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The Bel Airs are considered one of the most important surf music icons, and "Mr. Moto" is the perfect tune for a summer surfing day. The catchy riffs will stick in the heads of even the youngest groms.
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- Mr. Moto – The Belairs (1961) Taking their name from the sax player’s car, this group of South Bay, LA high school students produced one of surf music’s pivotal recordings in the summer of ’61.
- Latin’ia – The Sentinals (1962) Formed in San Luis Obispo, California, The Sentinals produced this beautiful Spanish melody portraying surf music’s solitary and sometimes haunting sound.
- Miserlou – Dick Dale & The Del-Tones (1962) If you’ve ever wondered what it’s like to drive a nail through your own head, this tune will give you a general idea.
- Pipeline – The Chantays (1963) In the mid-sixties, every kid above the age of zero could play Pipeline’s haunting four-note backdrop. Pipeline,along with The Ventures’ Walk Don’t Run and Chuck Berry’s Johnny B. Good,probably inspired more budding guitar players over the next thirty years than any other songs in the history of rock.
- The Beach Boys
- The Surfaris
- Jan and Dean
- Dick Dale & His Del-Tones
- The Astronauts
- The Trashmen
- The Chantays
- The Challengers
- Man Or Astro-Man?
- La Luz
It’s only right to start our list with The Beach Boys. While they didn’t invent surf rock, they were responsible for popularizing it. They were such a big deal that they were one of the few American bands to survive the onslaught of the British Invasion. The Beach Boys formed in Hawthorne, California, in 1961. They’ve recorded 29 albums throughout ...
Our next band, The Surfaris, is an influential instrumental surf rock band formed in Glendora, California, in 1962. They released 11 albums during their career, but their hit “Wipe Out” made them famous and created a legacy. The members of the band themselves wrote the song. “Surfer Joe” and “Wipe Out” were the A-side and B-side of the band’s 45 rp...
The vocal surf rock duo Jan and Deanconsists of William Jan Berry and Dean Ormsby Torrence. The two met in high school in Los Angeles, where they were both football players, and ended up harmonizing in the locker room. If the Beach Boys made surf rock famous, it was Jan and Dean who cut the trail. One of their biggest hits is “Surf City,” the very ...
Up next is Dick Dale & His Del-Tones, considered the true pioneers of instrumental surf rock music. Dale’s “Let’s Go Trippin’” was one of the first surf rock songs, and he was highly influential in the genre. Dale used Middle Eastern music scales in his playing along with reverb. His tremolo picking and his quest to get the most out of amplifiers m...
Our next band, The Astronauts, formed in Boulder, Colorado, in 1961 and was active until 1968. They assumed their band name in tribute to astronaut Scott Carpenter who was also born in Boulder. Though The Astronauts were local celebrities, they weren’t as successful as the other bands on this list. Their first single under RCA Records, “Baja,” came...
Up next is The Trashmen, a rock band with its roots in Minneapolis, Minnesota. They took their name from the Kai Ray-penned song “Trashman’s Blues.” The Trashmen became interested in surf rock after listening to Dick Dale. They then conceptualized “Surfin’ Bird,” which their audience liked when they performed it. The song was a mix-up of The Riving...
What made The Chantaysdifferent from other surf rock bands is their use of electronic keyboards and surf guitar. They were able to create ghostly sounds, unlike the other bands. The Chantays were formed in Orange County, California, by high school friends. Just a year later, they recorded their hit instrumental song “Pipeline.” It reached #4 on the...
Coming up is another instrumental surf rock band, The Challengers. The band formed out of Bel-Airs, a surf rock band that broke up following a disagreement over artistic decisions. The Challengers used to play in high school dances and local clubs. Eventually, they had enough money to record their debut album, Surfbeat. The album contained songs th...
While surf rock had a very short time in the sun in the 60s, bands like Man or Astro-Man?drew heavily from its waters and kept it alive. The band formed in Auburn, Alabama, in 1992. This primarily instrumental band performed under the guise of being aliens sent to Earth to play surf rock. The members have personas, which include Star Crunch (Brian ...
Last on the list is the contemporary surf-rock band La Luz. They are a Seattle band formed in 2012 whose members were inspired by surf and rock and roll personalities such as Dick Dale. They’ve released four albums on Hardly Art Records, all of which brought them acclaim. Their sound is often called surf noir and is heavily influenced by surf rock,...
Dec 17, 2023 · The 20 Best Surfing Songs. Celebrating the sun, sand, and waves, these timeless surfing songs capture the culture and excitement of riding the waves. From the iconic harmonies of The Beach Boys to the guitar twangs of The Surfaris, each track is a quintessential piece of surf-rock history.
Pablo Cruise – Zero to Sixty in Five. (Shaun Tomson, MR, Rabbit, PT, in Free Ride) If ever a track encapsulated the great leap forward in surfing performance of the Bustin Down The Door era, the newfound performance liberties taken by the Free Ride generation, it’s Pablo Cruise’s Zero to Sixty in Five. Even the title is like a benchmark ...
Probably the single-most famous surf tune hit was "Wipe Out" by the Surfaris, with its intro of a wicked laugh; the Surfaris were also known for their cutting-edge lead guitar and drum solos, and "Wipe Out" reached number two on the Hot 100 in August 1963 and number 16 in October 1966.
Oct 2, 2022 · “Pipeline” is one of the most famous surf songs and for good reason. The melody is catchy and the guitar riffs are iconic. This song is perfect for those who want to reminisce about summer days spent at the beach.
