Dick Dale
Biography
Dick Dale was an American rock guitarist who helped create surf music through Middle Eastern scales and heavy reverb. He grew up in Quincy, Massachusetts, before his family moved to El Segundo, California, and he first played in country western and rockabilly bars, where he was given the name Dick Dale. His 1961 shows at the Rendezvous Ballroom in Balboa are credited with sparking the surf music phenomenon, and Let's Go Trippin' counts among the earliest surf rock songs. His first album, Surfers' Choice, came out in 1962, and he and his Del-Tones appeared in Beach Party (1963) and Muscle Beach Party (1964). His second album took its title from his performing nickname, the King of the Surf Guitar. The use of Misirlou in Quentin Tarantino's Pulp Fiction (1994) won him a new audience, and he was nominated for a Grammy for Pipeline with Stevie Ray Vaughan. Rolling Stone ranked him 31st among the greatest guitarists in 2003.
81years old at death
- Born Boston
- Died Loma Linda
- Star sign: TaurusThe sign runs April 20 to May 20
- Richard Anthony Monsour (birth name)Also credited as Richard Monsour and Richard A. Monsour
Movie Career
- Films
- 3
- Career span
- 42 years1963 to 2005
Every film, newest first
- 2005Aloha Scooby-Doo!IMDb rating 6.3
- 1964Muscle Beach PartyIMDb rating 5.2
- 1963Beach PartyIMDb rating 5.8
Genres
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About the name
Dick Dale got his stage name in 1955 from an entertainer called Texas Tiny, who thought it suited a country singer.
Own stunts
Dale was left-handed and played a right-handed guitar upside-down without restringing it, a method he kept even after getting a proper left-handed guitar.
A first
Dale and Leo Fender worked together to create new equipment that could produce loud, previously unheard volumes, among it the first-ever 100-watt guitar amplifier.
Big break
Quentin Tarantino used Dale's recording of "Misirlou" in Pulp Fiction, and this led to Dale's 1990s comeback, which included four albums and tours around the world.
Dick Dale movies on Netflix
Most often with
William Asher directed two of these films. Six actors appear in two of them each. Pick a number on the chart or a name in the list to see the films they share.
Films together
John Ashley's page
Annette Funicello's page
Frankie Avalon's page
Jody McCrea's page
Morey Amsterdam's page
Valora Noland's page
William AsherDirector, 2 films, 1963 to 1964
All films by William Asher
Online
Official profiles and reference pages.