The                     Bloc-ROCK

     But who was Dick Dale? Who was the legend behind the riff so characteristic of the movie Pulp Fiction by Tarantino?

 

    Dale was born in Massachusetts in 1937. He was of Lebanese descent from his father and of Polish-Belarusian descent from his mother. Dale was into music from a young age, he learned the piano when he was nine after listening to his aunt playing it. He was given a trumpet in seventh grade and later acquired a ukulele. He was also influenced musically by his uncle, who taught him how to play the tarabaki (it is a goblet drum used mostly in the Middle East).

Dale then bought a guitar from a friend. He learned how to play using a combination of styles incorporating both lead and rhythm. His early tarabaki drumming later influenced his way of playing, particularly his rapid alternate picking technique.

 

     In the early ’60s, he started to regularly use reverb, which became a trademark of surf guitar. Being a left-handed he played on a right-handed guitar which he would turn upside down and without restringing the guitar. He later partnered with Leo Fender to test new equipment. After blowing up several Fender amplifiers, Leo Fender saw Dale play at the Rendezvous Ballroom, California and identified that the problem arose from him creating a sound louder than the audience screaming. He visited the James B. Lansing loudspeaker company and asked for a custom 15-inch loudspeaker, which was known as the Single Showman Amp. Dale's combination of a Fender Stratocaster and Fender Showman Amp allowed him to attain significantly louder volume levels which he couldn’t get before.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

    This performance at the Rendezvous Ballroom in 1961 is credited with the creation of the surf music phenomenon.

     The popularity of surf rock music was brief, as the British Invasion, led by the Rolling Stones and the Beatles, began to overtake the American charts in the mid-’60s. However, he continued to perform live across the US.

      In the ’60s Dale developed colorectal cancer. In response to hearing that Dale might be terminally ill, Jimi Hendrix said later: "Then you'll never hear surf music again". He eventually recovered but retired from music for several years.

 

    What makes Dale really famous around the globe is the song “Misirlou”. This song is from the Eastern Mediterranean region. The earliest known recording of the song is a Greek version recorded in 1927.

     Dick Dale rearranged the song as a solo instrumental rock guitar piece. Dale's father and uncles were Lebanese-American musicians, and Dale remembered seeing his uncle playing "Misirlou" on one string of the oud. He increased the song's tempo to make it into rock and roll. It was later popularised even more when Tarantino used the song in the soundtrack of his movie Pulp Fiction.

 

     Later, The Black-Eyed Peas sampled it on their 2006 hit “Pump it”, which reached number three on the UK charts.

 

 

     The world is changing, and the early heroes die year after year. But for sure Dick Dale’s music will remain in history (check out this amazing live performance!). It is time for us to watch Tarantino’s movie again and be wowed by two masterpieces at the same time.