US - Surf guitar pioneer Dick Dale, whose song Misirlou played over the opening credits to Quentin Tarantino’s Pulp Fiction, has died aged 81.
Dale was known for his blindingly fast strumming style, which inspired acts like The Beach Boys and Jimi Hendrix.
He said the sound reminded him of the rumble and crash of the waves, and the noises of marine animals as he surfed in California. Dale’s bassist Sam Bolle confirmed the star had died on Saturday night.
The cause of death is not yet known, but the guitarist had a long history of ill health, including renal failure, diabetes and cancer. Dick Dale and the Del-Tones pioneered the surf rock sound in the early 1960s
Celebrities and fans have been paying tribute to the musician referred to as the “King of the Surf Guitar” and the “Pied Piper of Balboa Beach”, with many describing him as a “true innovator”.
And recording industry body the BPI said it saluted “a great musician who created a brilliant and uniquely distinctive style and sound that will forever be his hallmark”.
David Simon, creator of The Wire, observed: “If you ever bought an electric guitar and imagined playing it like Dick Dale, you were on a certain path to eventually recognising your own idiocy.
“You might learn some stuff, play some stuff. But you were not going to play like Dick Dale. Just no.” Dale was born Richard Anthony Monsour in Boston, Massachusetts in 1937 to a father who had emigrated from Lebanon and a mother who was Polish Belarusian. His instrumental music was influenced by his heritage - using Middle Eastern and Eastern European melodies as well as “exotic” scales that weren’t common to rock music. As a young boy, he tried to learn the trumpet and the ukulele, thinking he might follow in the footsteps of country singer Hank Williams. But he then bought a guitar for $8 from a friend.
When he was 17, his family moved to southern California, when his father found work in the aerospace industry and Dale became a keen surfer.
BBC
US
Surf guitar pioneer Dick Dale, whose song Misirlou played over the opening credits to Quentin Tarantino’s Pulp Fiction, has died aged 81.
Dale was known for his blindingly fast strumming style, which inspired acts like The Beach Boys and Jimi Hendrix.
He said the sound reminded him of the rumble and crash of the waves, and the noises of marine animals as he surfed in California.
Dale’s bassist Sam Bolle confirmed the star had died on Saturday night.
The cause of death is not yet known, but the guitarist had a long history of ill health, including renal failure, diabetes and cancer. Dick Dale and the Del-Tones pioneered the surf rock sound in the early 1960s
Celebrities and fans have been paying tribute to the musician referred to as the “King of the Surf Guitar” and the “Pied Piper of Balboa Beach”, with many describing him as a “true innovator”.
And recording industry body the BPI said it saluted “a great musician who created a brilliant and uniquely distinctive style and sound that will forever be his hallmark”.
David Simon, creator of The Wire, observed: “If you ever bought an electric guitar and imagined playing it like Dick Dale, you were on a certain path to eventually recognising your own idiocy.
“You might learn some stuff, play some stuff. But you were not going to play like Dick Dale. Just no.” Dale was born Richard Anthony Monsour in Boston, Massachusetts in 1937 to a father who had emigrated from Lebanon and a mother who was Polish Belarusian. His instrumental music was influenced by his heritage - using Middle Eastern and Eastern European melodies as well as “exotic” scales that weren’t common to rock music. As a young boy, he tried to learn the trumpet and the ukulele, thinking he might follow in the footsteps of country singer Hank Williams. But he then bought a guitar for $8 from a friend.
When he was 17, his family moved to southern California, when his father found work in the aerospace industry and Dale became a keen surfer.
