Surf Rock History

Surf music is a combination of rock and roll and rockabilly music combined with the surfer lifestyle and ethic of the Southern California Coast and fused into a new genre of music. It is a style charged by a hard rock influenced instrumental sounds, particularly the guitar, and rockabilly grooves.

Dick Dale and The Surfaris were one of the early proponents of the style and their particular brand of surf rock featured fast tempos combined with highly charged electric guitars and unusual percussion which would be very influential upon the future of rock musicians particularly the hard rock and heavy metal genres.

Other bands like the Beach Boys and Jan and Dean would further inflame the surf revolution by slowing the tempos and adding harmony vocals to create the definitive California Sound which would sweep the world of pop music and influence a large group of future musicians including unlikely genres like grunge.