Surf music

Surf music joins instrumental and vocal traditions; themes center on surfing, cars, and girls—an American-only style.

This chapter’s last lecture is surf music, born in southern California, 1960–1963. It sketches clean middle-class white kids by the ocean: surfing, cars, or girls—hum a song with those three and it is surf.

Surf comes from both vocal and instrumental lines; we treat each. Instrumental first—though vocal surf matters more to rock history, instrumental still counts, especially for guitarists with later revivals. Key guitarist: Dick Dale & the Del-Tones; signature 1962 “Misirlou.” Dale loves surfing—songs about riding, then drying off and picking up a Fender Stratocaster. Left-handed with reversed string order, he uses fast picking akin to Middle Eastern string styles; “Misirlou” itself draws on Middle Eastern tradition—no vocals, pure instrumental. Teaching this in pop history feels like a special case: Chapter 1’s big bands were largely instrumental; decades later an all-instrumental unit like Dale’s feels odd because vocals have taken over the charts.

Other instrumental hits: the Chantays’ 1963 “Pipeline,” the Surfaris’ “Wipe Out”—every kid drummer knew that solo, even bad ones tapping it on desks. Also Duane Eddy’s 1958 “Rebel Rouser” and his twangy echo into the early 1960s; Seattle’s Ventures with 1960’s “Walk, Don’t Run”—classic guitar radio fare; if one U.S. instrumental band owned 1960s airplay, it was the Ventures.

Abroad: Britain’s Shadows. Next chapter’s Invasion material includes Cliff Richard—Britain’s Elvis in many ways—with the Shadows behind him. They also cut Ventures-like instrumentals without Cliff, notably 1960’s “Apache.” That covers instrumental surf/kin for this stretch.

Vocally: mainly the Beach Boys and Jan and Dean—emphasis on the Beach Boys. Core is Brian Wilson: writer, arranger of harmonies, band brain—genuinely gifted among talented bandmates. Themes again: surfing, cars, girls. Early hits “Surfin’ Safari,” “Surfin’ U.S.A.,” “Surfer Girl” show the surf thread (no “Surfer Car,” but you get the idea). Funny: besides brother Dennis, none really love surfing; Brian least of all—he writes surf song after surf song yet barely hits the sand, let alone the water. Unlike Dale the true surfer, Brian talks the culture without living it. “Surfin’ U.S.A.” reworks Chuck Berry’s “Sweet Little Sixteen”; Berry demands pay, so though early pressings credit Brian alone, later ones credit Wilson and Berry—Berry takes a cut on every sale.

Influences: chugging guitar, strong jazz-harmony pull. Brian still cites the Four Freshmen—mainstream jazz / adult-contemporary rich harmony he chases in the Beach Boys. Doo-wop enters the vocal blend; girl-group sound too. Brian is a Phil Spector devotee; first hearing “Be My Baby” in the car (many first hearings happen that way—Spector’s mono thickness on small speakers), he has to pull over, unable to drive, stunned such a record exists. Spector’s girl groups, Four Freshmen jazz harmony, chugging chords, and Chuck Berry melodies together make the Beach Boys sound.

Jan and Dean also succeed; early on they collaborate with the Beach Boys until labels forbid shared credits—friendship and scene ties remain. Best entry point: 1964’s No. 4 “The Little Old Lady from Pasadena”—sharp singing; without knowing better you might guess Beach Boys.

We close 1960–64 music talk. In February 1964 the Beatles land at New York’s Kennedy Airport and popular-music history shifts. After these lectures—or after listening to the music—ask whether the early 1960s are a dark age of cynical industry dumping any record kids will buy, second-rate disposable product—or a stretch of experiment and ambition: Sweet Soul, Beach Boys harmony, stricter folk lyrics, lifting pop past 1950–59. Does the Invasion and the Beatles interrupt that line? Early Beatles are, image-wise, four teen idols—strong singers and writers and charm, but idols in look. Which description fits: dark age or golden years? Decide for yourself. Next chapter: the British Invasion.