Dick Dale is the king of the surf guitar. He performed nonstop throughout his career, from his beginnings as a country and western artist in 1955, through his groundbreaking surf music run in the 1960-70s, until his sad death in 2019. His frenetic guitar style influenced many other players, particularly in the genres of surf, rock, and heavy metal. Dale had a resurgence when his song Misirlou was featured in Quentin Tarantino’s 1994 film Pulp Fiction. It’s an iconic surf tune based on a Middle Eastern melody, amped up with lightning-fast fret picking and reverb. I love this song! Rest in power, Dick Dale.

