One of the best surf music is high-octane rock ‘n’ roll, filled with power and invention. With shiny, lead guitars, huge stomping rhythms, and (usually) a wholesome dose of gorgeous harmonies, surf music turned a extremely seen style within the late 50s and early 60s. Composed largely of California-based teams, the nice surf music songs of this era got here to cement a picture of California on this planet’s thoughts: Large surfboards, limitless solar, and limitless enjoyable. It’s additionally a style of music that you just immediately know if you hear it, courtesy of spring reverb. As soon as The Beatles landed in New York, the unique wave of surf music that we’re specializing in right here started to say no in reputation, however the classics that have been created again then are nonetheless beloved at present.
One notice earlier than we start: We’ve chosen one monitor per artist, simply in order that we might embrace as many alternative artists as doable! So, with out additional ado, dive into our record of the perfect surf rock of all-time. The water’s fantastic!
40: “Surfer’s Slide” – Richie Allen & the Pacific Surfers
Richie Polodor was the session guitarist on Sandy Nelson’s “Let There Be Drums,” and loved a profitable profession as producer of Three Canine Evening, The Monkees, Steppenwolf, and Alice Cooper. However within the early sixties, Richie dropped his surname, utilizing his center title Allen as a replacement, and recorded two surf-themed albums (The Rising Surf and Surfer’s Slide, each from 1963), which have taken on cult standing amongst collectors.
39: “Moon Dawg!” – The Gamblers
There are various candidates that lay a declare to being the primary surf rock document – and “Moon Dawg!” by California’s The Gamblers has as robust a declare as any. That includes Bruce Johnston on guitar and Sandy Nelson on drums, the monitor quickly turned a staple of each surf band’s set, with cowl model by The Ventures, Tornadoes, and The Seaside Boys, amongst many others.
38: “Apache” – The Shadows
This English quartet have been largely accountable for bringing the surf rock sound to the UK, with this 1960 hit changing into their signature tune. After listening to The Shadows’ single, drenched in atmospheric echo, Danish guitarist Jorgen Ingmann took it to #2 on the Sizzling 100 within the States, stealing the UK band’s thunder.
37: “Church Key” – The Revels
Hailing from San Luis Obispo, roughly equidistant from San Francisco and Los Angeles, The Revels scored a surf rock basic in 1960 with the instro “Church Key.” However there’s nothing spiritual concerning the inspiration for this quantity. A ‘church key’ was a gadget used to open beer cans – you’ll be able to hear one in motion on this single, which was an early staple of many surf teams.
36: “My Little Surfin’ Woodie” – The Sunsets
A Woodie was a station wagon with wood physique work – and you may get a whole lot of surf boards within the again, as many surf and scorching rod songs testify. Sizzling Rod was surf music’s twin brother – stylistically virtually similar, however with titles or lyrics about automobiles relatively than boards. This Gary Usher-produced 1963 single bridges each camps.
35: “I Live For The Sun” – The Sunrays
Seaside Boy Carl Wilson launched The Sunrays to his father and erstwhile Seaside Boys supervisor, Murry Wilson. The sun-drenched ode to the California life-style “I Live For The Sun” urged that Murry might fulfill his dream of repeating the success of his sons’ band, because it broke the Sizzling 100. Their success could have finally been fleeting, however this stays a classic piece of West Coast sunshine pop.
34: “Cheater Stomp” – The Fabulous Playboys
With so many musicians, so many recordings and so many bands being fashioned and disbanded on a regular basis, it’s unimaginable to maintain monitor of all the nice early surf rock data. A bunch of scholars on the College of Southern California, little is thought about The Fabulous Playboys, though we do know that the Cheaters referred to within the title of this 1962 single have been a South Bay automobile membership. It’s a fantastic instance of what made this era so thrilling.
33: “Little Honda” – The Hondells
Whereas surf music unsurprisingly celebrated the game popularized in southern California, it additionally mirrored different traits of life for younger People on the daybreak of the 60s, which naturally included songs about automobiles and bikes – comparable to the newest providing from the Honda firm. So enamored with the Honda was producer Gary Usher, who created The Hondells, that the band’s first album was referred to as Go Little Honda and was comprised of 12 numbers, all with bikes as their theme, together with “Haulin’ Honda” and “Hon-Da Beach Party.”
32: “Surf Sink or Swim” – Bo Diddley
By 1963, surf music’s reputation noticed artists and labels far and huge seeking to hitch a experience on its wave. Chicago’s Checker Information could have been a great distance from the surf, however they noticed legendary blues guitarist Bo Diddley’s affect on the type. In 1963, they sought to go full-circle with a brace of surf-theme albums, Bo Diddley’s Seaside Occasion and Surfin’ With Bob Diddley – the latter together with this stinging monitor.
31: “Midnight Surfer” – Jerry Cole and His Spacemen
An in-demand session guitar participant and a part of the Wrecking Crew, Jerry Cole performed on a few of the best data of the sixties – together with Pet Sounds by the Seaside Boys and The Byrds’ Mr. Tambourine Man. However he additionally launched a run of data on Capitol below his personal title, together with Surf Age (from which album this lower is taken) and Sizzling Rod Dance Occasion.
30: “Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde” – The Crossfires
Because the title suggests, it is a single with a break up character. The lilting, pedestrian, sax-led opening motif quickly offers approach to shrieking and howling laughter, as Dick Dale-style double selecting and pounding drums take over. As The Beatles’ arrival within the US signaled the tip of the primary wave of surf rock sounds, The Crossfires duly modified type and altered their title to The Turtles, whose “Happy Together” would later substitute “Penny Lane” on the prime of the Sizzling 100.
29: “Papa-Oom-Mow-Mow” – The Rivingtons
It might have made no literal sense, however 1962’s “Papa-Oom-Mow-Mow” proved common with surf rock teams, with quite a few them protecting the tune – together with the Seaside Boys, who included it on the 1964 Live performance LP and the next yr’s Occasion! album. The Rivingtons – a West Coast group who specialised in doowop-influenced vocals – have been themselves not a surf act, however their social gathering tune turned a part of surf tradition by affiliation.
28: “Underwater” – The Frog Males
Earlier than they put out the debut single from the Seaside Boys, “Surfin’,” in 1961, Candix Information had already secured a surf-related hit on the Billboard Sizzling 100, with The Frog Males. As with most surf bands, The Frog Males have been nonetheless youngsters, and their probability on the huge time was snatched away, as their mother and father refused to offer the mandatory permission for the boys to go on tour to assist the one.
27: “Bulldog” – The Fireballs
One other of the nice proto-surf singles, “Bulldog” was recorded in 1959 by Buddy Holly’s producer Norman Petty, and written by lead guitar participant George Tromso, who took inspiration from Ray Charles’ “What’d I Say.” Tromso’s echo-drenched Fender Jazzmaster guitar, performed via a Fender Twin amplifier, is an early instance of the basic surf guitar sound.
26: “Surfink!” – Mr. Gasser & the Weirdos
As with many short-lived crazes, the primary wave of surf music noticed its justifiable share of novelty songs. Mr. Gasser was none aside from American illustrator Ed ‘Big Daddy’ Roth, higher often known as the creator of Rat Fink, the anti-hero to Mickey Mouse. Amongst his data with the Weirdos (a number of LA’s best session gamers, comparable to Glen Campbell, Leon Russell, and Hal Blaine) on Capitol have been 1963’s Sizzling Rod Hootenanny and Surfink!, from 1964, each adorned with fabulous attribute Ed Roth paintings.
25: “Let’s Go Trippin’” – The Challengers
Rising from the ashes of the Bel-Airs, The Challengers have been pushed by drummer Richard Delvy, who was changing into one of the crucial revered producers on the surf scene. “I used to watch Brian Wilson and Phil Spector,” he defined. Their Surf Beat LP turned one of the crucial profitable surf albums on its launch in 1963, and went an extended approach to popularizing the style outdoors of its California homeland. It featured covers of most of the hottest surf classics – together with this rendition of the Dick Dale basic, “Let’s Go Trippin’.”
24: “Surf Route 101” – The Tremendous Shares
Because the demand for surf music turned insatiable, cany producers merely made up new surf bands as a entrance for the recordings they have been making with periods musicians – lots of whom would obtain renown all through the 60s as the Wrecking Crew. The Tremendous Shares have been simply such a bunch, invented by producer and songwriter Gary Usher. And if this tune brings the early Seaside Boys to thoughts it’s no coincidence: Usher co-wrote quite a few Seaside Boys songs with Brian Wilson, together with “409” and “In My Room.”
23: “Bongo Rock” – Preston Epps
Preston Epps might usually be discovered enjoying his bongos within the espresso outlets and golf equipment of southern California, and seen on the invoice alongside the younger surf bands. A 1973 cowl of “Bongo Rock” by the aptly named Unbelievable Bongo Band gave it a brand new lease of life, because it was sampled by a few of the most influential names in hip-hop.
22: “The Cruel Sea” – The Dakotas
Few surf data can have their origins as removed from the Californian shore as “The Cruel Sea” – or “The Cruel Surf” because it was renamed for the US market, the place it was quickly coated by The Ventures. The one was initially launched in 1964 by The Dakotas, a bunch from Manchester, England. Managed by Brian Epstein and produced by George Martin, they first made their title because the backing band for Liverpool singer Billy J. Kramer.
21: “Tell ‘Em I’m Surfin’” – The Improbable Baggys
Songwriting duo PF Sloan and Steve Barri penned such hits as “Eve of Destruction” for Barry Maguire, and “A Must To Avoid” by the British Invasion group Herman’s Hermits. However earlier than that, they’d fashioned a surf rock band referred to as The Improbable Baggys, showing on hits for Jan & Dean in addition to making a handful of recordings in their very own proper, with this being the cream of the crop.
20: “Surfin’ Bird” – The Trashmen
Hailing from Minnesota, The Trashmen turned a surf band after taking a trip to Balboa seashore in southern California, the place they noticed The Chantays and Dick Dale play. “We learned all this stuff when we got back, and nobody in Minneapolis had ever heard anything like it,” mentioned lead guitar participant Tony Anderson. A mix of The Rivingtons’ “Papa-Oom-Mow-Mow” and “The Bird is the Word,” “Surfin’ Bird” by The Trashmen turned an unlikely cult basic.
19: “Penetration” – The Pyramids
Absolutely one in all the nice surf guitar instrumentals, “Penetration” truly rode one of many final waves of the surf revolution, arriving simply as The Beatles look on The Ed Sullivan Present modified the whole lot – together with signaling the tip of the surf rock increase. As a closing gesture of defiance, maybe, The Pyramids seem within the 1964 film Bikini Drag carrying Beatle wigs – earlier than having them flipped off to revealed freshly shaved heads.
18: “Rumble” – Hyperlink Wray
Though its 1958 launch pre-dated the surf music increase by a number of years, “Rumble,” by North Carolina guitar hero Hyperlink Wray, was a vastly common staple within the set of most of the authentic surf teams. As Eddy Bertrand of Eddy & the Showman defined, “People liked it, they grabbed onto it because it was simple.” Its simplicity is its genius; no much less a expertise than Bob Dylan described it as “the best instrumental ever.”
17: “Surf City” – Jan & Dean
Whereas the sooner instrumental surf rock hits – a method often known as ‘instro’ – had largely adopted the sample of fantastic lead guitar work over stomping rhythms, usually with an uncommon chord construction, 1963 noticed surf extra generally characterised by robust melody and blended vocal harmonies. “Surf City” was key to this variation, with its celebration of the cool California tradition, the place everybody was “either out surfin’ or they got a party growin’,” and the place there have been “two girls for every boy.”
16: “Surfin’ Safari” – The Seaside Boys
The Seaside Boys’ debut single for Capitol Information, “Surfin’ Safari” is usually credited with placing the California surf scene on the worldwide map. As Nik Venet, the younger Capitol producer who signed them, recalled, “It was a new form of teenage music. It had nothing to do with your girlfriend breaking up [with you], or driving off a cliff. It was a pure California phenomenon. The Beach Boys represented California to the rest of the country.”
15: “The Lonely Surfer” – Jack Nitzsche
Recorded with session musicians together with Glen Campbell and Leon Russell, “The Lonely Surfer” takes surf music to a brand new, widescreen house with this cinematic single from 1963. Jack Nitzsche loved a outstanding profession, as arranger for a lot of of Phil Spector’s largest hits, earlier than working with the likes of Neil Younger and the Rolling Stones.
14: “Surfin’ Hootenany” – Al Casey
The early surf data have been made by surfers and their buddies, hanging out at venues just like the Rendezvous Ballroom at Balboa seashore, south of Los Angeles. However Al Casey was already a profitable guitar participant effectively earlier than the surf revolution rolled in, and his 1963 single “Surfin’ Hootenany” (produced by Lee Hazelwood, and that includes the Blossoms on vocals) pays tribute to innovators like Dick Dale and The Ventures.
13: “Shoot the Curl” – The Honeys
Taking their title from a line in “Surfin’ Safari,” The Honeys should have endeared themselves to The Seaside Boys, as not solely did Brian Wilson produce a run of singles for them – together with this self-penned quantity – he married singer Marilyn Rovell. Alongside along with her sister Diane and their cousin Ginger Blake, The Honeys turned one of many first teams Wilson used to ascertain himself as a producer outdoors of his function as a Seaside Boy.
12: “Shoot That Curl” – Chris & Kathy
To not be confused with the equally titled “Shoot the Curl” by The Honeys, “Shoot That Curl” was the b-side of a 1964 single that did not chart. It might not have caught again in 1964, nevertheless it’s develop into one thing of a cult favorite since.
11: “Tequila” – The Champs
Most of the seeds of what would develop into often known as ‘surf music’ might be seen in The Champs’ 1958 basic “Tequila,” which stays a celebration favourite at present. Named after Gene Autry’s Champion the Surprise Horse, the band’s Latin influences included Ritchie Valens, who additionally recorded at Los Angeles’ rising Gold Star Studios, the place many nice surf data could be lower.
10: “Pipeline” – The Chantays
“Pipeline” turned the primary worldwide surf smash hit, regardless of its humble origins. As piano participant Rob Marshall defined, “We practiced twice a week in my parents living room and drove the neighbors crazy.” It was drummer Bob Welch who had the preliminary thought for the tune. “He played a little bit of it,” mentioned Marshall, “but he said he didn’t know how the middle should go. I said ‘How ‘bout this?’ It seemed to fit. We wrote the song in about a half-hour.”
9: “Walk, Don’t Run” – The Ventures
Regardless of being one in all The Ventures’ signature tunes, “Walk, Don’t Run” is actually a canopy model of a canopy model. After Chet Atkins had made his interpretation of Johnny Smith’s 1954 jazz recording, The Ventures’ Bob Bogle and Don Wilson made it their very own in 1960. They revisited the tune with “Walk, Don’t Run ’64,” a reinterpretation that, like its forbear, was a prime 10 hit – a uncommon instance of a bunch having a smash hit with two variations of the identical tune.
8: “Surf Rider” – The Energetic Ones
Surf music performances have been high-energy affairs, and few might compete with this act, dubbed the Energetic Ones by native DJ Gene Weed. As guitarist Jim Masoner confirmed: “We moved it! We’d jump on the amps, do flips… pretty much any clowning around.” “Surf Rider” was partly accountable for a surf rock revival within the early Nineteen Nineties, when it featured in Quentin Tarantino’s Pulp Fiction.
7: “Squad Car” – Eddie & the Showmen
Eddie Bertrand had already tasted success with The Belairs, earlier than forming the Showmen (named after the Fender Showman amplifier, which in flip was named after Dick Dale, the final word surfin’ showman). This 1963 Liberty single – full with wailing sirens – is an actual smash-and-grab raid, charging in with an explosion of drums earlier than Bertrand’s arresting lead guitar work kicks in, and steals the present. Flip it up for full impact!
6: “Miserlou” – Dick Dale and the Del-Tones
The undisputed King of Surf Music, Dick Dale’s improvements can’t simply be measured. He was instrumental not solely within the type, however within the gear that made the surf rock sound so distinct, due to his shut relationship with guitar innovator Leo Fender. “Miserlou,” based mostly on an outdated Center Japanese folks tune he recalled an uncle enjoying on the oud, showcases Dale’s signature double-picking guitar method.
5: “Surfers’ Stomp” – The Marketts
The Marketts (initially The Mar-Kets) could have been among the many first to place ‘surf’ within the title of successful document, however they have been truly session musicians, relatively than surfers. As producer Joe Saraceno recalled, “I was in a bar where everyone was doing a dance I’d never seen before. One of the girls said it was called the surfer stomp. So I wrote a song with that pattern in mind.”
4: “Let There Be Drums” – Sandy Nelson
There might be treasured few drummers to have notched a run of prime 10 hits with drums because the lead instrument, however that’s precisely what Sandy Nelson achieved within the late 50s and early 60s. Nelson’s Excessive College band included Jan Berry, Dean Torrence (aka Jan & Dean), and future Seaside Boy Bruce Johnston. He then develop into a session drummer for the likes of Phil Spector and Gene Vincent, earlier than slicing a string of instrumentals – together with this basic from 1961.
3: “Bustin’ Surfboards” – The Tornadoes
To not be confused with the British Tornados of Telstar fame, this Redlands, California band named their sultry instrumental after the worst consequence of a wipe-out – a damaged stick. Not content material with breaking surfboards, the 1962 single holds the accolade for being the primary surf rock instrumental to interrupt the Billboard Sizzling 100 – and noticed renewed fame when it featured on the soundtrack to Pulp Fiction.
2: “Mr. Moto” – The Belairs
“Mr. Moto,” it’s claimed, was the primary surf rock single by a band made up of surfers. Certainly, The Belairs have been one of the crucial essential teams on the rising surf music scene, which started to realize reputation in southern California within the early Nineteen Sixties. Initially, as Belairs drummer Richard Delvy defined, “Surf music was for dancing and to be played behind a surf movie.”
1: “Wipe Out” – The Surfaris
For a document made up on the spot within the studio by a bunch of inexperienced youngsters, “Wipe Out” by The Surfaris has actually stood the check of time, changing into one of many best-known surf data ever. A Billboard #2 hit in 1963, it was knocked out on the finish of a one-hour recording session when the youngsters realized they’d want a flip aspect to “Surfer Joe,” the monitor they’d come to document. The remaining is surf historical past.
