My old roommate in California was good friends with Dick Dale. I had the privilege of meeting him and he gave me tickets to a show in LA. The show was the Ventures, Jan and Dean, the Beach Boys and Dick Dale was the head liner. I seen alot of concerts in my years and no one even came close to Dick when it came to playing, not only guitar, but he played every instrument in the band.
I saw Dick live five times between 2003 and 2015. He played with about as much apparent effort as breathing. He'd jump out of the tremolo picking and let that one note ring and then back so quickly it was hard to believe. He played the trumpet. He played drums. He played the bass with drumsticks. His bass player, Sam Bolle complemented him perfectly as well.
I saw him play live in Richmond VA back in 2013 or so and it was easily the most insane thing Id ever heard live. It was so much more intense then hearing recordings.
@@nathanthompson6050 So he was popular all over? I grew up in SoCal and was a teen in the sixties. Duck Dale, The Ventures and Surfaris were CA surf bands so I didn’t know if they were popular anywhere else. I know east coast beach music was different than ours. My husband was from Missouri and I asked if he’d heard of them but it was Vietnam era and he wasn’t in the states. Beach Boys were everywhere but they were more pop.
What doesn't come through on these TV appearances is the sheer volume and power of his live sound. I saw Dick several times in the 90s, using what appeared to be his original amp and guitar. The combination of his technique and the volume felt like a wall of sonic power. Truly one of the greats!
He used 15" huge speakers,my friends band deadmoon opened for him,I got to check his rig out, HELL leo fender named the showman amp for him..leo loved him...
Wings, great vid!! Had the great pleasure to see Dick Dale live in Lafayette, Louisiana at a thoroughly packed venue there in 2011. He was amazing! He played for almost three full hours! Then he hung out signing autographs and chatting with fans for over an hour afterward. What a super nice, sweet man. Learned from him that his son who played bass with him, is also a pretty hot fixed and rotary wing pilot. No clue at all to the fact that he was fighting for his life even back then against the cancer that took his life not too long ago. Music lost a truly great treasure and American music in particular lost the king of the surf guitar. Thanks for posting this!
Dick was my good friend for many years. We sat in his living room and swapped Strats. He handed me his original 61 Strat ,(the Beast). I’m a righty and just turned it upside down . He flipped mine over and gave it a proper going over! He kidded me about my lite gauge strings. He also let me play a strat the custom shop had made for him (the Beauty). He told me he was afraid to play it because he would “ tear it up” but insisted I play it! Dick was awesome and put his sole into every show! Once, after coming back from playing for an Eric Clapton BBC special, I asked him what it was like to play with E.C.. He went on for 10 minutes about how great the food and catering was! After all the years in the music business, the food was what impressed him. Lol. Rest easy Dick . See you down the road.🙏
The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame snubs list is glaring proof of their incompetence and lack of musical knowledge and insight. Huge numbers of amazingly influential bands and artists continue to not be recognized. From metal bands like Megadeth and Pantera, to entire groups of famous session players who played on damn near everything (the Wrecking Crew in Los Angeles, the Funk Brothers in Detroit, Muscle Shoals from Alabama) to jazz greats like John Coltrane who's influence is still present today.
Dale is a real American hero. I prefer him being underrated. Grammys, Billboard, Hall of Fame... all that stuff is whacked out commercial garbage anyway. He has one of, if not THE most recognizable music in a film ever. Not many hall of famers can say that. Plus the guy kept it 100 his whole life. He loved his wife, his music, and his country. 🇺🇲🦅🎸
Guitarists are the most hostile bigots towards left-handed guitarists. Go into any chat group for guitarists and mention playing left-handed and watch the verbal abuse break out.
@@mrJimCharlesthe R&RHoF is basically the proverbial trophy for showing up. Too many of their inductees are mediocre or not really rock&roll in the first place.
Dick Dale- King of the Surf Guitar! Yes, I’m old enough to remember. Growing up in Southern California surf music was a big thing. I loved “Miserlou”. I never knew that much about him, thank you.
Dick Dale kept blowing up small Fender amps until he invited Leo Fender to one to see what he was doing. Leo quickly figured out that more power was needed and saved humanity.
I had the pleasure of attending a few Dick Dale shows late in his career, he was great showman even in bad health and an advanced age. He had to keep playing to pay the bills.Dick and Hank Marvin are two of my favorites from the early 60's.
Really enjoyed this Dick Dale episode, Fil. I'm a huge fan of instrumental surf music and revere Dick Dale. As a matter of fact, purely by happenstance I'm wearing a Dick Dale t-shirt as I write this. Instrumental surf was a genre that became 'yesterday's news' when the British Invasion hit, but it remains relevant today with a lot of neo-surf bands forming, and growing appreciation of the genre's pioneers. As we instrumental surf fans like to say, "don't fear the reverb!"
A true gift. He was amazing. Two memorable left hand guitarists, Dick Dale and Jimmy Hendrix. Then there is Phil Keaggy who plays though missing a finger. So much talent back in the day.
Check out Chris Poland. Got famous as the first lead guitarist in Megadeth, but is a great jazz fusion player. And had a severed tendon in his left hand and can't really use his index finger except as a barre. So he plays everything with his other three.
Fil, I really admire your understanding of music. I know you have put a TON of work and study in your field. I feel certain that you were also born with a mind that naturally grasps music. Thank you for sharing with us!
A limited yet always striving to thrive - soul - may break his/her bonds and reach the heights of Rock and Roll - before a lazy genius who is usually hiding... And may never go beyond. If he lingers on - it will be searching for his soul. Seems Fil never had to worry about this stuff. Natural born (Caps) Musician.
His music inspired so many even skateboarders with the old rock wheels. Lol where if you hit a rock you stopped in your tracks and flew like superman without a Cape. Loved this analyses. 🤘
I remember seeing DD live in Jacksonville FL back in the 90's. It was years before RUclips, so I had never seen him play. Being a guitar player myself, you can imagine the utter shock when I realized that he plays with the guitar strung upside down lol. Non-guitarists are amazed that Jimi played a guitar upside down. Of course, that doesn’t count since he restrung it properly for a lefty. It took 3 songs for me to stop staring at his hands. It was a crazy moment for me. Btw surf music was amazing, and very underrated for the musicianship. So much of it has never been heard by the mainstream populace. A good example is the CD "Pulp Surfin' ", a cd compilation inspired by the movie Pulp Fiction
I had a friend back in the 1970's that played a standard strung guitar left handed. I could bring my guitar over and share a song and he would use my guitar left handed. He didn't restring it. Kinda cool.
I believe Dick was playing tuned a half step down. I think that was to lessen the string tension on the guitar. He played .058 to .014 gauge strings - "bridge cables" he called them. At normal tune it begins to tear the tuners apart - I know because I tried the set-up. By lowering the pitch along with the ultra heavy strings and heavy picking the equipment lasts a little longer. I spoke to one of his roadies once and he told me the tuners had to be replaced many times - those weren't the original tuners in later recordings. Another reason he sounds different is he used to play through 15 inch, heavily reinforced JBL speakers. JBL used to sell Dick Dale kits for the stock 15 inch speakers, which featured larger magnet, larger spider frame and a reinforced cone - it basically doubled the price of each speaker. A major change to the sound of a strat occurs because you've got single coil pickups picking up massive strings with huge magnets in the amps and speakers. Before there walls of Marshall's there was Dick Dale with his three heavily modified-by-Leo-Fender Fender amps pushing 180 watts each through three dual 15" cabinets. Consider Nitro from Tribal Thunder. Also consider another pioneer - Link Wray, Rumble.
You can order strings by individual sizes. Most stores don't do this. You will need to hunt down a seller. This is mainly driven by the people who want straight strings that have never been coiled to put in a little paper baggie. If you're a travelling musician and you order strings in bulk it is very easily arranged. I think, but am not sure, but Dick also tuned down. I heard him play with the Beach Boys and he was always flat against their standard tuning.
@@robschroeder5377 I don't know where any guitarist gets their love of what strings. I only know from personal experience that we try everything we can find in search of "that" tone, "that" feel, that . . . whatever it is. I do know that Hendrix settled on an interesting set-up. Because he played his Strat upside down, the lead pickup only gives a short picture of the heavy strings (the magnetic picture of a string is related to where on the string the pickup is sensing the string) and a longer picture of the lighter strings. By using heavier heavy strings and lighter light strings he compensated his tone across the reversed pickup. Hendrix is a more likely source of SRV choices than Dale.
I saw him in the 90s. Incredible player! He also plays the trumpet on Misralou. I never knew that. He was rocking that guitar and then picked up a trumpet starting playing the trumpet solo. His trumpet sound was amazing too. He was crazy good!
Dick's Lebanese influence is clearly stated in his music and worked perfectly towards creating the surf-guitar sound. Thanks, for the appreciation of Dick Dale!
Saw Dale play in Costa Mesa in about 93/94. His playing was so thick, the whole building structure was buzzing from the low end. He was playing so hard he broke 2 strings. Also, as a guy who has never played guitar but has done my share of surfing, was loving these nostalgic clips.
When I heard this years ago, I had no idea this wasn’t a separate bass and different lead. Thank you so much for pointing out the pentatonic. I just heard surf song, but that was how it was presented. You are a true scientist, Fil. So amazed, as gifted as you are, that you spend time do these analyses and teasing out the interstices between these components. I come to yr Chanel every night. Maybe I’ll pick up my own guitar this week
I saw Dick Dale many times over the years. He was a fan of his fans. After the show he would love to hang out and took time for everyone. I’m so blessed to have seen him and shook his hand many times. There is something about seeing and hearing history live. He was a special guy.
@@wingsofpegasus what a choice, Dick Dale was TRULY one of a kind- even now, nobody can do it quite the way that he did!!! (thumbs up, of course, as always) yeah i agree that MANY have tried to emulate him, sadly, quite badly!!! you did ok though!!! (i have faith in you!)
I saw Dick live a couple of times maybe 10 -15 years ago and he was still absolutely crushing it. Super loud. Amazing tone. Very grateful to have seen a legend like him in person.
I always enjoy your insights into the performance techniques of musicians, but this was truly outstanding. Really nice balance of the original performance, analysis, demonstration and discussion.
A note about Dick's guitar: It was not a hard-tail model, but he never used the tremolo bar (unlike most surf guitarists). A note about Dick's band: Especially in later years, Dick would stop and start and switch tunes in the middle, and his band (drummers Dusty Watson and Dick's son Jimmy, bassists Ron Eglit and Sam Bolle) could turn on a dime with him. One time I saw Dick at a super-crowded New Year's Eve show. He had a wireless unit, and took off into the crowd. I could see Dusty and Sam saying "I don't know where he is," but keeping the drums & bass going along perfectly.
This video is just incredible. From the brilliant wingsofpegasus analysis to the comments from Lana Dale and personal anecdotes about meeting Dick from others. I know that these days we take it largely for granted but we should take a moment to reflect how truly amazing and empowering the internet is to enable us to make such, hitherto inconceivable, connection.
Seems a proficient mandolin player could handle Dick's music. Very similar style. Unfortunately I'm no mandolin player.(did learn to fake the mandolin part on Rod Stewart's "Mandolin Wind", a girl I was hot for loved the song so I learned it. Didn't help BTW, nor did giving her the T shirt I bought at Rods concert. LoL) Dick is indeed a legend. Notice how many try to play Albert King, not knowing he was tuned to open Em. They may hit the notes, but it ain't Albert. This brings back memories to me. Yes I'm old enough to remember him, young but I remember.(don't tell anyone. Shhhh.) Good one Fil.
Seems like Richie Blackmore was also influenced by Dick Dale and pinched the vibe of that last open E lick using it in Deep Purple’s Highway Star solo. Cool!
This is the one my bro cut his "how fast can I go and still sound good" teeth on (and he was pretty darn fast from the get go). He was 16, a sophomore in high school, and his first band was playing in our garage (and then in other places). We lived in a suburb of Seattle. You noticed the trumpet. Most of those early bands in the PNW emphasized instrumentals rather than vocals. In his first band there was a sax and trumpet, lead guitar, rhythm guitar, and keys rather than voice, and drums of course. This is also the one that really introduced my mom to rock n roll and the one she requested that he play the most. Your teaching and explanations here are great. Thanks!
Phil Your extremely knowledgeable and perceptive And a ln amazing guitarist as well No one qs far as I know is doing what you're doing and recognizing the importance and genius of thes geniuses that influence so many musical players This is vitally important stuff 👏 🙌 Thank you Phil You are so appreciated 💛 my friend I play 🎸 amd write songs but im So appreciative of you you do Thank you 😊 💓 💯🙏🎵🎶🎸🎛🎤🎧
I believe getting his sound is so impossible because they used an old underground gas storage tank from a gas station. The story I read says the recording engineer put the guitar amp and a mic inside the huge empty tank, and that's how his reverb and tone were created. As far as playing exactly like him, we all sound different. I've come to accept that over the last few decades. lols
The absolute first thing I noticed was his left handed playing. Being left handed, I felt immediately at home. Secondly, I simply loved his ability to play 🎸So COOL🎸🎶🎶
@@suzannejane1035 What a bummer! Let's hope things have changed as far as teaching left handed players. Fil is a Great teacher, maybe he could help!🎸☮️
He's a left-handed musician playing a right-handed model. That is why he appears to be playing it upside down. Oh, and in his own words, he's just playing the Drums on Guitar.
All my life I've heard music like this, the eastern Mediterranean sound. This performance was wonderful, and Fil your playing was very beautiful! Thanks!
Thanks for this great review! Dick Dale was one of my favorites, and misirlou was one of my favorite songs ever. back in the sixties my friends and I would go see Dick Dale play at the Rendezvous Ballroom in Balboa California. Epic
Friday nights at the Rendezvous Ballroom listening, dancing and living a life as a high school student as Dick Dale played his guitar on stage. We never know magic when we experience it.
Exactly the right hand guitar with standard stringing flipped over to the left and to play, almost everything would be "upstroke" and "downstroke" in reverse, almost impossible to do because of the natural hand articulation. Dick Dale was genius and artisan. His musicality was unique and we are fortunate to have him among so many that we learn from. Appreciate the person, that was committed and disciplined to refine sounds, techniques and methods. And thank you for for your insight. :)
I saw him with Mike Ness in a small venue and was blown away. Both have country/folk/ blues roots, and they were on display big time. I'm not gonna say he blew Mike Ness away... But he was surf music and so much more. And made it look like he could've been cooking something on the side. Such comfortable and easy playing.
Saw Dick Dale playing at a club in Austin, Texas. He and the band were fantastic. After the show, I got his autograph on my ticket and we chatted awhile. Nice, nice guy, great player..
Another great show Bro! His high + low E thrown in there is such a great contrast. Western, Middle East sound, surfer jam, her what do we classify this sound under? As long as he didn't name his guitar Lucy, everything's cool! Ha. I love it Fil. Like the vocalist once said: The piano player said he played on ALL the white keys + ALL the black keys + I still sang in the cracks!! God bless you Brother Fil!!
I surfed and attended "stomps" in 1963-66 in SoCal. Surf music was the thing back then. It was quite a time to be young, bleach blonde, and able to go to the beach frequently. Thanks for this blast from the past. I didn't know Dick played the guitar upside down like Albert King.
Fantastic analysis - one can really appreciate the skill it took to make that music. Dick Dale's music is at a much higher skill level but I realized was a certain sort of rhythm and harmonic also occurring with the song "Wipe Out" by the Safaris.
Having had most of Dick Dale's music on vinyl, I found it difficult to hear all of it through the scratches and low quality sound reproduction. When I heard a remastered version of "Nitro" recently, it completely astounded me! Thanks for that analysis. Now I appreciate his genius a lot better. Didn't know he too was an upside down lefty.
This is the third of fourth time I have watched this video and it is more profound upon each view. This is by no means the only video of yours that I have watched, but to me it stands out significantly.
Fun Fact - Dick lived down the street from my High School (Costa Mesa, CA, USA) and was the live band for my High School dance in the 80's! So much fun! Also, he'd participate at our local OC Fair for their "Surf Stomps" with other similar surf bands, so good!
Oh, Dick Dale!!! Played in my (almost) hometown of Annapolis, MD (early 2000s) regularly and was a gas! He would begin the show out on the street (wireless guitar) and eventually walk/play his way into the club. A delicious and sensual deep dive into that early 60s sound. Generous with his time with fans after performing and telling his story during his show.
The pulse/emphasis dynamics are critical to even approaching his sound. Good breakdown, and great to see the comment from his wife Lana! Dick was very free in his playing and expressed endless subtle variations across various recordings. A real music maker from the ground up.
That was a fun one Fil. It looked like Dick was playing right on top of the bridge with is pick to get a tinny sound. Enjoyed it a lot, thank you, Jeff in LA USA
Back in the day, some surf music was some of the most face melting searing lead guitar you could think of. It was even used on some breaks between movies and on coming attractions at movies. Some surf music almost sounds like Sitar music
Dick was the one and only true hard Core Surf Tone Master, Don't try to set up your Guitar with Dicks String Set! lol the Beast started with a E 16s, No 9s on the Beast, Absolutely amazing Technique Fil, appreciate your works, Cheers
Can't imagine being a teen in the 50's/60's and hearing this amidst the musical landscape of the times. Saw him several times live. The most identifiable signature tone of anyone. The only performer I felt sounded better live than on record. That same guitar tone but more vibrant, hot rodded, sooo loud.
Thank you| its a great episode| the incredible thing is the sound I'm thinking he use heavy heavy strings gauges ( 0.16\0-18?) , the showman amp close to the distortion , tank reverb e and Jbl's D130Fspeakers... this mix with the heavy play \ hand create this magic sound ... I'm thinking is technically very hard to replicate this... pure pioneer and genius... thank you Wing of pegasus for this
Didn't know Dick Dale was left-handed! I saw an interview with him once, I think it was on a documentary called 'The History of Rock and Roll'. In the interview, he said that this percussive style of guitar playing was inspired by the drumming of Gene Krupa.
I would like to add a few things. His family is from the middle east. He grew up playing the oud and later the Egyptian drum. When he plays he uses that background to set up his melodies.
Quentin Tarantino, I heard, was a big surf music fan and put a lot of surf tunes in his movies. Dick was also a master with the acoustic guitar, just phenomenal.....hell he could play everything. "Beach music is what happens on the sand.....surf music is what happens on the board"
Just have to say that I REALLY enjoy your videos! Especially those, kind of with a bias, that feature Roy Clark. Your smile, while watching these, seems sincere and tells me of your respect and admiration for the talent of your fellow musicians.
Dick Dale was unbelievable. What a amazing guitarist. You could say he really could put a knockout to the surf sound. He's like the beach boys of guitars.😁
The 'Egyptian scale' was supplemented by a deliberate drum beat in his picking style which he learnt as a child when learning Misirlou. This is where the delightful complexity comes from. He hasn't just come up with this drum beat per se (even though he has on the electric guitar), the drum beat existed in the tune and its rhythmic beat was transposed onto the electric guitar. It was the product of generations of handed down family tradition, I saw on another channel. This is substantially where the originality comes from. His family mightn't have thought it was that original, but I'm only guessing when I say that.
As a left-handed person, I attempted to play my brother's right-handed guitar in a similar way. Later when I wanted to learn guitar not only could I not buy a left-handed guitar but I was told no one played left-handed guitar. 15 years after that I tried again and was encouraged to play right-handed. I was 40 by the time I found a left-handed guitar, but still no one to teach me because I was told it's too hard to teach (looking at your mirror image). Too bad I didn't have Dick Dale's fortitude. Better for everyone that he did!
Love the surf sounds even tho I don’t surf. 🌊🏄🏼♂️ The picking style always made me think of the way a mandolin is played. Thanks for the break down 🙏🏼🙏🏼🙏🏼
Dude! Several years ago at the Salvador Dali museum, my cigar box guitars were on display at a show. Dick Dale came up and introduced himself. He said “how do you know anything about me?” I said, Mr. Dale you invented Surf Guitar and have the craziest pick hand ever! He complimented me on my work, shook my hand and moved on. Such a cool moment.
Thanks for the vid. I don't play but if I did, this would be helpful after lot of training . I still watched the whole way through because it is explained Clearly and concisely.
![[DRAGON BALL LEGENDS REVEALS ＆ STUFF] LEGENDS FESTIVAL 2024 Special Edition Part 1](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/mV5bGIswTtQ/mqdefault.jpg)
My old roommate in California was good friends with Dick Dale. I had the privilege of meeting him and he gave me tickets to a show in LA. The show was the Ventures, Jan and Dean, the Beach Boys and Dick Dale was the head liner. I seen alot of concerts in my years and no one even came close to Dick when it came to playing, not only guitar, but he played every instrument in the band.
I saw Dick live five times between 2003 and 2015. He played with about as much apparent effort as breathing. He'd jump out of the tremolo picking and let that one note ring and then back so quickly it was hard to believe. He played the trumpet. He played drums. He played the bass with drumsticks. His bass player, Sam Bolle complemented him perfectly as well.
I saw him play the bass with drumsticks in a small club. I'd never seen or heard of that before. Kinda blew my mind...
I saw him play live in Richmond VA back in 2013 or so and it was easily the most insane thing Id ever heard live. It was so much more intense then hearing recordings.
@@nathanthompson6050
So he was popular all over? I grew up in SoCal and was a teen in the sixties. Duck Dale, The Ventures and Surfaris were CA surf bands so I didn’t know if they were popular anywhere else. I know east coast beach music was different than ours. My husband was from Missouri and I asked if he’d heard of them but it was Vietnam era and he wasn’t in the states. Beach Boys were everywhere but they were more pop.
What doesn't come through on these TV appearances is the sheer volume and power of his live sound. I saw Dick several times in the 90s, using what appeared to be his original amp and guitar. The combination of his technique and the volume felt like a wall of sonic power. Truly one of the greats!
He used 15" huge speakers,my friends band deadmoon opened for him,I got to check his rig out, HELL leo fender named the showman amp for him..leo loved him...
Wings, great vid!! Had the great pleasure to see Dick Dale live in Lafayette, Louisiana at a thoroughly packed venue there in 2011. He was amazing! He played for almost three full hours! Then he hung out signing autographs and chatting with fans for over an hour afterward. What a super nice, sweet man. Learned from him that his son who played bass with him, is also a pretty hot fixed and rotary wing pilot. No clue at all to the fact that he was fighting for his life even back then against the cancer that took his life not too long ago. Music lost a truly great treasure and American music in particular lost the king of the surf guitar. Thanks for posting this!
Dick was my good friend for many years. We sat in his living room and swapped Strats. He handed me his original 61 Strat ,(the Beast). I’m a righty and just turned it upside down . He flipped mine over and gave it a proper going over! He kidded me about my lite gauge strings. He also let me play a strat the custom shop had made for him (the Beauty). He told me he was afraid to play it because he would “ tear it up” but insisted I play it!
Dick was awesome and put his sole into every show!
Once, after coming back from playing for an Eric Clapton BBC special, I asked him what it was like to play with E.C.. He went on for 10 minutes about how great the food and catering was! After all the years in the music business, the food was what impressed him. Lol.
Rest easy Dick . See you down the road.🙏
Cool insight😁 love hearing/reading stuff like this
I would that ec would have top notch catering
TIME STAMPS -
0:56 Performance Start
2:56 Analysis Start
4:49 Demonstration Sound Explanation!
5:46 Guitar Technique
7:24 Playing Straight
11:16 Scale Demonstration
13:28 Changing Strings with Alternate Picking
17:21 Malaguena
18:44 Final Run
Dick Dale was one of a kind. The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame snubbing this man is proof enough they don't care for real musicians.
The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame snubs list is glaring proof of their incompetence and lack of musical knowledge and insight. Huge numbers of amazingly influential bands and artists continue to not be recognized. From metal bands like Megadeth and Pantera, to entire groups of famous session players who played on damn near everything (the Wrecking Crew in Los Angeles, the Funk Brothers in Detroit, Muscle Shoals from Alabama) to jazz greats like John Coltrane who's influence is still present today.
Dale is a real American hero. I prefer him being underrated. Grammys, Billboard, Hall of Fame... all that stuff is whacked out commercial garbage anyway. He has one of, if not THE most recognizable music in a film ever. Not many hall of famers can say that. Plus the guy kept it 100 his whole life. He loved his wife, his music, and his country. 🇺🇲🦅🎸
Guitarists are the most hostile bigots towards left-handed guitarists. Go into any chat group for guitarists and mention playing left-handed and watch the verbal abuse break out.
@@DriveCarToBarI'm not a fan of the RRHOF either, but I believe some of those sessions players have been inducted
@@mrJimCharlesthe R&RHoF is basically the proverbial trophy for showing up. Too many of their inductees are mediocre or not really rock&roll in the first place.
Dick Dale- King of the Surf Guitar! Yes, I’m old enough to remember. Growing up in Southern California surf music was a big thing. I loved “Miserlou”. I never knew that much about him, thank you.
Dick Dale kept blowing up small Fender amps until he invited Leo Fender to one to see what he was doing. Leo quickly figured out that more power was needed and saved humanity.
I think that the output transformers were beefed up as a result.
I had the pleasure of attending a few Dick Dale shows late in his career, he was great showman even in bad health and an advanced age. He had to keep playing to pay the bills.Dick and Hank Marvin are two of my favorites from the early 60's.
Me too, and I agree with you completely... I had tickets in hand for the show he didn't make because of his death... sigh.
Yup. i saw him play when he was pushing 80 and he was still kicking ass.
Really enjoyed this Dick Dale episode, Fil. I'm a huge fan of instrumental surf music and revere Dick Dale. As a matter of fact, purely by happenstance I'm wearing a Dick Dale t-shirt as I write this. Instrumental surf was a genre that became 'yesterday's news' when the British Invasion hit, but it remains relevant today with a lot of neo-surf bands forming, and growing appreciation of the genre's pioneers. As we instrumental surf fans like to say, "don't fear the reverb!"
A true gift. He was amazing. Two memorable left hand guitarists, Dick Dale and Jimmy Hendrix. Then there is Phil Keaggy who plays though missing a finger. So much talent back in the day.
Django Reinhardt only used 2 fingers to play guitar lol
@@distortion6511 to play ridiculously incredible guitar, one might add!
Check out Chris Poland. Got famous as the first lead guitarist in Megadeth, but is a great jazz fusion player. And had a severed tendon in his left hand and can't really use his index finger except as a barre. So he plays everything with his other three.
Fil, I really admire your understanding of music. I know you have put a TON of work and study in your field. I feel certain that you were also born with a mind that naturally grasps music. Thank you for sharing with us!
A limited yet always striving to thrive - soul -
may break his/her bonds and reach the heights of Rock and Roll -
before a lazy genius who is usually hiding...
And may never go beyond.
If he lingers on - it will be searching for his soul.
Seems Fil never had to worry about this stuff. Natural born (Caps) Musician.
Excellent demonstration tonight Fil. thanks for taking another look at Dick Dale's extraordinary guitar playing. 👍
Fil's ear is amazing & lets him dissect the riffs & phrases Dale plays with such precision. Great analysis of a legendary player. Thanks Fil!
I really appreciate all the advice you give. You are a very caring and wonderful person. You know the guitar like the back of your hand😊
His music inspired so many even skateboarders with the old rock wheels. Lol where if you hit a rock you stopped in your tracks and flew like superman without a Cape. Loved this analyses. 🤘
I remember seeing DD live in Jacksonville FL back in the 90's. It was years before RUclips, so I had never seen him play. Being a guitar player myself, you can imagine the utter shock when I realized that he plays with the guitar strung upside down lol. Non-guitarists are amazed that Jimi played a guitar upside down. Of course, that doesn’t count since he restrung it properly for a lefty. It took 3 songs for me to stop staring at his hands. It was a crazy moment for me.
Btw surf music was amazing, and very underrated for the musicianship. So much of it has never been heard by the mainstream populace. A good example is the CD "Pulp Surfin' ", a cd compilation inspired by the movie Pulp Fiction
I had a friend back in the 1970's that played a standard strung guitar left handed. I could bring my guitar over and share a song and he would use my guitar left handed. He didn't restring it. Kinda cool.
I believe Dick was playing tuned a half step down. I think that was to lessen the string tension on the guitar. He played .058 to .014 gauge strings - "bridge cables" he called them. At normal tune it begins to tear the tuners apart - I know because I tried the set-up. By lowering the pitch along with the ultra heavy strings and heavy picking the equipment lasts a little longer. I spoke to one of his roadies once and he told me the tuners had to be replaced many times - those weren't the original tuners in later recordings. Another reason he sounds different is he used to play through 15 inch, heavily reinforced JBL speakers. JBL used to sell Dick Dale kits for the stock 15 inch speakers, which featured larger magnet, larger spider frame and a reinforced cone - it basically doubled the price of each speaker. A major change to the sound of a strat occurs because you've got single coil pickups picking up massive strings with huge magnets in the amps and speakers. Before there walls of Marshall's there was Dick Dale with his three heavily modified-by-Leo-Fender Fender amps pushing 180 watts each through three dual 15" cabinets.
Consider Nitro from Tribal Thunder.
Also consider another pioneer - Link Wray, Rumble.
Thanks for the very interesting backstory, Mark.
You can order strings by individual sizes. Most stores don't do this. You will need to hunt down a seller. This is mainly driven by the people who want straight strings that have never been coiled to put in a little paper baggie. If you're a travelling musician and you order strings in bulk it is very easily arranged. I think, but am not sure, but Dick also tuned down. I heard him play with the Beach Boys and he was always flat against their standard tuning.
I know that SRV held Dick in high esteem. Is this where he got his love of heavy strings?
@@robschroeder5377 I don't know where any guitarist gets their love of what strings. I only know from personal experience that we try everything we can find in search of "that" tone, "that" feel, that . . . whatever it is. I do know that Hendrix settled on an interesting set-up. Because he played his Strat upside down, the lead pickup only gives a short picture of the heavy strings (the magnetic picture of a string is related to where on the string the pickup is sensing the string) and a longer picture of the lighter strings. By using heavier heavy strings and lighter light strings he compensated his tone across the reversed pickup. Hendrix is a more likely source of SRV choices than Dale.
16-60 standard tuning
I saw him in the 90s. Incredible player! He also plays the trumpet on Misralou. I never knew that. He was rocking that guitar and then picked up a trumpet starting playing the trumpet solo. His trumpet sound was amazing too. He was crazy good!
Dick's Lebanese influence is clearly stated in his music and worked perfectly towards creating the surf-guitar sound. Thanks, for the appreciation of Dick Dale!
He borrowed the style of the Oud
Saw Dale play in Costa Mesa in about 93/94. His playing was so thick, the whole building structure was buzzing from the low end. He was playing so hard he broke 2 strings. Also, as a guy who has never played guitar but has done my share of surfing, was loving these nostalgic clips.
When I heard this years ago, I had no idea this wasn’t a separate bass and different lead. Thank you so much for pointing out the pentatonic. I just heard surf song, but that was how it was presented. You are a true scientist, Fil. So amazed, as gifted as you are, that you spend time do these analyses and teasing out the interstices between these components. I come to yr Chanel every night. Maybe I’ll pick up my own guitar this week
Thanks!
I saw Dick Dale many times over the years. He was a fan of his fans. After the show he would love to hang out and took time for everyone. I’m so blessed to have seen him and shook his hand many times. There is something about seeing and hearing history live. He was a special guy.
Oh, Wings, I want to add, too, that that show in 2011 was the absolute best live show I've ever seen in my life.
Great guitar breakdown as always!
But, am I the only one who expected Fil to play his guitar upside down?
😂
@@wingsofpegasus what a choice, Dick Dale was TRULY one of a kind- even now, nobody can do it quite the way that he did!!! (thumbs up, of course, as always) yeah i agree that MANY have tried to emulate him, sadly, quite badly!!!
you did ok though!!! (i have faith in you!)
I saw Dick live a couple of times maybe 10 -15 years ago and he was still absolutely crushing it. Super loud. Amazing tone. Very grateful to have seen a legend like him in person.
I always enjoy your insights into the performance techniques of musicians, but this was truly outstanding. Really nice balance of the original performance, analysis, demonstration and discussion.
Been a fan of Dale's playing for years. Great analysis and some neat facts I hadn't been aware of. Thanks🎸✌️
Being 15 in 63 going up in the South Bay area was an experience never to be forgotten
A note about Dick's guitar: It was not a hard-tail model, but he never used the tremolo bar (unlike most surf guitarists).
A note about Dick's band: Especially in later years, Dick would stop and start and switch tunes in the middle, and his band (drummers Dusty Watson and Dick's son Jimmy, bassists Ron Eglit and Sam Bolle) could turn on a dime with him. One time I saw Dick at a super-crowded New Year's Eve show. He had a wireless unit, and took off into the crowd. I could see Dusty and Sam saying "I don't know where he is," but keeping the drums & bass going along perfectly.
This video is just incredible. From the brilliant wingsofpegasus analysis to the comments from Lana Dale and personal anecdotes about meeting Dick from others. I know that these days we take it largely for granted but we should take a moment to reflect how truly amazing and empowering the internet is to enable us to make such, hitherto inconceivable, connection.
He was so talented, playing a guitar upside down is absolutely incredible. I enjoy the surf sound
Seems a proficient mandolin player could handle Dick's music. Very similar style. Unfortunately I'm no mandolin player.(did learn to fake the mandolin part on Rod Stewart's "Mandolin Wind", a girl I was hot for loved the song so I learned it. Didn't help BTW, nor did giving her the T shirt I bought at Rods concert. LoL) Dick is indeed a legend. Notice how many try to play Albert King, not knowing he was tuned to open Em. They may hit the notes, but it ain't Albert. This brings back memories to me. Yes I'm old enough to remember him, young but I remember.(don't tell anyone. Shhhh.) Good one Fil.
Seems like Richie Blackmore was also influenced by Dick Dale and pinched the vibe of that last open E lick using it in Deep Purple’s Highway Star solo. Cool!
This is the one my bro cut his "how fast can I go and still sound good" teeth on (and he was pretty darn fast from the get go). He was 16, a sophomore in high school, and his first band was playing in our garage (and then in other places). We lived in a suburb of Seattle. You noticed the trumpet. Most of those early bands in the PNW emphasized instrumentals rather than vocals. In his first band there was a sax and trumpet, lead guitar, rhythm guitar, and keys rather than voice, and drums of course. This is also the one that really introduced my mom to rock n roll and the one she requested that he play the most. Your teaching and explanations here are great. Thanks!
You did a fantastic job playing and nailing the technique!
Thanks for the lesson
Great analysis, Fil. Had no idea Dick Dale played upside down. Changes everything when picking down goes from high to low.
Phil
Your extremely knowledgeable and perceptive
And a ln amazing guitarist as well
No one qs far as I know is doing what you're doing and recognizing the importance and genius of thes geniuses that influence so many musical players
This is vitally important stuff 👏 🙌
Thank you Phil
You are so appreciated 💛 my friend
I play 🎸 amd write songs but im
So appreciative of you you do
Thank you 😊 💓 💯🙏🎵🎶🎸🎛🎤🎧
Microphone distancing. Everybody sees it. Fil noticed it. In his spot on B J Thomas he was spot on.
Oboy oboy oboy! Right up my beach! That was great, you came as close as anyone could to playing like Dick Dale! Bravo!
I loved those movies.
Hi Lynn Dow!
@@jasonjoyner6940 Hi Jason! Wasn't that just altogether awesome?!!
@@lynndow3185 really cool! I love the surf style sound... I guess I got it from my mom.. she was a big beach movie fan
@@lynndow3185 oh and my uncle was a famous west coast surfing pioneer.. Dorian Paskowitz.. check him out on the RUclips
Fil great analysis as always !! You're the best !! 😊
I believe getting his sound is so impossible because they used an old underground gas storage tank from a gas station. The story I read says the recording engineer put the guitar amp and a mic inside the huge empty tank, and that's how his reverb and tone were created. As far as playing exactly like him, we all sound different. I've come to accept that over the last few decades. lols
Yes, Dwayne Eddie did the same thing.
Likely the old style 600 pound plate reverb played a role in that as well.
Duane's tank is still there in Phoenix at the former Ramsey Recorders' studio building.
The absolute first thing I noticed was his left handed playing. Being left handed, I felt immediately at home. Secondly, I simply loved his ability to play 🎸So COOL🎸🎶🎶
Me too! I can't play cos I couldn't get anyone to teach me as a lefty :(
@@suzannejane1035 What a bummer! Let's hope things have changed as far as teaching left handed players. Fil is a Great teacher, maybe he could help!🎸☮️
Dick Dale is amazing I as a guitarist love him playing the strings upside down. I love self taught musicians!
He's a left-handed musician playing a right-handed model. That is why he appears to be playing it upside down.
Oh, and in his own words, he's just playing the Drums on Guitar.
Dick Dale always made this sound so effortless and breezy, truly a MASTER of the instrument
Dick Dale says he is only doing downward stokes in one of the videos on RUclips , he said it looks like he's doing up and down but he's not .
All my life I've heard music like this, the eastern Mediterranean sound. This performance was wonderful, and Fil your playing was very beautiful! Thanks!
Fil, I so appreciate your commentary and most of all your skills with the guitar. Amazing God given talent. Cheers from New Mexico!
this was really great to see! Great show!
Thanks for this great review! Dick Dale was one of my favorites, and misirlou was one of my favorite songs ever. back in the sixties my friends and I would go see Dick Dale play at the Rendezvous Ballroom in Balboa California. Epic
Friday nights at the Rendezvous Ballroom listening, dancing and living a life as a high school student as Dick Dale played his guitar on stage. We never know magic when we experience it.
Exactly the right hand guitar with standard stringing flipped over to the left and to play, almost everything would be "upstroke" and "downstroke" in reverse, almost impossible to do because of the natural hand articulation. Dick Dale was genius and artisan. His musicality was unique and we are fortunate to have him among so many that we learn from.
Appreciate the person, that was committed and disciplined to refine sounds, techniques and methods.
And thank you for for your insight. :)
Thanks. What a great video. My favorite way to describe Dick Dale's sound is: Fun! His music is fun and lively.
You really know your sh++ . I enjoy and respect your take on all the best from our past. Thanks a million !
I saw him with Mike Ness in a small venue and was blown away. Both have country/folk/ blues roots, and they were on display big time. I'm not gonna say he blew Mike Ness away... But he was surf music and so much more. And made it look like he could've been cooking something on the side. Such comfortable and easy playing.
Misirlou has always been one of my favorite guitar pieces.
Thanks Fil.
Saw Dick Dale playing at a club in Austin, Texas. He and the band were fantastic.
After the show, I got his autograph on my ticket and we chatted awhile. Nice, nice guy, great player..
Another great show Bro! His high + low E thrown in there is such a great contrast. Western, Middle East sound, surfer jam, her what do we classify this sound under? As long as he didn't name his guitar Lucy, everything's cool! Ha. I love it Fil. Like the vocalist once said: The piano player said he played on ALL the white keys + ALL the black keys + I still sang in the cracks!!
God bless you Brother Fil!!
I surfed and attended "stomps" in 1963-66 in SoCal. Surf music was the thing back then. It was quite a time to be young, bleach blonde, and able to go to the beach frequently. Thanks for this blast from the past.
I didn't know Dick played the guitar upside down like Albert King.
Another one I had to Google! Amazing sounds there, never realised there was an Arabic influence there, great analysis as always Fil.
Dick Dale Was THE MAN, thanks for covering him, May He R.I.P. , Cousin Figel
My favorite guitarist! Dick was and will remain absolutely amazing!
Dale is so underrated man, doesn't get brought up enough.
Fantastic analysis - one can really appreciate the skill it took to make that music. Dick Dale's music is at a much higher skill level but I realized was a certain sort of rhythm and harmonic also occurring with the song "Wipe Out" by the Safaris.
Surfaris
Having had most of Dick Dale's music on vinyl, I found it difficult to hear all of it through the scratches and low quality sound reproduction. When I heard a remastered version of "Nitro" recently, it completely astounded me! Thanks for that analysis. Now I appreciate his genius a lot better. Didn't know he too was an upside down lefty.
I got to see Mr. Dale perform live a few times. He and his band always were amazing to watch.
This is the third of fourth time I have watched this video and it is more profound upon each view. This is by no means the only video of yours that I have watched, but to me it stands out significantly.
Excellent analysis.
Fun Fact - Dick lived down the street from my High School (Costa Mesa, CA, USA) and was the live band for my High School dance in the 80's! So much fun! Also, he'd participate at our local OC Fair for their "Surf Stomps" with other similar surf bands, so good!
Thank you for turning me on, to Dick Dale. I though I knew everything about music. Always kean, to learn about someone new. ✌🏽❤️🌱
Dick Dale is just unique, one of a kind... Thank you for this.
If Dick made an instructional video, you'd have to turn your TV upside down and point it toward a mirror!
😂👍
I am no physicist but I think standing on your head would have a similar result. Dick had that kind of effect on many.
Exceptional review, thank you!
Oh, Dick Dale!!! Played in my (almost) hometown of Annapolis, MD (early 2000s) regularly and was a gas! He would begin the show out on the street (wireless guitar) and eventually walk/play his way into the club. A delicious and sensual deep dive into that early 60s sound. Generous with his time with fans after performing and telling his story during his show.
The pulse/emphasis dynamics are critical to even approaching his sound. Good breakdown, and great to see the comment from his wife Lana! Dick was very free in his playing and expressed endless subtle variations across various recordings. A real music maker from the ground up.
Superb! Loving your series of videos with the in-depth explanation. Especially this one about the mysterious "Misirlou".
That was a fun one Fil. It looked like Dick was playing right on top of the bridge with is pick to get a tinny sound. Enjoyed it a lot, thank you, Jeff in LA USA
Back in the day, some surf music was some of the most face melting searing lead guitar you could think of. It was even used on some breaks between movies and on coming attractions at movies. Some surf music almost sounds like Sitar music
Dick was the one and only true hard Core Surf Tone Master, Don't try to set up your Guitar with Dicks String Set! lol the Beast started with a E 16s, No 9s on the Beast, Absolutely amazing Technique Fil, appreciate your works, Cheers
I love Dick Dale. I listen to him all the time. And Junior Brown !
Can't imagine being a teen in the 50's/60's and hearing this amidst the musical landscape of the times.
Saw him several times live. The most identifiable signature tone of anyone. The only performer I felt sounded better live than on record. That same guitar tone but more vibrant, hot rodded, sooo loud.
Thank you| its a great episode| the incredible thing is the sound I'm thinking he use heavy heavy strings gauges ( 0.16\0-18?) , the showman amp close to the distortion , tank reverb e and Jbl's D130Fspeakers... this mix with the heavy play \ hand create this magic sound ... I'm thinking is technically very hard to replicate this... pure pioneer and genius... thank you Wing of pegasus for this
11:25-11:35😍🤩 now I'm inspired to practice scales!!!! Thx for the video!
I was only 11yrs old but my big brother was 16 and I borrowed (when he wasn't home) this album a lot.
Didn't know Dick Dale was left-handed!
I saw an interview with him once, I think it was on a documentary called 'The History of Rock and Roll'.
In the interview, he said that this percussive style of guitar playing was inspired by the drumming of Gene Krupa.
I would like to add a few things. His family is from the middle east. He grew up playing the oud and later the Egyptian drum. When he plays he uses that background to set up his melodies.
Fil: What a fantastic video. Thank you!!!!
Quentin Tarantino, I heard, was a big surf music fan and put a lot of surf tunes in his movies. Dick was also a master with the acoustic guitar, just phenomenal.....hell he could play everything. "Beach music is what happens on the sand.....surf music is what happens on the board"
Thanks for this . I have been requesting Dick Dale for years now and no one will listen. THANKS
Just have to say that I REALLY enjoy your videos! Especially those, kind of with a bias, that feature Roy Clark. Your smile, while watching these, seems sincere and tells me of your respect and admiration for the talent of your fellow musicians.
Dick Dale was unbelievable. What a amazing guitarist. You could say he really could put a knockout to the surf sound. He's like the beach boys of guitars.😁
He was definitely the best at it and I was fortunate to see him play many times.
The 'Egyptian scale' was supplemented by a deliberate drum beat in his picking style which he learnt as a child when learning Misirlou. This is where the delightful complexity comes from. He hasn't just come up with this drum beat per se (even though he has on the electric guitar), the drum beat existed in the tune and its rhythmic beat was transposed onto the electric guitar. It was the product of generations of handed down family tradition, I saw on another channel.
This is substantially where the originality comes from. His family mightn't have thought it was that original, but I'm only guessing when I say that.
As a left-handed person, I attempted to play my brother's right-handed guitar in a similar way. Later when I wanted to learn guitar not only could I not buy a left-handed guitar but I was told no one played left-handed guitar. 15 years after that I tried again and was encouraged to play right-handed. I was 40 by the time I found a left-handed guitar, but still no one to teach me because I was told it's too hard to teach (looking at your mirror image). Too bad I didn't have Dick Dale's fortitude. Better for everyone that he did!
Great job Fil ! Quite an honor to hear from Lana Dale too.
Love the surf sounds even tho I don’t surf. 🌊🏄🏼♂️ The picking style always made me think of the way a mandolin is played. Thanks for the break down 🙏🏼🙏🏼🙏🏼
More evidence of your awesome range. Love DD’s music and you are the first person I’ve seen handle it on the fret board.
Thanks!
Dude! Several years ago at the Salvador Dali museum, my cigar box guitars were on display at a show. Dick Dale came up and introduced himself. He said “how do you know anything about me?” I said, Mr. Dale you invented Surf Guitar and have the craziest pick hand ever! He complimented me on my work, shook my hand and moved on. Such a cool moment.
Thanks for the vid. I don't play but if I did, this would be helpful after lot of training . I still watched the whole way through because it is explained Clearly and concisely.