Surfing is not only a sport, surfing is a culture - a whole lifestyle. And what should not be missing? The music! That's what our blog is about today. We dedicate ourselves completely to the sounds of surf music, from the beginning in the 1960s until today, from purely instrumental sounds, to vocal pieces to reggae.
What is surf music?
The genre of surf music originated in California in the 1960s. It originally describes a predominantly instrumental variant of Rock n Roll. The Beach Boys were the ones who primarily shaped surf music in its beginnings. And through them it also became internationally popular. Surf music changed over time. Singing was added, the basis is no longer only Rock n Roll but also Ska and Reggea. Nowadays there is no more uniform, typical surf music. As individual as the surfing style of each surfer is, so different is the music.
Top artists and their hits
One of the most famous bands is The Beach Boys. With their song Surfin' USA they reached the Top Ten in 1963. But the Beach Boys differ stylistically from the traditional instrumental surf music, because they mainly did songs with polyphonic vocals.
The Surfaris is an American surf rock band from California. They are among the best known instrumental performers. The song Wipe Out, produced in 1963, also made it into the top ten.
Dick Dale is a musician from the USA and pioneer of surf music. His song Let's Go Trippin' (1961) is regarded as a style-setter for the surf rock scene. His songs are also purely instrumental. His most famous song in surf music: Misirlou. By the way, Dick Dale once had the unofficial title "King of the Surf Guitar".
The US-American band The Ventures is dedicated to instrumental rock music. One of their surf song hits: Hawaii 5-0.
The music of Jack Johnson is very popular among surfers, although it doesn't really belong to the classic genre of surf music. He is not only a singer, but also an enthusiastic surfer. Born on Hawai, surfing was practically a part of his cradle. As a teenager he learned to play the guitar. Later he wrote his own songs. From then on he rose to a popular musical greatness in the surfer scene. One of his best songs: You and your Heart.
The band Sublime exists since 1988. The three singers come from California. They played a mix of Punk, Ska, Dub and Reggae. A popular song in surf music is Badfish.
When Sublime disbanded after the death of Nowell, the remaining band members Wilson and Gaugh founded the Long Beach Dub Allstars. This music falls into the Reggae/Dub category. Their song Sunny Hours sneaked into the Surf Hitlits.
Music to tune in to the surf season, for the work out for the surf body and to relax in the surf camp. Of course there are many other artists who feel like surf music or whose songs are loved by surfers. If you still have favorites, you are welcome to share them with us. So the playlist for your next surf holiday will be perfect!
In this Youtube-Channel you can find all mentioned songs:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCBHZp8z4n-F_pyH4Ji6Xu_w/feed
