Dick Dale wasn't nicknamed "King of the Surf Guitar" for nothing: he pretty much invented the style single-handedly, and no matter who copied or expanded upon his blueprint, he remained the fieriest, most technically gifted musician the genre ever produced. Dale's pioneering use of Middle Eastern and Eastern European melodies (learned... [+] Read More

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It's almost too easy to underestimate the importance of Jan & Dean in the history of rock & roll and its evolution into rock. The mere mention of their name today evokes images of suntanned California teens dancing and surfing on the beaches of Malibu. The ultimate good-time music act of the early '60s -- who only earned one gold record (for... [+] Read More

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One of the unheralded architects of the Southern Californian surf sound, Allen (real name Richie Podolor) played a lot of session guitar on surf and hot rod records in the early '60s, particularly for producer Gary Usher. He also played guitar for drummer Sandy Nelson on the classic "Teen Beat" and other instrumentals, and recorded quite a few... [+] Read More

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Along with Minnesota's Trashmen, the Astronauts (from Colorado) were the premier landlocked Midwestern surf group of the '60s. They recorded numerous singles and albums and achieved vast regional popularity, but only scored one modest national hit, "Baja." With little material of their own, they judiciously tapped heavyweights like Lee Hazelwood... [+] Read More

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One of the greatest instrumental surf groups did not even hail from America. The Atlantics, despite their name, were an Australian combo who not only emulated the sound of California surf music, but ranked among its very best practitioners. Featuring a reverb-heavy, extremely "wet" sound, the Atlantics attacked original material, standards, and... [+] Read More

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One of the very first instrumental surf combos, this Southern Californian group recorded one of the first big regional surf hits, "Mr. Moto." Its heavily reverbed guitar lines, distinct Mexican melodic influence, and honking sax helped set the prototype for hundreds of songs that would be recorded in the next two to three years. None of the... [+] Read More

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One of the most popular of the early Southern Californian surf bands, the Challengers were formed by drummer Richard Belvy after he left the Belairs, who had recorded one of the very first surf singles, "Mr. Moto." Their debut LP, Surfbeat (early 1963), was one of the very first all-instrumental surf albums and sold 200,000 copies, an... [+] Read More

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In 1963, this teenage group from Santa Ana, CA, had one of the biggest and best instrumental surf hits, "Pipeline." Competent players who went heavy on the rumbling bass, ghostly reverb, and electric keyboards, they were very much a one-shot act; their repertoire was crowded with rock & roll covers and "Pipeline" sound-alikes, and none of their... [+] Read More

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Whatever interest this L.A. surf combo generates stems from the fact that future Moby Grape guitarist Peter Lewis was a member. Composed mostly of the sons of Hollywood actors (guitarist Bob Linkletter's dad, Art, being the most famous of these), they cut an extremely obscure LP and several singles for the tiny Garex label. Their cover-dominated... [+] Read More

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One of the best of the many instrumental surf bands working the Southern Californian region in 1963, the Lively Ones' recordings were built around storming, reverb-drenched Fender guitars, embellished by occasional raunchy sax breaks. Originality was not the Lively Ones' forte; over a period of about 12 months, they ground out about five albums,... [+] Read More

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