Page 31 - ARUBA TODAY

A31
PEOPLE & ARTS Tuesday 19 March 2019

Dick Dale, King of Surf Guitar, ‘Miserlou’ composer, is dead

By LINDSEY BAHR in the 1970s that was the re-
JOHN ROGERS sult of a surfing injury.
Associated Press His musical influence was
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Dick profound and included
Dale, whose pounding, guitar virtuosos Jimi Hendrix
blaringly loud power-chord and Stevie Ray Vaughan
instrumentals on songs like and movie director Quen-
“Miserlou” and “Let’s Go tin Tarantino, who selected
Trippin’” earned him the Dale’s “Miserlou,” as the
title King of the Surf Guitar, theme song of his 1994 film
has died at age 83. “Pulp Fiction.” That helped
His former bassist Sam Bolle pull the guitarist back into
says Dick Dale passed the pop-culture spotlight.
away Saturday night. No Dale himself had begun to
other details were avail- launch a comeback with
able. the 1987 film “Back to the
Dale liked to say it was he Beach,” which reunited
and not the Beach Boys Funicello and her co-star
who invented surf music — Frankie Avalon as a middle-
and some critics have said aged couple returning to
he was right. their old surfing haunts. He
An avid surfer, Dale start- teamed up with Vaughan
ed building a devoted Los to record the classic surf
Angeles fan base in the instrumental “Pipeline” for
late 1950s with repeated that film, earning the pair a
appearances at Newport Grammy nomination.
Beach’s old Rendezvous In 1993 he released “Tribal
Ballroom. He played “Miser- Thunder,” his first album of
lou,” ‘’The Wedge,” ‘’Night all new material in nearly
Rider” and other composi- In this May 27, 2007 file photo, Dick Dale, known as “The King of the Surf Guitar,” performs at B.B. 30 years. He followed it with
tions at wall-rattling volume King Blues Club in New York. Dale has died at age 81. “Unknown Territory” the fol-
on a custom-made Fender Associated Press lowing year.
Stratocaster guitar. his musical style when he in 1961, two months ahead Funicello danced on the Dale continued to tour into
“Miserlou,” which would sought to merge the sounds of the Beach Boys’ first hit, beach. Dale had released his 80s, in part he said to pay
become his signature song, of the crashing ocean “Surfin.’” The magazine his first album, “Surfer’s the medical bills that ad-
had been adapted from waves he heard while surf- called Dale’s song “the Choice,” a year earlier. He vancing age was saddling
a Middle Eastern folk tune ing with melodies inspired harbinger of the ‘60s surf followed it with four more him with. Having beaten
Dale heard as a child and by the rockabilly music he music craze.” over the next two years cancer in the 1960s, he suf-
later transformed into a loved. Although popular around while appearing in several fered a serious recurrence
thundering surf-rock instru- He pounded rather than Southern California, Dale “Beach Party” sequels and in 2015.
mental. plucked the strings of his might have remained just other surfer movies. Born Richard Anthony Mon-
His fingering style was so guitar in a style he said he a cult figure if surfing had Other popular Dale songs sour in Boston on May 4,
frenetic that he shredded borrowed from an early not exploded in worldwide included “Jungle Fever,” 1937, Dale moved to Los
guitar picks during songs, musical hero, the great jazz popularity during his peak ‘’Shake-N-Stomp” and Angeles with his family in
a technique that forced drummer Gene Krupa. creative years. “Swingin’ and Surfin’.” 1954, where he immedi-
him to stash spares on his “Dale pioneered a musical When the first of a series His star dimmed after the ately fell in love with surfing
guitar’s body. “Better shred genre that Beach Boy Brian of “Beach Party” movies Beatles led music’s British in- and the electric guitar.
than dead,” he liked to Wilson and others would made to cash in on the phe- vasion onto the pop charts As a child, he listened to
joke, an expression that later bring to fruition,” Roll- nomenon was released in in 1964 and his record label Lebanese and Polish folk
eventually became the ing Stone magazine said in 1963, it included Dick Dale dropped him. His career tunes played by his parents.
title of a 1997 anthology re- its “Encyclopedia of Rock and the Del-Tones perform- also was sidelined by a bat- Eventually he graduated to
leased by Rhino Records. & Roll” adding “Let’s ing “Secret Surfing Spot” as tle with cancer in the 1960s big band, swing, country
Dale said he developed Go Trippin’” was released teen heartthrob Annette and a serious foot infection and rockabilly. q

YouTube star Lilly Singh to host NBC late-night show

Associated Press network. Her half-hour pro- and “Ice Age: Collision
LOS ANGELES (AP) — NBC gram will include in-studio Course.”?
is shaking up late-night TV, interviews and pre-taped Singh’s YouTube channel,
giving Carson Daly’s slot to comedy sketches, NBC in which she creates come-
a woman of color who’s a said. dic and other videos, has
star on YouTube. In a statement, Singh more than 14 million sub-
The network said Thursday called the prospect of be- scribers, NBC said.
that a new show, titled “A ing an Indian-Canadian Last month, Daly said he’s
Little Late with Lilly Singh,” woman with her own late- decided it’s time to bring
will air at 1:35 a.m. EDT be- night show “a dream come his “Last Call” show to an
ginning in September. true.” end as he focuses on new
Singh will be the only wom- Her acting credits include and continuing projects,
In this April 19, 2018 file photo, Lilly Singh arrives at WE Day an to host a daily late-night HBO’s movie “Fahren- as host and producer of
California at The Forum in Inglewood, Calif.
Associated Press show on a major broadcast heit?451,” ‘’Bad Moms” NBC’s “The Voice.”q