The Beach Boys, Dick Dale, and other Surf Music legends - Example musical genre analysis paper

The "age" of Surf Music was short, but memorable. During this time, changes in technology helped bring about a new "surf" sound which was popularized by bands like The Beach Boys. This well-written sample genre study essay examine show the Surf Music genre developed and grew. This example music paper contains several in-depth discussions of particular songs like "Wipe Out" by the Surfaris, "Surf City" by Jan and Dean, and "Surfin' U.S.A." by the Beach Boys.

Surfin' USA: American Surf and Beach Music in the 1960s

With rock and roll reaching full swing by the end of the fifties and the electric guitar ris-ing to new prominence in the hands of Chuck Berry and Bo Diddly, the stage was set for the de-velopment of a new musical sound, one originating in the bourgeoning surf culture of Southern California. The summer of 1961 sparked an explosion of what would, over the next several years, become known collectively as "surf music" and spread like wildfire across the United States. While it began as almost an extension of 1950s rockabilly and R&B, the genre drew on in-fluences from a wide variety of styles, including Country Western, flamenco, jazz, and doo-wop. To a notable degree, the surfer sound relied heavily on several technological innovations in electric guitar instrumentation orchestrated predominantly by Leo Fender. As a result, a signifi-cant number of surf's early songs were primarily instrumental, but in the years that followed, the broader definition of surf music quickly came to incorporate the vocal harmonies and lyric con-tent that many associate with surfer culture.

There is perhaps no one individual more influential in the development of surf music than Dick Dale, a Boston born guitarist living in Orange County, California. While his early performance reflected a more country sound, he soon became inspired by his hobby as an amateur surfer. He sought to recreate in his music the sounds and feelings he experienced while surfing, and according to John Blair's Illustrated Discography of Surf Music, "the result of this somewhat nebulous and certainly subjective approach was the surfing music genre" (Blair, iii). In fact, it was Dale who first used the term "surfing sound," which he did in the summer of 1961 in reference to both the style and sound of his guitar playing. The Dick Dale sound thus became one of "vibration and pulsification, by a heavy staccato sound on the low-key strings of his guitar accompanied by a heavy thunder-like beat" (Blair, iii), or as Dale himself put it, "a heavy, fast machine gun staccato attack . . . [that] provided a fat, full non-stop sound" (Blair, i). This was accomplished in part through what is known as tremolo or double picking, in which the guitarist strums a single note very quickly and steadily without accenting any particular beat. This style of picking was adopted by a vast number of the surf bands emerging at the time and thus became a defining element of the surf music genre.

A typical instrumental surf band consisted of two guitarists (a lead and a rhythm), a bass-ist (the surf genre was among the first to implement widespread use of the electric bass), and a drummer. With the early surf bands, saxophones and electric pianos were also common elements. Developments in drum kit technique made appearances in surf music as well, as with the use of a steady back beat (generally in 4/4 time) accompanied by fills that was showing up in rock and roll music at the time.

Also essential to this style of surf music are several equipment related elements-particularly an electronic device called a reverberation unit, or "reverb." Developed by Leo Fender in collaboration with Dick Dale and released in 1961, the Fender Reverb Unit allowed musicians to produce "wet"-sounding effects, and brought an echo-like quality to the staccato guitar sound, lengthening the individual notes to create the smoother, fuller sound employed extensively by surf musicians. Also, the tremolo arm (or "whammy bar") was frequently used to bend notes downward, a common element in surf guitar. The Dale/Fender collaboration also produced the first 100 Watt amplifiers, used widely by surf musicians in live performances. When these elements combined, the result was the music made popular by bands like Dick Dale and the Del-Tones, the Chantays, the Ventures, and the Surfaris. As Dale put it, "Surf music is a definite style of heavy staccato picking with the flowing sound of a reverb to take away the flat tones on the guitar and make the notes seem endless. Very heavy guitar strings are used to elongate the sound from the vibration of the strings, not the feedback qualities of an amplifier. It becomes a very in-depth combination of things that, when put together, spells out true surf music" (Blair, iii).

At the same time, another kind of music, still with its roots in the surfer culture of Southern California, was developing. Spearheaded by Brian Wilson, this sound-frequently referred to as surf pop or beach music-was of a more vocal style. Unlike Dale and other surf rockers who expressed the sounds and feelings of surfing through their instruments, bands like the Beach Boys and Jan and Dean "communicated what they felt about surfing-and Southern California's youth culture-by singing about it in lilting two, three or four part harmony" (Gault-Williams). These harmonies-often simple in nature, and usually catchy-played heavily into the styles of the numerous doo-wop, R&B, and vocal groups that were so successful at the time. Many of the bands' early songs also featured basic rock and roll instrumentation and rhythmical qualities, tak-ing on the only minimally the style of guitar playing made popular by Dale (the spring reverb sound was most prominent). Aided in part by the existing popularity of the styles that influenced it, this type of surf song garnered widespread popularity of its own despite the mostly localized content of its lyrics. The wide geographic exposure achieved by bands like the Beach Boys "al-lowed the local experience [of living in Southern California] to be vicariously shared by people in other areas of the country and overseas" (Blair, v).

With the Beatles and other bands of the British invasion making strong inroads in the mid-sixties, however, the popularity of surf music proved to be short-lived, fading out almost as rapidly as it came into being. While the Beach Boys did manage to retain their popularity on the national stage for a time, their later songs largely moved away from the topic of surfing, many focusing on the new hot rod craze-a fad more accessible to a geographically diverse population than the coastally localized surfing fad. The surf guitar styles of Dick Dale and others like him also receded back to the coast, though resurfacing occasionally (most notably with Quentin Ta-rantino's use of Dick Dale's "Misirlou" in his film Pulp Fiction). Political factors-including the assassination of Kennedy and the onset of the Vietnam War-also contributed to a changing of tastes that accompanied surf music's demise. What follows here are highlights of the brief but shining era of surf music.

Track 1 (2:10) "Mr. Moto" by the Bel-Airs Volcanic Action! [p] 2001 Sundazed Music

Originally released in 1961, "Mr. Moto" was among the first so-called "surf songs" to be recorded. It reflects the traditional early surf music instrumentation-two guitars, bass, drums, saxophone, and piano, featuring the sax and piano more prominently than later surf bands would. While it lacks much of the reverb sound so definitive of surf music (as the Fender Reverb Unit was not invented until later that year), the surf sound is captured in the staccato picking (a fla-menco influenced intro), the rhythmic interplay of the two guitars, the "rocking" progression of the rhythm guitar (alternating high-low strums), occasional use of the tremolo arm to bend notes, and the "wet" sound of the saxophone. It is in roughly AABA structure and in 4/4 time, common of most surf instrumentals. The drum presence in the song, while not as prominent as some later surf pieces, provides the common back-beat sound, making heavy use of the ride cymbal and snare drum-common practice in surf music.

Track 2 (2:35) "Let's Go Trippin'" by Dick Dale and His Del-Tones Dick Dale and His Del-Tones: Greatest Hits 1961-1976 [p] 1992 Grip Crescendo Records

With 1961s "Let's Go Trippin'", Dick Dale recorded what would be his first surf instrumental hit. Whereas the Bel-Airs made use of the saxophone, Dale abandoned it for the "wet" guitar sounds allowed for the spring reverb, used copiously in this song, creating what was perhaps the first distinctly "surf" recording. It also possesses the characteristic staccato strumming, bent notes, and rocking bass and guitar rhythms of surf music. Similar in structure to "Mr. Moto", "Let's Go Trippin'" is roughly AABA, with an organ interlude where the Bel-Airs used electric piano. Drums take a more prominent role here than in "Mr. Moto," utilizing frequent snare and full kit fills in addition to the strong back-beat, marking the distinct departure from the unobtrusive brushwork of earlier jazz musicians.

Track 3 (2:41) "Misirlou" by Dick Dale and His Del-Tones Dick Dale and His Del-Tones: Greatest Hits 1961-1976 [p] 1992 Grip Crescendo Records

Released in 1962, "Misirlou" is widely regarded as definitive of the "Dick Dale sound" of surf music, making copious use of Dale's characteristic heavy staccato double-picking (vibrato) at high tempo and intensity (with frequent slow ascending and fast descending shapes, like waves), generous reliance on the use of reverb, complex interplay between lead and rhythm guitars, pitch bending, and heavy percussive rhythms. The prominence of guitar virtuosity is surf music is also represented in the song by several solo sections where the bass and drum stop playing, which also demonstrates the growing recognition of the drum kit as not simply a backing rhythmic layer (as we will see with Wipe Out). Again, as with a majority of instrumental surf songs, the structure is AABA.

Track 4 (2:10) "Pipeline" by the Chantays 100 Years of Surfing (Re-Recorded Versions) [p] 2007 Kentblues/Bodyglove

In 1962, the Chantays released with "Pipeline" what would become one of surf music's most popular and (in later years) most covered hits. While it employs many of the same elements as "Misirlou," the vibrato strumming/tremolo picking is relegated primarily to the rhythm guitar, allowing for cleaner, almost ethereal melody lines in the lead guitar (the section from 1:05 to roughly 1:28 in particular). Also prominent are the descending vibrato slides (also seen in Misir-lou) that become common elements of surf rock, particularly with song intros and outros.

Track 5 (2:46) "Wipe Out" by the Surfaris Wipe Out [p] 2005 The Surfaris

1963's "Wipe Out" is arguably the most recognizable instrumental piece of the surf era. Opening with a high pitched laugh reminiscent of the descending vibrato slides of "Misirlou" and "Pipeline", it bursts into a rapid thunderous drum solo-an apparent reverse from the common trend. The fast, staccato strumming is replaced with fast, staccato drumming-representing the growing prominence of the drum kit in surf music. The guitar rhythms become structured around the drum kit, which is not so much a "back-beat" instrument here than it is a solo instrument. "Wipe Out" also demonstrates particularly well the "rocking", wave-like quality of surf guitar rhythms-the repetitive high-low alternating patterns.

Track 6 (2:24) "Walk, Don't Run" by Chet Atkins Chet Atkins: Guitar Legend - the RCA Years [p] Recorded prior to 1972. All rights re-served by BMG Entertainment. Track 7 (2:06) "Walk Don't Run" by the Ventures The Ventures (Exclusive Edition) [p] 2006 HHO licensing

The first of these recordings (by Chet Atkins) is the song "Walk, Don't Run" in its original form, which possesses a distinct jazz feel in terms of rhythm and tonal quality. The second, a cover recorded by the Tacoma, Washington-based Ventures in 1964 reflects the surf sound that by this point had reached the peak of its popularity in the United States. In comparing the two, the distinct elements of surf music stand out, particularly with regards to guitar effects-echo-y tone (reverb), bent notes, a smooth (as opposed to choppy) rhythmic quality, and occasional tremolo picking-and drum presence-the brushes are replaced by a heavy, obtrusive rhythm with a more tinny, almost steel drum feel.

Track 8 (2:43) "Surf City" by Jan and Dean Gold 60s - The Essential Collection [p] 2006 Unlimited Media GmbH

Selected lyrics: And if my woodie breaks down on me somewhere on the surf route (Surf City, here we come) I'll strap my board to my back and hitch a ride in my wetsuit (Surf City, here we come) And when I get to Surf City I'll be shootin' the curl And checkin' out the parties for a surfer girl And we're goin' to Surf City, 'cause it's two to one You know we're goin' to Surf City, gonna have some fun Ya, we're goin' to Surf City, 'cause it's two to one Ya, we're goin' to Surf City, gonna have some fun, now Two girls for every Two girls for every boy

In 1963, "Surf City" (written by Brian Wilson of the Beach Boys) became the first surf song to reach number one on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100. It employed the simple vocal harmonies back by rock and roll instrumentation (with a rocking rhythm and tonal quality similar to instrumental surf guitars). Like the majority of surf pop/beach music songs, it employs a basic verse-chorus structure. The backing vocals provide repetitive taglines in an almost call and response fashion. The song lyrics in particular though, define the piece as "surf music," using surfer slang (a woodie being a wood-bodied early station-wagon, and shooting the curl being synonymous with riding a wave), and dealing with popular surfer culture (i.e. girls, parties, beaches, and surf boards).

Track 9 (2:29) "Surfin' U.S.A." by the Beach Boys Sounds of Summer: The Very Best of the Beach Boys [P] 2003 Capitol Records, Inc.

Select lyrics: If everybody had an ocean Across the U.S.A. Then everybody'd be surfin' Like Californi-a You'd seem 'em wearing their baggies Huarache sandals too A bushy, bushy blonde hairdo Surfin' U.S.A. You'd catch 'em surfin' at Del Mar Ventura County line Santa Cruz and Trestle Australia's Narabine All over Manhattan And down Doheny Way Everybody's gone surfin' Surfin' U.S.A.

With Brian Wilson as the genius behind their music, the Beach Boys were easily the most successful surf band of the sixties. With 1963's Surfin' U.S.A., the Beach Boys produced a song that couldn't better exemplify the proliferation and popularization of the California surfer cul-ture. Like "Surf City", the lyrics heavily employ surfer slang and cultural referenced. The har-monies remain relatively simple, and the structure is essentially verse/chorus but with a slightly more strophic leaning. The music itself is, in fact, taken directly from Chuck Barry's "Sweet Lit-tle 16" (though traces of the instrumental surf sound can be heard), which serves to emphasize the closely tied natures of the rock and roll and surf genres. While not particularly long lasting, both the instrumental and vocal forms of surf music were an essential part of 1960s American culture.

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