R F Brown

Surf Music — a distinct style of instrumental rock, not to be confused with songs about surfing, such as the early Beach Boys hits — was developed at the same time and in the same location as the surfer craze of the early Sixties, specifically, the beach clubs of Southern California, where a young guitarist named Dick Dale took his cue from instrumental-rock pioneers like Duane Eddy and Link Wray. Upping the ante on their heavily reverbed style with a “wet” sounding echo and pumping the songs up to a breakneck speed, Dale helped create surf. (Its cousin, Hot Rod or Drag Music, is essentially the same style of music aimed at the classic-car enthusiasts popping up around the same scene.)