The king of surf rock: Who is Dick Dale?
If American Dale had not adapted Middle Eastern music to rock and roll, music lovers would have been deprived of that extraordinary interpretation identified with the movie "Pulp Fiction", and he would probably not have become one of the most well-known musicians in the world.
Born in the USA in 1937, Dick Dale's mother was Polish and his father was Lebanese. This richness was reflected in his music as well as his character. Dale, who started playing guitar in his youth, adapted Middle Eastern melodies to rock and roll. This love enabled him to be remembered with one of the movie soundtracks considered to be among the best in the world.
The movement called surf music, inspired by the wave surfing popular in Southern California in the 1960s, also influenced Dale. His song "Let's Go Tripping" in 1961 was known as the first surf rock music song in history and Dick Dale became known.
His real fame came with his signature on the iconic song of Quentin Tarantino's "Pulp Fiction" movie.
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. Dale was known as "The King of the Surf Guitar", which was also the title of his second studio album.
Dick Dale interpreted the song "Misirlou", whose composition is unknown but whose first musical recording was made by Greek singer Tetos Demetriades in 1927, with electric guitar and accompanied by "The Del Tones" orchestra in 1962.
When Dale's interpretation of the song, which means "Egyptian", was used in Tarantino's movie in 1994, Dale became one of the leading names in the music world.
The song continued to be listened to over the years and its popularity never diminished.
In the early 1960s, when the concept of echo music was not yet established, Dale would even make the speakers shake.
Dick Dale, one of the names who created his own style of music, is remembered for his ability to perform live even at the age of 81.