{"id":483517,"date":"2019-03-17T15:06:56","date_gmt":"2019-03-17T21:06:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rollingstone.com\/?p=809294"},"modified":"2019-03-17T15:06:56","modified_gmt":"2019-03-17T21:06:56","slug":"dick-dale-king-of-the-surf-guitar-dead-at-81","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kqzr\/music-news\/dick-dale-king-of-the-surf-guitar-dead-at-81\/","title":{"rendered":"Dick Dale, King of the Surf Guitar, Dead at 81"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Dick Dale<\/a>, \u201cthe King of the Surf Guitar,\u201d has died at the age of 81.<\/p>\n

California Rocker first reported<\/a> that Dale died Sunday. His bassist Sam Bolle confirmed Dale\u2019s death to the Guardian<\/a><\/em>. No cause of death was revealed, but the guitarist suffered from health issues in recent years. In 2010, Dale said he was battling rectal cancer, and in an interview that went viral, Dale said in 2015 that \u201cI can\u2019t stop touring because I will die<\/a>\u201d due to medical expenses stemming from cancer treatment, diabetes and renal failure. \u201cI have to raise $3,000 every month to pay for the medical supplies I need to stay alive, and that\u2019s on top of the insurance that I pay for,\u201d Dale said at the time.<\/p>\n

As the progenitor of the surf rock genre and an innovator who helped stretch the possibilities of the electric guitar, Dale inspired musicians like Jimi Hendrix, Eddie Van Halen, Ry Cooder and the Beach Boys. Dale\u2019s \u201cMiserlou\u201d also notably featured in the opening credits sequence of Quentin Tarantino\u2019s Pulp Fiction.<\/em><\/p>\n

Born Richard Monsour in Boston in 1937, Dale first played ukulele and then guitar as a child; Dale\u2019s father, with Lebanese roots, taught his son the Middle Eastern scales that would later form the backbone of surf music.<\/p>\n

After moving to Southern California as a senior in high school in 1954, Dale developed an obsession of surfing, ultimately combining his two passions and teaming with the Del-Tones to create tracks like 1961\u2019s \u201cLet\u2019s Go Trippin\u2019,\u201d considered the first surf rock song, and the following year\u2019s \u201cMiserlou,\u201d Dale\u2019s take on an Eastern Mediterranean song; the Beach Boys would cover \u201cLet\u2019s Go Trippin’\u201d two years later on their 1963 LP Surfin\u2019 U.S.A.<\/em><\/p>\n