Surf music, also called surf rock, surf pop, or surf guitar, is a type of rock and roll linked to surf culture, especially in Southern California. It became popular from 1958 to 1964 in two main forms. The first form is instrumental surf, which uses electric guitars with heavy reverb effects to create sounds like crashing waves. This style was started by Dick Dale and His Del-Tones. The second form is vocal surf, which adds singing to the original surf sound. This style was led by the Beach Boys.

Dick Dale created the surf sound by adding influences from Middle Eastern and Mexican music to instrumental rock. He also used a spring reverb and fast guitar techniques. His song "Let's Go Trippin'" from 1961 helped start the surf music trend and inspired many others to try this style.

Surf music became well-known across the country when vocal groups like the Beach Boys and Jan and Dean performed it. Dick Dale once said, "They were surfing sounds [with] surfing lyrics. In other words, the music wasn't surfing music. The words made them surfing songs. […] That was the difference […] the real surfing music is instrumental."

At its peak, surf music competed with other popular music styles like girl groups, Countrypolitan, and Motown. It is sometimes called the "California sound." Later, many surf music groups began writing songs about cars and girls, which became known as "hot rod rock."

Instrumental surf

Surf music began in the late 1950s as instrumental rock and roll music. It usually followed a steady 4/4 time pattern and had a medium to fast tempo. Electric guitars were the main sound in surf music, especially because of the "wet" spring reverb effect. This effect was added to Fender amplifiers starting in 1963 and was meant to copy the sound of ocean waves. A separate reverb unit made by Fender in 1961 was the first to create the true "wet" surf reverb tone. This sound can be heard on songs like "Pipeline" by the Chantays and "Point Panic" by the Surfaris. The separate unit had a more "drippy" sound than the reverb built into amplifiers because of its different design.

Guitarists used the vibrato arm on their guitars to lower the pitch of notes, along with electronic tremolo effects and fast, alternating picking styles. Popular guitars included models from Fender, such as the Jazzmaster, Jaguar, and Stratocaster, as well as guitars from Mosrite, Teisco, and Danelectro. These guitars often had single coil pickups, which produced bright, high-pitched sounds compared to double-coil pickups. Surf music was one of the first music styles to widely use the electric bass, especially the Fender Precision Bass. Classic surf drum kits were made by companies like Rogers, Ludwig, Gretsch, and Slingerland. Some songs also included tenor or baritone saxophones, such as "Surf Rider" by the Lively Ones and "Comanche" by the Revels. Electric organs or pianos were often used for background harmony.

By the early 1960s, instrumental rock and roll had been successfully developed by musicians like Link Wray, Nokie Edwards and the Ventures, and Duane Eddy. Dick Dale expanded this style by adding influences from Middle Eastern and Mexican music, creating a unique reverb sound that gave the guitar a "wet" tone. He also included blues elements and fast, alternating picking styles inspired by Arabic music, which he learned from his Lebanese uncle. His performances at the Rendezvous Ballroom in Balboa, California, in 1961 and his hit song "Let's Go Trippin'" later that year started the surf music trend. He followed this with hits like "Misirlou" in 1962.

While Dick Dale was developing his sound in Orange County, the Bel-Airs were creating their own style in the South Bay region of Los Angeles County. The band had five teenage boys who were still learning to play their instruments in 1959. They recorded their first single, "Mr. Moto," in June 1961, and the song received radio play that summer. Although Dick Dale was older, played louder, and had a larger audience, the Bel-Airs claim to have released the first surf music single.

Most early surf bands formed in Southern California, especially in Orange County, where surf culture was strong. The Rendezvous Ballroom hosted many surf-styled performances. Bands like the Bel-Airs, the Challengers, and Eddie & the Showmen followed Dick Dale to regional success. The Chantays had a top-ten hit with "Pipeline," which reached number four in 1963. The Surfaris' song "Wipe Out," known for its dramatic laugh intro, was one of the most famous surf tunes. It reached number two on the Hot 100 in 1963 and number 16 in 1966. The Surfaris also had hits like "Surfer Joe" and "Point Panic."

As surf music grew in popularity, bands from other regions began to try their hand at the genre. These included the Astronauts from Colorado, the Trashmen from Minnesota, who had a number-four hit with "Surfin' Bird" in 1964, and the Rivieras from Indiana, who reached number five with "California Sun" in 1964. The Atlantics from Sydney, Australia, contributed to the genre with their hit "Bombora" in 1963. The Denvermen, also from Sydney, had a top-charting instrumental called "Surfside." The Joy Boys, a backing band for singer Col Joye, had a hit called "Murphy the Surfie," which was later covered by the Surfaris.

European bands often focused on the style played by the British group the Shadows. A notable example is Spanish band Los Relámpagos' version of "Misirlou." The Dakotas, who supported Merseybeat singer Billy J. Kramer, gained attention with their surf song "Cruel Sea" in 1963. This song was later covered by the Ventures and other surf bands like the Challengers and the Revelairs.

Vocal surf

In Matt Warshaw's The Encyclopedia of Surfing, he explains: "Surf music has two types: one with strong, echoing sounds and no singing, like the music of guitarist Dick Dale, and another with smooth singing and layered voices, created by the Beach Boys. Some people believe surf music must be instrumental."

The second type of surf music was led by the Beach Boys, a group that differed from earlier surf musicians by sharing a specific way of looking at the world. In 1964, Brian Wilson, the group's leader and main songwriter, said: "We didn’t plan to make music about surfing. We just wanted to connect with young people." A year later, he added: "I dislike music called 'surfin’' because people use that name for any sound from California. Our music should be called 'the Beach Boy sound' if it needs a label."

Vocal surf music is a type of doo-wop music with close harmonies in the chorus and scat singing. Timothy Cooley, a music expert, said: "Like instrumental surf rock, which often uses a twelve-bar blues style, vocal surf music also borrowed ideas from African-American music. What made the Beach Boys special was their ability to show the world a new surfing lifestyle centered in Southern California, along with their unique songwriting and recording methods." In 1963, Murry Wilson, Brian’s father and the Beach Boys’ manager, described surf music as: "Based on a rock and roll bass beat, with wild-sounding lead guitar, electric guitars, and wailing saxophones. It should sound unpolished and rough to appeal to teenagers. If music becomes too perfect, it’s not real surf music."

"Hot rod music" or "hot rod rock" came from surf music. Dick Dale said that record companies changed surf music into hot rod music to reach more people. According to The Ultimate Hot Rod Dictionary by Jeff Breitenstein: "While cars and hot rods have often appeared in American music, the term 'hot rod music' is most linked to the 'California sound' of the early to mid-1960s. This music was known for its rich harmonies, electric guitars (often Fender brand), and lyrics about cars, surfing, and young people."

David Ferrandino wrote that the Beach Boys’ music about cars and surfboards was similar, while Geoffrey Himes noted small differences: "Changing surf music into hot rod music wasn’t hard. If surf music had a lot of Dick Dale and some Chuck Berry, hot rod music had more Chuck Berry and less Dick Dale—less fast, staccato beats and more musical riffs. Instead of words about surf wax and boards, it used terms about car parts like carburetors and pistons. Instead of mentioning surfing beaches, it named drag-racing tracks. Instead of warnings about 'wipe outs,' it warned about 'Dead Man’s Curve.'"

In late 1961, the Beach Boys had their first hit, "Surfin’," which reached number 75 on the Billboard Hot 100. In mid-1962, they released their major-label debut, "Surfin’ Safari," which reached number 14 and helped make surf rock a national trend. Later, they released "Surfin’ U.S.A." (1963), a Top 3 hit, and "Surfer Girl" (1963), which reached the top 10. Breitenstein wrote that hot rod rock became popular in 1962 with the Beach Boys’ song "409," often seen as starting the hot rod music trend, which lasted until 1965. Other important figures in the hot rod movement included Gary Usher and Roger Christian.

Wilson co-wrote "Surf City" in 1963 for Jan and Dean, and the song reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100 in July 1963. After the Beach Boys’ success, many new surf and hot rod songs were made by Los Angeles groups. Geoffrey Himes noted: "Most of these weren’t real groups; they were just one or two singers backed by the same group of session musicians, often including Glen Campbell, Hal Blaine, and Bruce Johnston. If a song became popular, a group would be quickly formed and sent on tour. It was a mix of amateur and professional styles." One-hit wonders included Bruce & Terry with "Summer Means Fun," the Rivieras with "California Sun," Ronny & the Daytonas with "G.T.O.," and the Rip Chords with "Hey Little Cobra." The last two songs reached the top 10, but the only other group to have long-term success with this style was Jan & Dean. The hot rod group the Fantastic Baggys wrote many songs for Jan and Dean and also sang some of their music.

Decline

Surf music, like other rock music styles from this time, ended completely because of the British Invasion starting in early 1964. This event also caused hot rod music to lose its popularity. Other music styles, such as garage rock, folk rock, blues rock, and later psychedelic rock, also helped reduce the popularity of surf rock. The Beach Boys survived the British Invasion by changing their music style. Brian told Teen Beat, "We needed to grow. Before, we used up all the ideas about surfing and cars. Now, we needed to become more creative." After surf music declined, the Beach Boys continued making successful songs and albums, including the very different Pet Sounds in 1966. Later, they became the only American rock or pop group that could compete with the Beatles. The band only occasionally returned to music about hot rods and surfing, beginning with the song "Do It Again" in 1968.

Influence and revival

Instrumental surf rock guitar music was used in the James Bond theme song from the first Bond film, Dr. No, released in 1962. The music was recorded by Vic Flick and the John Barry Seven. This theme became a well-known feature of Bond films and influenced the music of other spy movies from the 1960s. Surf music also inspired later rock musicians, including Keith Moon of the band The Who, East Bay Ray of the Dead Kennedys, and Joey Santiago of Pixies. In the mid-to late 1990s, surf rock became popular again, partly because of the movie Pulp Fiction (1994), which included surf rock songs like Dick Dale’s "Misirlou" in its soundtrack.

Surf punk is a music style that combines surf rock with punk rock. It began in the late 1970s and early 1980s, with bands like The Ramones, who released their influential surf-punk album Rocket To Russia in 1977. This album included a cover of "Surfin' Bird" by The Trashmen, which was also The Cramps’ first single in 1978. Other early surf punk musicians included Johnny Thunders, who began his solo album So Alone with an instrumental cover of The Chantays’ "Pipeline"; the Forgotten Rebels from Canada, who released a song called "Surfin' on Heroin" in 1981; and Agent Orange from Orange County, California, who made punk versions of surf rock songs like "Misirlou," "Mr. Moto," and "Pipeline." Music critic Greg Prato of AllMusic described Agent Orange as "influential" and "a step ahead of the rest of the punk/hardcore scene." Surf punk is connected to skate punk, a similar music style that became popular around the same time in Orange County’s beach towns, which were also home to the first surf musicians.

Indie surf is a music style that blends surf rock with indie rock. It began in California during the late 2000s and was influenced by surf punk, garage rock, lo-fi music, indie pop, punk, and shoegaze.

Production

Herb Alpert helped shape the surf music genre by producing songs for Jan & Dean. Alongside Lou Adler, Alpert produced Jan & Dean's first Top Ten single, "Baby Talk." Tony Hilder, who owned the Impact label, was a very active surf music producer. His name appeared on many records, including 45s and albums. If the budget releases had given him proper credit, his name would have been listed on even more recordings. Gary Usher worked as a producer, arranger, and songwriter. He created music for groups like the Surfaris and the Hondells. He also co-wrote "409" and "In My Room," which became hits for the Beach Boys. Later, Sundazed Music released the compilation album Barefoot Adventure: The 4 Star Sessions 1962-66. The album notes describe Gary Usher as a key figure in creating the sound of early 1960s West Coast music, which focused on themes like cars, girls, sun, and surf. Terry Melcher was a producer who helped define the sound of surf music and folk. He worked closely with the Beach Boys and contributed to their chart success. Outside of Brian Wilson's work with the Beach Boys, Melcher also produced Bob & Sheri's 1962 single, "Surfer Moon."

Los Angeles session musicians known as The Wrecking Crew played on many surf music recordings.