Dick Dale, leader of the surf band Dick Dale and The Del Tones, is credited with being The Father Of Heavy Metal. It’s a long story, but here’s an overview.
Dale was born in Massachusetts in 1937. He and his parents moved to Orange County, CA in 1954, where he became interested in both the sport of surfing and the art of music. He learned to play the drums, ukulele, trumpet and finally guitar. Dick Dale was left-handed, but since there were no left-handed guitar models available to him at the time, he learned to play using a right-handed standard model. He simply turned the guitar upside-down, but unlike most others who did the same, he did not reverse the strings. He played by reaching over the fretboard rather than wrapping around from underneath.
Dale was an avid surfer and wanted his music to evoke the sounds and emotions he experienced while riding the waves. He’s generally credited with introducing reverb, which gave the guitar a “wet sound,” now a staple of most all surf music. But it was his staccato style of picking that made his music stand out from the rest. Even after he finally got a left-handed guitar, he continued to use the stringing he’d gotten used to.
His drive to create a unique and powerful sound, especially in performance, caused him to push available equipment to, and beyond, their design limits. He kept blowing up amplifiers left and right. Finally, Leo Fender, of Fender Musical Instrument Corp., designed a transformer specifically for Dick Dale that had the power-handling necessary to let Dale crank it to the max without sparks and smoke resulting.
Still, the speakers themselves screamed and rattled for mercy. So Dale had the J. B. Lansing company create a special 15-inch speaker that would integrate with and handle the new power. The resulting sound system became known as the Fender Single Showman Amp.
When Dale plugged his Fender Stratocaster guitar into the new Showman Amp and speaker cabinet, Dale became the first creature on earth to jump from the volume scale of a modest quiet guitar player on a scale of 4 to blasting up through the volume scale to TEN! That is when Dale became the “Father of Heavy Metal” as quoted from Guitar Player Magazine. Dale broke through the electronic barrier limitations of that era! [quoted from the official Dick Dale Web site.]
Fender Dick Dale Signature Model Guitars are available from Guitar Center
Miserlou by Dick Dale and His Del-Tones holds a special place in my heart. If I were to start listing all the reasons, this post would go on for pages. I’ll just tell you one:
I met Dick Dale in 1962, and I was so impressed by both the man and his music that I have never forgotten how important it all was to my musical development. He made me want to learn to play guitar.
In that year, at the age of 13, I entered my freshman year of high school. It was a tradition at my new school that they held a “Freshman Welcome Dance” in the gym. The first live performance by a star act I ever saw was that of Dick Dale and His Del-Tones.
While Dick Dale had been recording and performing for a couple of years already, and had an album out, his recording of Miserlou had only just hit the airwaves locally. It was to become his signature tune, and we at that dance were among the first ever to hear it performed live.
A video is worth a thousand words. Here is a vid that shows Dick Dale and His Del-Tones very much as they were on stage that night at my high school
Watch Dick Dale and His Del-Tones Live
During the show, after about three songs, Dick Dale addressed the audience and asked that we please hold our applause between songs. He explained that if it weren’t for us, he would be just another wannabe musician, and that he felt he should be the one applauding us, not the other way around.
Dick Dale and His Del Tones played over two hours that night. While on a between-set break, Dick came over to the refreshment stand and asked for a lemonade. He also asked if he should get the Milk Duds or the Junior Mints. I told him he should go for the Junior Mints, since the Milk Duds gummed up the mouth. He laughed and took the Junior Mints. He actually paid me for what he got. And gave me a tip “for the advice.” Imagine a rock star doing that today!
I could go on and on about Dick Dale, but suffice it to say that he is a true star, and a gentleman. If any oldies but goodies artist deserved to have his music listened to and downloaded, it’s Dick Dale!
Dick Dale’s First Album: Surfer’s Choice
My Personal Favorite: Summer Surf
The Whole Enchilada: Guitar Legends: The Very Best Of Dick Dale
All Dick Dale Downloads: Dick Dale MP3 Catalog