 1962), FAST TIMES AT RIDGEMONT HIGH, POINT BREAK, and BLUE CRUSH; and TV shows like
Magnum P.I.,
Miami Vice,
Baywatch, and
Laguna Beach.]
Women have been part of every form of Rock and consistantly been ignored like they weren't. In truth, one of the very first Surf songs to break was
Kay Bell And The Tuffs'
"(The Original) Surfer Stomp" (1961). And like their brothers, plenty of vocal groups like
The Honeys,
The Beach Girls, and
The Powder Puffs blitzed the spritz.
But
women played Surf music, too. 13-year-old
Kathy Marshall tore it up in clubs as guitarist for Eddie And The Showmen but she was never recorded.
> Lead guitarist
Chiyo Ushi at least got that shot with
The Crescents'
"Pink Dominos". Germany's Peter Reese And The Pages featured
Helga Gwiasta on Fender Jazzmaster. And all-female bands rode toes on the nose, as well:
The Pleasure Seekers (with teenaged
Patti and Suzi Quatro) caroused the proto-Garage classic
"What A Way To Die" (1964);
The Continental Co-ets' reverberated with
"I Don't Love You No More"; and the great
Char Vinnedge's lead snarl fueled The Luv'd Ones' surfstrumental "Scratchy".
Dick Dale and Stevie Wonder
in MUSCLE BEACH PARTY (1964).
Surf floated all boats.
Soul songs by
The Isley Brothers,
The Mad Lads,
Dee Dee Sharpe, and
Johnny Otis crashed the splash. Duane Eddy's
"Your Baby's Gone Surfin'",
Hal Blaine's
"Dance To The Surfing Band" and
Al Casey's
"Surfin' Hootenanny" were all actually sung by the dynamic
Darlene Love And The Blossoms. There were covers of The Beach Boys by
The Tymes,
The Orions, and
The Supremes. And the osmosis was fluid, as
The Trashmen's classic hit
"Surfin' Bird" was a combined cover of
The Rivingtons'
"Papa Oom Mow Mow" and
"The Bird's The Word".
Riding the wave were albums like
"Bo Diddley's Beach Party" (1963),
"Freddy King Goes Surfin'" (1963), and the compilation
"Look Who's Surfin' Now" (1964) featuring surf songs by James Brown, Albert King, and King Curtis. In 1964, Little
Stevie Wonder raised some sand performing in the movies MUSCLE BEACH PARTY and BIKINI BEACH, and with his
"Stevie At The Beach" album. And young
Jimi Hendrix took some initial lessons from Dick Dale (both lefties who played their flipped guitars with strings unreversed).
The outmoded narrative is that '50s Rock imploded in 1959 and was resurrected by the British Invasion five years later. In reality, Rock had kept going worldwide on into the early-'60s
>, and was bouyed by Soul
>, Girl Groups
>, and Doo Wop. But it was the ferocity of guitar-driven Surf rock that most carried the movement into that transition. Surf music peaked commercially with the advent of The Beatles
>, but its ongoing tides have whitecapped through Rock to the present day.
𝟮
Tsunami:
1962 To Today
SURF ROCK Disiciples: 1962-Today
by Tym Stevens
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*(This Player is limited to the first 200 songs.
Hear the unlimited Playlist here.)
This second Music Player covers the influence of Surf Music on music, soundtracks, and culture, from 1962 to the present.
30 hours and seven decades of music
influenced by Surf Rock, including:
John Barry • Dick Dale • Lonnie Mack
The Drifters • The Crickets • The Ventures
Beach Boys • The Beatles • Sly Stone
Stevie Wonder • Supremes • Rolling Stones
Willie Mitchell • Thee Midniters • Los Holy's
Bobby Fuller • Davie Allan • The Yardbirds
The Who • Ennio Morricone • Love
The Monkees • Jimi Hendrix • Pink Floyd
The Music Machine • MC5 • Feminine Complex
Pink Fairies • Paul McCartney • The Stooges
Incredible Bongo Band • 10cc • Chicago
The Clash • Eddie Hazel • The Jam • The Zeros
Cheap Trick • X-Ray Spex • Ramones
The Specials • Patti Smith • Dead Boys
The Damned • Blondie • Revillos
The B-52's • Radio Birdman
X • Devo • Fear • Germs • Minutemen
Dead Kennedys • The Go-Go's • The Bangles
Black Flag • Jesus + Mary Chain • Sonic Youth
Love And Rockets • Stevie Ray Vaughan
Pixies • Anthrax • Jane's Addiction
The Gories • The Breeders • Soundgarden
Man Or Astro-Man? • L7 • Throwing Muses
The Neptunes • Susan And The Surftones
Laika And The Cosmonauts • Ultrasonicas
Chicks On Speed • Raveonettes • Guitar Wolf
Thee Headcoatees • Electrocute • The Kills
Wau Y Los Arrrghs!! • Feist • Wavves • Girls
Vivian Girls • Best Coast • Peach Kelli Pop
The She's • Django Django • La Femme
Dengue Fever • Moon Duo • Curtis Harding
The Coathangers • Las Robertas • Habibi
Ikebe Shakedown • La Luz • The Shivas
and many, many more!
_________________________
Surf Music had rescued Rock'n'Roll.
It brought back its guitar edge coupled with more power and speed, more chops, and more melodic range.
The Beatles
This morphed quickly sideways into
drag race songs, strip joint grinders, and metallic space shanties. But it also continued to peel out in in the songs of its peers. It underlines
The Beatles'
"I Feel Fine" and
"Back In The U.S.S.R.",
The Rolling Stones'
"(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction", and
The Yardbirds'
"Happenings Ten Years Time Ago", as well as songs by L.A. bands like
Love and
The Monkees. Many bands got their start as Surf bands first, such as
The Crossfires who became The Turtles.
It is the running roar in the
Garage Rock of
The 13th Floor Elevators,
The Chob,
The Purple Underground,
Los Holy's (Peru), and
The Easybeats (Australia).
It continued cruising the
world with mid-'60s acts like
Los Johnny Jets (Mexico),
Los Yorks (Peru),
Le Mini Coopers (France),
Les Kangourous (Canada),
Takeshi Terauchi And The Bunnies (Japan),
The Invaders, (South Africa),
Kriptons (Angola),
Les Krakmen (Congo),
Os Rebeldes (Portugal),
Los Four Star (Bolivia), and
The Golden Ring (Iran).
Helen dancing in joyful abandon
in GUMNAAM.
It kicked out in
Soundtracks like the scores of
Ennio Morricone and
Piero Piccioni, and the classic
"Jaan Pehechan Ho" from Bollywood's GUMNAAM
(1965); and snarled gnarly in classic TV show themes like
"The Munsters",
"Secret Agent", Neil Hefti's
"Batman", and of course Morgan Stevens'
"Hawaii 5-O" as played by
The Ventures.
Surf tubed from drag race into the brutal fuzz of
Davie Allan's
biker movie anthems, like the classic
"Blue's Theme" (1967).
Pink Floyd; Jimi Hendrix.
As
Psychedelia arrived, it thrived in interstellar overdrive via
Syd Barrett's alien surf in
Pink Floyd's
"Lucifer Sam" (1967), and deepdove into the underwater expressionism of
Jimi Hendrix's
"1983... (A Merman I Should Turn To Be)".
It bombed the bomboras inside the piledriving ferocity of
Hard Rock bands like
MC5,
The Stooges, and
Pink Fairies.
In the '70s, it caught air from the
Funk of
The Incredible Bongo Band to
Barrabas (Spain), from the
Power Pop of
The Raspberries' harmonies to the signature Duane Eddy-style riff of
Bruce Springsteen's
"Born To Run".
Radio Birdman; The Zeros.
Surf's deluge force spunks up
Punk with
Radio Birdman's
"Aloha Steve And Dan-O" (Australia), the speed and bang of the
Ramones' cover of
"California Sun" (1977), and the bent
Alex Chilton. Having taught a generation to play, it stagedives notably in L.A. Punk bands like
The Zeros,
The Gears,
The Last, and
The Surf Punks.
It is the angry insect salvos of
The B-52's magnificent
Ricky Wilson on
"Private Idaho" and Peter Gunn-rewrite
"Planet Claire", and irrigates the fetish psychobilly of
Poison Ivy for
The Cramps.
Keeping the focal local in the early '80s were California bands like the
Hardcore Dead Kennedys,
Fear,
Agent Orange, and
Black Flag; and
Surf revivalists like
Jon And The Nightriders,
The Barracudas,
The Go-Go's, and
The BusBoys (who naturally flipped the trip with
"Soul Surfin' USA").
By its name, how could
New Wave not be Surf turf, as reflected in songs by
Romeo Void and
The Motels, the tart parody in Suburban Lawns'
"Gidget Goes To Hell", the ringing guitar and Burundi drums of
Bow Wow Wow, and the Morricone majesty of
Marco Perroni on
Adam Ant's
"Desperate, But Not Serious"?
Surf hopped the chops with the rapidfire and rippling dynamics of
Speed Metal (mid-'80s); and the late '80s
neo-Garage of
Love And Rockets,
Jesus And Mary Chain, and the criminally underrated
Joey Santiago's essential leads for
Pixies, who covered The Surftones' 1964
"Cecilia Ann".
In the '90s,
Man Or Astro Man,
The Trashwomen, and the latter day Russian satellites
Laika And the Cosmonauts presaged the fullblown resurgence of Surfmania when Quentin Tarantino used
Dick Dale's
"Miserlou" in his 1994 film PULP FICTION (because it reminded him of Morricone scores). This rip-currented Dick Dale back into currency, along with
Surf revivalists like
The Mermen,
Los Straitjackets, and
The Aqua Velvets. Like many other timeless musical styles (labeled Retro by the shallow), Surf returned with a new rise of unironic and exploratory acolytes, which continues unabated with acts like
Lost Acapulco,
The Woggles, and
Mach Kung Fu (Japan).
And like a roundhouse cutback,
Surfer Grrrls are kicking any hoser 'bros' out of the ocean now. Surf dapples brightly in varied acts like
The Neptunas,
Susan And The Surftones,
Baby Horror (Spain),
54 Nude Honeys (Japan),
Chicks On Speed,
Electrocute,
Best Coast,
The She's,
Peach Kelli Pop,
La Luz, and
Baby Shakes.
Whether it's the rough
Garage of
Guitar Wolf (Japan),
Dex Romweber Duo, and
The Kills, or more abstractly with
Dengue Fever,
La Femme (France), and
Curtis Harding, Surf still 360s for 12/365.
The Silver Surfer,
created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby:
the Static Shock cartoon series.
Surf made Rock'n'Roll roar. It gave swerve to its swagger, rush to its rumble. It gave it sea legs to sail out into the unknown. And its riptides still underscore music, fashion, slang, sports, and sun culture to this day. When was the last time you used the terms Dude, Awesome, For Sure, Bro', Bitchin', Dork, Gnarly, Rad, or Wipe Out? Probably your last tweet. And then there's skateboarding, windsurfing, snowboarding, streetboarding...
Courtney Conlogue
That surging rise you're feeling is the roiling, fluid power of
Surf guitar. Long may it clang!
©
Tym Stevens
See also:
•
1950s PUNK: Sex, Thugs, and Rock'n'Roll!, with Music Player!
•
CHUCK BERRY: The Guitar God and His Disciples, with 2 Music Players!
•
BO DIDDLEY: The Rhythm King and His Disciples, with 2 Music Players!
•
The Pedigree of PETER GUNN, with Music Player!
•
The Legacy of LOUIE LOUIE, with Music Player!
•
JOHN BARRY: The Influence Of The JAMES BOND Sound On Pop Music, with 2 Music Players!
•
BRIAN WILSON-esque: All The Songs Imitating His BEACH BOYS Music Styles!, with 3 Music Players!
____________________
•
"Hawaii 5-O" - The Ventures > Radio Birdman
•
"Misirlou!" -The Deep History of Dick Dale's Surf Classic
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