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Dick Dale was an American rock guitarist, singer, and songwriter, hailed as the 'King of the Surf Guitar' for pioneering the surf music genre in the early 1960s with his explosive, reverb-drenched guitar sound and rapid alternate picking technique.Born in Boston to a Lebanese father and Polish mother, Dale moved to Southern California as a teenager. A multi-instrumentalist, he took up the guitar and fused influences from Middle Eastern music (learned from his uncle) with rockabilly and country, amplified to extreme volumes. His 1961 regional hit 'Let's Go Trippin'' is widely considered the first surf rock instrumental. He achieved mainstream fame with 'Misirlou' (1962), later immortalized in the film 'Pulp Fiction'. Dale relentlessly toured and influenced generations of guitarists with his powerful sound and showmanship. He battled serious health issues for decades but continued performing until near his death.

• Dick Dale developed his signature loud, wet sound partly out of necessity: he needed volume to compete with the roar of crowds in large Southern California ballrooms like the Rendezvous.
• His relentless playing style and pioneering use of heavy-gauge strings frequently destroyed amplifiers and speakers. He famously collaborated with Leo Fender and Freddy Tavares to develop the first 100-watt guitar amplifier, the Fender Showman, and experimented with larger speakers.
• Dale was a champion surfer, and his music was directly inspired by the power and feeling of riding waves. He is credited with naming the genre 'surf music'.
• He overcame multiple serious health challenges, including rectal cancer (1960s), diabetes, kidney failure (requiring dialysis), and spinal damage. He often attributed his survival to a strict vegetarian diet and his connection to the ocean.
• Dale was a passionate environmental activist, particularly focused on ocean conservation.
• His rendition of 'Misirlou', based on a traditional Eastern Mediterranean folk song, became a global phenomenon after its use in the opening credits of Quentin Tarantino's 'Pulp Fiction' (1994), introducing his music to a vast new audience decades after its release.