Surf music

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The surf music (from English surf "surf", by extension surfing "surfing") was a predominantly instrumental variant of rock 'n' roll that emerged in California in the early 1960s . Other common names were surf sound , surf rock and surf music . Surf music became internationally popular primarily through the Beach Boys , who differed stylistically from instrumental surf music by their polyphonic vocal harmonies. Among the better-known instrumental performers were the Surfaris with the piece Wipe Out (1963) or The Chantays with Pipeline (1962). The singing duo Jan and Dean reached number 1 in the charts with Surf City in 1963 at the height of surf music . Except for the Beach Boys, however, no one succeeded in growing beyond the status of a one-hit wonder . Guitarist Dick Dale and his band, the Del-Tones, had a local hit with the piece Miserlou (1962). His staccato-like guitar playing on a Fender Stratocaster found some imitators. However, there was no uniform and typical surf music. Rather, the instrumental or vocal music served as a framework that was occupied with a variety of popular themes.

Surf music was supplanted from 1964 onwards by the success of the Beatles and the British Invasion associated with them .

Origins

The origins of surf music lay in purely instrumental rock 'n' roll, which became increasingly popular in the USA towards the end of the 1950s . Early releases of this kind included, for example, the novel Green Mosquito by the Tune Rockers, Link Wray's classic 12-bar blues rumble , the track Rebel Rouser by Duane Eddy or the Tequila by the Champs from 1958 with a touch of Latin American rhythms . Duane Eddy in particular played instrumental rock 'n' roll with great success and established the much-copied guitar sound with reverb and tremolo effects, known as twang . He reached number 6 in the American charts with Rebel Rouser in July 1958 and 15 more top 40 hits were to follow by 1962. The instrumental music was multifaceted. There were rhythm and blues oriented bands like the popular Johnny and the Hurricanes , Maurice Williams & the Zodiacs or Booker T. & the MG's and performers like Bill Black's Combo, Floyd Cramer or Chet Atkins who were caught up in country music . Other bands were very close to rockabilly such as the Rock-A-Teens or the Fendermen . There were also differences in the choice of the melody-leading instrument. In addition to the saxophone and keyboard instruments such as the organ, however, the guitar dominated. Since 1959, instrumental rock 'n' roll has been a new trend that has been most widespread.

This trend also spread in Europe. In July 1960, the Shadows had a hit in the British charts with the piece Apache . No one in the United States took any notice of the British. However, the Dane Jørgen Ingmann reached number 2 in America with a cover version of Apache in January 1961. In August 1962 the Tornados became the first British rock 'n' roll band to make it to number 1 in America with their world hit Telstar .

From sport to music

In January 1960, the first magazine was published in California that dealt exclusively with the sport of surfing. The editor, photographer and filmmaker John Severson called the magazine The Surfer and it was all about the new trend sport that was sweeping America. The first edition had 32 pages, was completely in color and had an edition of 10,000 copies. The magazine was designed as a photo book and contained images from Severson's first film Surf , which he shot on the beaches of Hawaii from 1958 to 1959 . Severson wasn't the only one using visual media and promoting the popularity of surfing. Documentary filmmaker Bud Browne made a new film about surfing practically every year since his debut Hawaiian Surfing Movie from 1953 to 1964. There were other documentary filmmakers like Bruce Brown. He has made films such as Slippery When Wet (1958), Barefoot Adventure (1961) and Endless Summer (1966). The Hollywood film studios made commercially successful films such as Gidget (1959), Where the Boys Are (1960), Beach Party (1963) or Surf Party (1964), in which “Beach, Sun and Surf ” served as a framework for the actors and actresses served the romantic plot . With two sequels, a television series and a spin-off, the film Gidget in particular made a major contribution to the popularization of surfing.

Originally the surfers formed a small scene that had developed typical terms and also its own fashion style and was increasingly commercialized. They preferred Pendleton Woolen Mills shirts, white, uncut Levi's jeans, and wore either sun or chemically bleached short hair. During the 1950s, surfing went from being a marginal phenomenon to being the most popular water sport in America. Every weekend up to 30,000 surfers cavorted on the beaches of Southern California. Due to the climatic and geographical conditions, Southern California became the center of attraction for surfers, most of whom came from the region, but also from other parts of the USA. There hits like Bill Doggett's Honky Tonk (1956) and Arthur Smith's Guitar Boogie (1958) were popular at beach parties until the early 1960s. The latter piece was re-recorded by the Californian band The Virtues in 1959 as Guitar Boogie Shuffle and reached number 5 on the Billboard charts . Other important recordings for the development of the music scene in California were instrumental pieces by regional bands such as Moon Dawg (1960) from the Gamblers, Mr. Moto (1961) from the Belairs and Stick Shift (1961) from the Duals. Of these groups, only the duals with stick shift made it to number 25 in the US Billboard charts. The piece mainly appealed to the hot rod scene . The producers mixed engine noises to the music and added the siren of a police patrol at the end, which was considered a special highlight.

Among the first titles directly related to surfing included Surfer's Stomp by Marketts , the 1961 first on the music label appeared Union Records and in 1962 re-released by Liberty Records, and Surfin ' by the Beach Boys, released in December 1961st

The hits of the producers

The Beach Boys relied on vocal music from the start. They were influenced by the polyphonic singing of the African American Doo Wop groups. The band practiced pieces from the Coasters, and preferably from the Four Freshmen , to familiarize themselves with their vocal arrangements. The Beach Boys' second single was about the Chevrolet V8 engine with the model designation 409 . Like the piece by the Duals, it was aimed at the hot rod scene and also used recordings of engine noises. Brian Wilson had composed 409 with his friend Gary Usher . Usher established himself as one of the leading producers of surf and hot rod music in Southern California in the following years. He not only appeared as a producer, but also as an author or co-author, often with Roger Christian, and occasionally as a musician. His work ranged from the Beach Boys to Dick Dale, the Surfaris and the Astronauts to the score for the feature film The Girls on the Beach . He contributed individual pieces for B-Movies like Beach Party , Bikini Beach and Muscle Beach Party by the film producer Samuel Z. Arkoff . Usher also founded his own bands, which were put together from constantly changing studio musicians. The most successful project of this kind were the Hondells , which reached number 9 in the US Billboard charts with the Brian Wilson composition Little Honda (1964).

The Beach Boys made the top ten in 1963 with Surfin 'USA , a note-for-note copy of Chuck Berry's Sweet Little Sixteen , and Surfer Girl . The Surfaris achieved a top ten hit with Wipe Out (1963), the Chantays with Pipeline (1963), the Trashmen with Surfin 'Bird (1963), the Marketts with Out of Limits (1964) and the Pyramids with Penetration (1964). The singing duo Jan & Dean reached number one on the US Billboard charts with Surf City in 1963 . This piece was created in collaboration with Brian Wilson and the rest of the Beach Boys. Wilson learned a lot from Dean Torrence about studio technology and later resorted to the same studio musicians as e.g. B. Glen Campbell and Hal Blaine , who had made many recordings with Jan & Dean. The guitarist Glen Campbell occasionally replaced Brian Wilson at Beach Boys concerts, not least because Campbell was able to copy Wilson's characteristic falsetto voice. Both Campbell and Blaine worked for Gary Usher and were not only involved in his Hondells project.

Anthony Hilder took on another central role in the Californian music scene . He produced bands such as B. the Lively Ones , Impacts , Original Surfaris , Sentinals , Centurians and Dave Myers & The Surftones and sold their recordings to the record companies. Hilder's productions have been released by Del-Fi, GNP, GSP, Northridge, Liberty, Arvee, Sutton, Shepherd, Guest Star, Bamboo, Challenge, Tollie, Ava, Original Sound, Era and other labels. It was not uncommon for the band's recordings to be put together into samplers and sold to the record company with the highest bid. Samplers such as KFWB's Battle of the Surfin 'Bands on Del-Fi, Surf War on Shepherd, Original Surfin' Hits or Surf Battle on GNP, Surf's Up at Banzai - Pipeline (1963) on Northridge or the one almost identical to the previous compilation were created Sampler Surf's Up! (1963) on Frank Sinatra's Reprise Records . Only 33 singles and 2 albums were released on Hilde's own record label Impact Records. The license trade with the recording tapes was his real business. It was not uncommon for him to sell the same recording to several labels. Despite his hustle and bustle, Hilder was constantly on the verge of bankruptcy: "[...] he sold z. For example, Dave Myers & The Surftones' Hanging Twenty die to Del-Fi’s Bob Keane for a whopping hundred dollars; the sessions in which the tape was produced cost him fifty dollars himself, and the group got nothing. ”( John Blair / Bill Smart : The Tony Hilder Story ) Like Gary Usher and Brian Wilson, Anthony Hilder also resorted to professional ones Musician back. The Latin American musician Al Garcia and his Rhythm or Soul Kings played in the background on many Hilder productions. This gave bands such as the Sentinals and Centurians a Latin American influence.

Background: cars, surf and twist

The Southern California region was a stronghold of the White Anglo-Saxon Protestants , who formed a large, affluent middle class. The good economic situation in the USA created new suburbs and settlements everywhere in Southern California, almost overnight. There was a garage next to each house and a car in each garage. As early as 1954, half of around 100 million vehicles worldwide were driving on American roads alone. An affluent society emerged in which teenagers increasingly invested time and money in their leisure time and an industry that profited from it. A leisure industry that always knew how to pick up on new trends. The transition from the 1950s to the 1960s was the time of the dance combo. American Bandstand , a television show popular with teenagers , hosted by Dick Clark since 1957 and broadcast nationwide since then, featured a new fashion dance almost monthly. The dances, which usually hardly differed, had names like The Hop , The Stroll , The Twist , Mashed Potatoes , The Stomp , The Watusi , The Chicken , The Dog or The Bird . Perhaps the most successful fashion dance was the twist , which Chubby Checker popularized with his hit The Twist from 1960 and which made him a world star. Other musicians suddenly picked up on the trend: Sam Cooke sang Twistin 'the Night Away , the Isley Brothers Twist and Shout , Danny & the Juniors Twistin' USA , the Marvelettes Twistin 'Postman and Gary US Bonds Dear Lady Twist .

Oldsmobile Rocket V8 engine in an Oldsmobile 98 built in 1949

Another trend was the car songs (Engl., Car songs ). Even Jackie Brenstons piece Rocket 88 1951 dealt with the Oldsmobile 88 , who had a V8 engine with the name "Rocket", and Oldsmobile with the slogan Make a Date with a Rocket 88 was advertised. Rock 'n' roll star Chuck Berry sang Maybellene (1955), a love story against the backdrop of a car race. It became popular for music groups to name themselves after cars. There were the Cadillacs ( Cadillac ), Edsels ( Edsel ), El Dorados ( Cadillac Eldorado ), the Fleetwoods ( Cadillac Fleetwood ), Impalas ( Chevrolet Impala ) or the Valiants ( Plymouth Valiant ). Simultaneously with the surf music, the number of titles about cars, races and motorcycles grew. The Beach Boys put together an entire album of hot rod music with Little Deuce Coupe (1963), as did Dick Dale with his album Checkered Flag (1963). That same year, a group of studio musicians released the album Hot Rodder's Choice as The Deuce Coupes , just to capitalize on the hot rod fashion. Like the hot rod scene, surfing, a new American trend, had its roots in California. It gained increasing popularity: “[…] nobody could feel the charm of this teen utopia of eternal sun and everlasting vacation, tight clothing and physical fitness, pretty girls, inconsequential amours and sufficient pocket money, a garden of Eden, which by God's will in Southern California lay, withdraw. "( Wolfgang Tilgner : Psalms, Pop and Punk )

Effect and influence

The general public associated surf culture with the kitschy stereotypes of Hollywood beach films, which were categorically rejected by surfers, and vocal surf music, which the purists of the instrumental variant consistently excluded from the genre. Even in California, vocal surf music embodied by the Beach Boys was probably preferred. Their success and the continuous re-releases of their records kept surf music in mind, while hot rod music and instrumental surf bands were largely forgotten from the mid-1960s. The Beach Boys established a regional style that received national attention. California had brought forth musical greats like Bing Crosby through Hollywood, Chet Baker and Ritchie Valens , but none was as strongly associated with California as the Beach Boys.

In the fall of 1975, a series of articles on surf music appeared in Greg Shaw's magazine Who Put The Bomp . In an article on the history of surf, Shaw saw instrumental surf music as the link between rockabilly of the 1950s and garage rock of the 1960s. The instrumental variant was seen as a "loud and rough" contrast to the Brill Building Pop of the charts. The locally very popular Dick Dale was able to convey a certain authenticity, as he occasionally surfed himself:

“I felt a tremendous amount of power while surfing, and that feeling was just carried over from me to the guitar when I played surf. I couldn't get that feeling with my singing, so the music took on an instrumental form. [...] Real surf music is instrumental ... typical for this music is the staccato picking on the Fender Stratocaster guitar - and it has to be a Fender Stratocaster . "

- Dick Dale, 1975

With statements like this, Dale contributed not only to his own legend, but also to the conception of what surf music should be.

Revivals

In October 1974, Capitol released a double album by the Beach Boys under the title Endless Summer . It was a compilation of old pieces released by the Beach Boys from 1962 to 1965. The album reached number 1 on the US Billboard charts. To boost sales, Capitol Surfin 'USA had re-released as a single after 1963. The oldie reached number 37 in the US charts. With that, surf music had its first revival.

There were always musicians and bands who quoted instrumental rock 'n' roll or surf music or recorded their repertoire as cover versions. Their musical orientation was very different and ranged from hit or soft rock in the style of Ricky King to the band Agent Orange , which tried to combine surf music with punk in the late 1970s . The barracudas influenced by surf music were more successful and their single Summer Fun made it to number 37 in the British charts in 1980.

The label Rhino Records released a three-part series of samplers in 1982 under the title The History of Surf Music . While the first part revolved around the instrumental and the second part around the vocal hits of the 1960s, the third part, with the subtitle The Revival , contained surf bands from 1980 to 1982. None of the bands on it, however, had any notable success book. Dick Dale used this revival for a comeback and released a new album in 1983 after a long time.

In 1992 the band Man or Astro-man? and took up instrumental rock 'n' roll again. The band called their music space-age surf . On the other hand, bands like the Mermen, Laika & The Cosmonauts or Shadowy Man on a Shadowy Planet remained a little less known. With the success of the film Pulp Fiction in 1994, instrumental surf music became somewhat more popular again. The regular film soundtrack included a piece each from the Tornadoes , Dick Dale, Centurians and the Lively Ones.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b Bernward Halbscheffel / Tibor Kneif: Sachlexikon Rockmusik , Rowohlt, Reinbek 1992, pp. 375–376. ISBN 3-499-16334-9
  2. ↑ a b Tom Wheeler: The Stratocaster Chronicles , Hal Leonard Corp., Milwaukee 2004, pp. 116-117. ISBN 0-634-05678-6
  3. ↑ a b Wicke, Ziegenrücker, Ziegenrücker: Handbook of popular music . Schott, Mainz 2007, p. 707. ISBN 978-3-7957-0571-8
  4. ^ Mötley Crüe : The Dirt . Autobiography of the glam metal band Mötley Crüe, co-authored with Neil Strauss , from the American by Kirsten Borchardt , Hannibal Verlag , Höfen , 2nd edition, 2002. p. 194
  5. ↑ a b c d e f g h Greg Shaw: The Birth of the Surf . In: Bernd Matheja (ed.), Greg Shaw's Bomp! , Rowohlt Taschenbuch Verlag GmbH, Reinbek 1982, pp. 22-24. ISBN 3-499-17659-9
  6. ↑ Rock and Roll Hall Of Fame: Duane Eddy . Sighted: February 24th, 2009
  7. ↑ a b c d Wolfgang Tilgner : Psalms, Pop and Politics - Popular Music in the USA , Henschel Verlag GmbH, Berlin 1993, pp. 308–309. ISBN 3-89487-184-9
  8. Jump up ↑ Johnny Black: Rock and Pop Timeline . Thunder Bay Press, San Diego, California 2003, p. 20. ISBN 1-59223-052-0
  9. Jump up ↑ Surglich: Surfing A to Z - Surfer Magazine . Sighted: April 13th, 2009
  10. Jump up ↑ Surglich: Surfing A to Z - John Severson . Sighted: April 13th, 2009
  11. ^ Frank W. Hoffmann / Howard Ferstler: Encyclopedia of Recorded Sound , Routledge, New York 2005, p. 1082. ISBN 0-415-93835-X
  12. ↑ a b John Blair: Dick Dale - The man who invented the surf . In: Bernd Matheja (ed.), Greg Shaw's Bomp !, Rowohlt Taschenbuch Verlag GmbH, Reinbek 1982, pp. 26-29. ISBN 3-499-17659-9
  13. ^ A b c Badman, Keith: The Beach Boys - The Definitive Diary of America's Greatest Band on Stage and in the Studio , Backbeat Books by Outline Press Ltd., London 2004, p. 16. ISBN 978-0-87930-818- 6th
  14. ↑ BlackCat - Rockabilly Europe: This Is My Story: The Duals . Seen: April 14, 2009
  15. ↑ Star Revue: The Duals Viewed: April 14, 2009
  16. ^ Rock Museum: First Pressings . Seen: April 14, 2009
  17. ^ Badman, Keith: The Beach Boys - The Definitive Diary of America's Greatest Band on Stage and in the Studio , Backbeat Books by Outline Press Ltd., London 2004, p. 17. ISBN 978-0-87930-818-6
  18. ↑ Jack Nerad: Chevrolet 409 ( Memento of the original from December 3, 2009 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.drivingtoday.com archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , Driving Today, Studio One Networks 2008. Viewed February 10, 2009
  19. ↑ The Original Gary Usher Web Page: The Gary Usher Discography 1960 - 1966 ( Memento of the original from September 29, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.garyusher.com archive link has been inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. . Sighted: May 10, 2009
  20. ^ The Internet Movie Database: Gary Usher . Sighted: May 10, 2009
  21. ↑ Jan And Dean's Web Site: Jan and Dean's Biography Chapter 3 Viewed June 10, 2009
  22. ↑ Allmusic: Hondells Biography by Richie Unterberger Viewed: June 11, 2009
  23. ↑ a b c d John Blair / Bill Smart: The Tony Hilder Story . In: Bernd Matheja (ed.), Greg Shaw's Bomp !, Rowohlt Taschenbuch Verlag GmbH, Reinbek 1982, pp. 30-33. ISBN 3-499-17659-9
  24. ↑ a b Bill Smart / John Blair: Surf in San Joaquin . In: Bernd Matheja (ed.), Greg Shaw's Bomp! , Rowohlt Taschenbuch Verlag GmbH, Reinbek 1982, pp. 34-36. ISBN 3-499-17659-9
  25. ↑ answers.com: Al Garcia & The Rhythm Kings Review by Bryan Thomas, All Music Guide Viewed June 10, 2009
  26. ^ Deicke / Rausch: Die Rockjahre , Ullstein, Berlin 1987, p. 30.
  27. ↑ Manfred Berg: The development of the affluent society, 1947-1970 . In: Willi Paul Adams / Peter Lösche (eds.), Country Report USA , Federal Agency for Civic Education, Volume 357, Bonn 1998, pp. 148ff. ISBN 3-89331-354-0
  28. ↑ Wolfgang Tilgner: Psalms, Pop and Punk: Popular Music in the USA . Henschel Verlag GmbH, Berlin 1993, p. 287. ISBN 3-89487-184-9
  29. Jump up ↑ Dance Crazes Viewed April 15, 2009
  30. ↑ Tony Barthel: Dick Croxall's 1950 Oldsmobile Rocket 88  ( page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as broken. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Dead Link / www.curbside.tv   , Curbside's Publisher, 2008. Viewed 23 April 2009
  31. ↑ allmusic: The Deuce Coupes, Biography by Steve Leggett . Sighted: April 15, 2009
  32. ↑ Wolfgang Tilgner: Psalms, Pop and Punk: Popular Music in the USA . Henschel Verlag GmbH, Berlin 1993, p. 308.
  33. ↑ Jim Curtis: Rock Eras - Interpretations of Music & Society 1954-1984 . Popular Press, Bowling Green, Ohio 1987, p. 104. ISBN 0-87972-369-6
  34. ↑ Discogs: Submission: The History Of Surf Music Volume Three Viewed July 14, 2009
  35. ↑ The Official Dick Dale Homepage: Dick Dale's Discography . Sighted: July 14th, 2009
  36. ↑ Allmusic: Man or Astro-man? Biography by Greg Prato . Sighted: July 14th, 2009