Tag: Surf music
Fireballs, The
They were acclaimed as pioneers of the surf sound alongside Dick Dale, Link Wray and The Ventures, but The Fireballs (from Raton, New Mexico)...
Hondells, The
The 1964 single Little Honda was written by Mike Love and Brian Wilson who decided not to release a version they had recorded with The...
Surfaris, The
This surf group from Glendora, California are remembered for Wipe Out - the #2 hit from 1963 that ranks as one of the great rock instrumentals,...
Sunrays, The
Californian surf band The Sunrays began life as The Renegades - and had also recorded as The Snowmen and The Rangers - before being...
Ronny & The Daytonas
This Nashville-based combo was led by John 'Bucky' Wilkin, son of country songwriter Marijohn Wilkin (Cut Across Shorty, The Long Black Veil).
The group's first album, GTO (1964), featured...
Rip Chords, The
Phil Stewart
Vocals (studio/touring)
Arnie Marcus
Vocals (touring)
Rich Rotkin
Vocals (touring)
Terry Melcher
Vocals (studio)
Ernie Bringas
Vocals (studio)
Bruce Johnston
Vocals (studio)
Pyramids, The
Bonafide Long Beach surfers, The Pyramids - who had a hit in 1964 with Penetration - reacted against the mop-topped British Invasion by shaving their...
Jan & Dean
Jan Berry and Dean Torrence made it big in 1963 on the crest of a surf music wave created by The Beach Boys.
They celebrated Californian...
Dick Dale
Dick Dale was the first real surfer to actually make surf music, attempting to recreate the experience of riding the waves through a choppy...
Chantays, The
The Chantays - from Orange County, California - were launched upon the world by Dot Records after label boss Randy Wood heard their debut...
Tornadoes, The
The Tornadoes (not to be confused with the British beat group The Tornados of Telstar fame) were one of California's earliest exponents of the surf instrumental sound that swept the...
Trashmen, The
This Minneapolis rock & roll band evolved from a group called Jim Thaxter & The Travelers, recording one single under that name (Sally Jo b/w Cyclone).
Unfairly...
Surf Music
In terms of commercial impact, Surf Music was a short-lived phenomenon. The vast majority of popular surf recordings were waxed between 1961 and 1965;...
Mar-Kets, The (The Marketts)
The Mar-Kets' Surfer's Stomp (1962) - produced by Joe Saraceno (who would later work with The Ventures) - was one of the first surf music instrumentals...
Ventures, The
Original lead guitarist Bob Bogle, alongside fellow masonry worker Don Wilson, founded The Ventures in Washington State in 1958, performing at local clubs and...
Astronauts, The
The Astronauts formed in 1961 in Boulder, Colorado, taking their name as a tribute to local hero, astronaut Scott Carpenter.
After gaining a strong local...
Atlantics, The
Rock Historian Glenn A Baker has called The Atlantics "one of the most extraordinarily talented rock groups Australia has ever produced".
The band's sound encompassed...
Beach Movies
The rise of Surf Music in the early 60s, coupled with the general surfing craze that was sweeping the USA, inevitably began to spawn...
Beach Boys, The
Spent the last 55 years with a lost tribe in the Amazon? In that case, here's a band you should know about...
Brothers Brian, Carl...
Golden Boy Jan Berry, 62, Overcame a Strange Twist Of Fate
26 March 2004
If Brian Wilson was the king of the California dream regime, Jan & Dean were the crown princes - and the jesters. Composer/producer/lead singer Jan Berry...
