His best-known song, 1962’s
Guitarist Dick Dale, whose fast, thunderous sound pioneered the California “surf rock” genre of the early 1960s and gained a new generation of fans decades later through its appearance in “Pulp Fiction,” has died. He was 81.
His death was confirmed by two former bandmates, bassist Sam Bolle and drummer Dusty Watson, who told CNN Dale died Saturday night. Watson said Dale had been hospitalized recently for “issues related to his heart.”
Dale had a “wet,” reverb-heavy guitar sound that evoked crashing waves and sought to echo the sounds he played in his mind while surfing, according to the Huntington Beach Surfing Walk of Fame. His singular, staccato picking drew upon Middle Eastern music (his father was Lebanese) and influenced the Beach Boys, the Ventures and other surf-rock artists of the era.
His best-known song, 1962’s “Miserlou” (sometimes spelled “Misirlou”), was an adaptation of an early-19th century Middle Eastern instrumental folk tune. In Dale’s hands it became a furious rave-up that packed dance floors — and has had a long life in pop culture.
Quentin Tarantino used it over the opening credits of “Pulp Fiction,” giving the song a new veneer of retro cool, and the Black Eyed Peas sampled it prominently in “Pump It,” their 2006 hit.
