Everybody's Going Surfing!

Surf rock as a reaction to the "Day the Music Died" and rock 'n' roll scandal

Actions have reactions.

And rock ‘n’ roll marred by scandal and tragedy was shaken up. The labels were too. Their pocketbooks had taken a hit with Elvis’ draft into the Army and Chuck Berry’s looming prison sentence.

They needed to clean up rock’s image. So, they invented the Teen Idol. Yes, K-pop stans, the family tree traces back to the 1960s.

Clean-Cut Rock

Clean-cut. Wholesome. Attractive.

Labels knew what they were looking for. Someone that captured Elvis’ charm without the edge.

Here’s an example, Fabian (not Fabio):

Let’s Move to California

The edgy convict of Jailhouse Rock gave way to the teen magazine, marketed not only to screaming young fans but made palatable to many parents.

And artists like Frankie Avalon continued Elvis’ film/music crossover appeal. In this hit film, Beach Party, they shifted the urban elements of rock for a beachier, sunnier California aesthetic:

Dance Crazes

Chubby Checker and the Isley Brothers got the whole world twisting, paving the way for pop music’s infatuation with dance trends and songs calling out the dances in the lyrics:

Action, Reaction

As rock grew into this commercial maturity, seeds were forming for the future subgenres of garage rock, punk rock, and hard rock — an equal and opposite trend that dug deeper into the bite, angst, and energy of early rock.

The bird is, in fact, the word:

Likewise, the success of teen rock idols and marketing strategies were copied and refined, eventually leading to some of my favorite groups like Backstreet Boys, Take That, and Arashi. (Come at me, I love music.)

PUMP IT

Dick Dale, born Richard Anthony Monsour, came to be known as “The King of the Surf Guitar.” But what was Surf Guitar or Surf Rock?

This is important: Dick was the son of immigrants, and his father was Lebanese. He brought a different musical and cultural background onto the guitar, and as we saw with La Bamba, Rock is remarkably flexible and encourages the development of subgenres.

Check out this performance of a Syrian/Lebanese folk song on the oud, a guitar-like instrument:

Compare that to Dick Dale playing his hit, Miserlou (1962) in Anaheim, California:

Here the different similar scales? Hear how Miserlou employs some of the picking techniques, just really sped up?

And check this out:

Isn’t amazing how a great melody can shift genre and stand the test of time? Magic.

Surfin’ USA

Dick Dale released the first Surf Rock song in 1961. The Beach Boys released “Surfin’ Safari” in 1962. Then the hit movie Beach Party dropped in 1963. And so did this bop:

One of the innovations kicking off Surf Rock was spring reverb. Here’s a podcast I recorded explaining the differences in reverbs.

The reverb kinda sounds “wet.” Here’s a demonstration of the technology:

Check out this adorable band intro, but really pay attention the opening guitar part as it slips and slides down the neck into heavy spring reverb:

Fender Guitars

Notice how everyone in that video is playing a really similar, iconic guitar? That’s not by accident. Leo Fender was instrumental (hehe) in making the genre happen, and launched some of the hardest ads in music products history:

Sick.

One more. Cuz I like Space Age stuff:

Yes.

Recommended Listening

Surf guitar was what I started with. It’s baked into my playing, as it has been for so many guitarists, including Jimmy Page from Led Zeppelin. My grandpa introduced me to it. My first guitar teacher, Jeff, was obsessed with it. And as a San Diegan, it was my duty to shed the shred.

I don’t want to put too many more videos into this post, but here’s a list of five more songs I really like, just in case you’re as obsessed with this subgenre as I am.

• Penetration - The Pyramids

• Apache - The Shadows

• Wipe Out - The Ventures (live in Japan in 1965!)

• Perfidia - The Ventures

And my favorite:

I liked it so much, I had to give it a shot myself:

Thanks for reading, internet friend. Coming up next time… The Beatles.