Dick Dale
Richard Anthony Monsour (May 4, 1937 – March 16, 2019), known professionally as Dick Dale, was an American rock guitarist. He was a pioneer of surf music, drawing on Middle Eastern music scales and experimenting with reverb.[1] Dale was known as "The King of the Surf Guitar", which was also the title of his second studio album.
This article is about the surf rock guitarist. For the saxophonist-singer, see Dick Dale (singer).
Dick Dale
Richard Anthony Monsour
The King of the Surf Guitar
May 4, 1937
Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.
March 16, 2019 (aged 81)
Loma Linda Hospital, Loma Linda, California, U.S.
Musician
Guitar
1955–2019
Capitol, GNP Crescendo Records, Deltone
Dale was one of the most influential guitarists of all time and especially of the early 1960s.[2] Most of the leading bands in surf music, such as The Beach Boys, Jan and Dean and The Trashmen, were influenced by Dale's music, and often included recordings of Dale's songs in their albums.[3] His style and music influenced guitarists such as Jimi Hendrix, Pete Townshend, Eddie Van Halen and Brian May.[3][4]
He has been credited with popularizing tremolo picking on electric guitar, a technique that is now widely used in many musical genres (such as extreme metal, jazz fusion, etc.).[5] His speedy single-note staccato picking technique was unrivaled until guitarists like Eddie Van Halen entered the music scene.[6]
He is cited as one of the fathers of heavy metal for pushing the limits of amplification.[7] Working together with Leo Fender, Dale also pushed the limits of electric amplification technology, helping to develop new equipment that was capable of producing thick and previously unheard volumes including the first-ever 100-watt guitar amplifier.[8] Dale also pioneered the use of portable reverb effects.[9]
The use of his recording of "Misirlou" by Quentin Tarantino in the film Pulp Fiction led to his return in the 1990s, marked by four albums and world tours. He was also nominated for a Grammy in the Best Rock Instrumental Performance category for the song "Pipeline" with Stevie Ray Vaughan.[10] In "Rolling Stone's 100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time", Dale was ranked 31st in 2003 and 74th in the 2011 revision.[11]
Early life[edit]
Dick Dale was born Richard Anthony Monsour in Boston, Massachusetts, on May 4, 1937. He was of Lebanese descent from his father, James,[12] and of Polish-Belarusian descent from his mother, Sophia "Fern" (née Danksewicz).[12][13][14][15] His family subsequently moved to Quincy, Massachusetts, which at the time had a significant Lebanese population in the neighborhood of Quincy Point. He learned the piano when he was nine after listening to his aunt playing it.[16][17] He was given a trumpet in seventh grade, and later acquired a ukulele (for $6 part exchange), after having become influenced by Hank Williams.[18][19] The first song he played on the ukulele was "Tennessee Waltz".[18][19] He was also influenced musically by his uncle, who taught him how to play the tarabaki and could play the oud.[20][21][22]
Dale then bought a guitar from a friend for $8, paying him back in installments. He learned to play the instrument, using both lead and rhythm styles, so that the guitar filled the place of drums. His early tarabaki drumming later influenced his guitar playing, particularly his rapid alternate picking technique. Dale referred to this as "the pulsation", noting all instruments he played derived from the tarabaki.[22] He was raised in Quincy until he completed the eleventh grade at Quincy High School in 1954, when his father, a machinist, took a job working for Hughes Aircraft Company in the Southern California aerospace industry.[23][24][19] The family moved to El Segundo, California. Dale spent his senior year at and graduated from Washington Senior High School.[25] He learned to surf at the age of 17.[26] As a Lebanese-American, he retained a strong interest in Arabic music, which later played a major role in his development of surf rock music.[22]
Personal life[edit]
Dale was married three times. His first wife Jeannie in the 1970s was a Tahitian dancer in Hawaii and provided backup
vocals for the 1975 release "Spanish Eyes". Together, they created a musical revue and toured at resorts in Las Vegas, Reno and Lake Tahoe. From the proceeds, the couple made successful investments in nightclubs and real estate, allowing Dale to purchase his three-story 17 room dream mansion at "the Wedge" in Newport Beach. Jeannie toured with Dale and his Deltones through the early '80s up until their very public and bitter divorce in 1984, which depleted much of Dale's accumulated wealth.[49]
He met his second wife Jill in 1986.[50] Together they had a son, James (who later performed professionally as Jimmy Dale), born in 1992. Dale credits Jill for his transition from surf rock to a more raw and stripped-down style that consisted of just him and two other musicians. Jill provided back up vocals and drum tracks for Dale's 1993 Tribal Thunder album.[51] Dale married his third wife Lana in 2011. Dale later owned a home with a small private airstrip in the Mojave Desert east of Los Angeles, and flew his own private aircraft (a Piper Tri-Pacer). The airstrip was marked as "Dale" on the NOAA aeronautical charts.
He said that, for health reasons, he never used alcohol or other drugs, and discouraged their use by band members and road crew. In 1972, he stopped eating red meat. He studied Kenpo karate for over 30 years.[28][52][22][53] In early 2008, he experienced a recurrence of colorectal cancer and completed a surgical, chemotherapy, and radiation treatment regimen.[54]
Death[edit]
Dale died in Loma Linda, California, on March 16, 2019, at the age of 81.[38][55] He was treated for heart failure and kidney failure prior to his death.[15]