History Main / SurfRock

* Music/Skegss

-->--'''Music/DickDale'''

Surf rock comes in two flavours, instrumental and vocal. Both versions are centred around some common traits, such as electric guitars using "wet"-sounding spring reverb [[note]]Earlier examples, including Dick Dale were recorded without reverb, but most were.]] (''the'' central defining characteristic of surf music, arguably), vibrato and tremolo, driving rhythms, and in the case of vocal surf rock, doo-wop inspired vocal harmonies. While surf rock generally stuck to the guitar-bass-drums line-up and used some very specific guitar models (they loved the Fender, Mosrite, Teisco and Danelectro brands), there was occasional use of other instruments such as keyboards or saxophone. Notably, surf rock was one of the first genres to universally adopt the electric bass.

Surf rock comes in two flavours, instrumental and vocal. Both versions are centered around some common traits, such as electric guitars using "wet"-sounding spring reverb (''the'' central defining characteristic of surf music, arguably), vibrato and tremolo, driving rhythms, and in the case of vocal surf rock, doo-wop inspired vocal harmonies. While surf rock generally stuck to the guitar-bass-drums line-up and used some very specific guitar models (they loved the Fender, Mosrite, Teisco and Danelectro brands), there was occasional use of other instruments such as keyboards or saxophone. Notably, surf rock was one of the first genres to universally adopt the electric bass.

** 1963 - ''Surfin' U.S.A.''
** 1963 - ''Surfer Girl''
** 1963 - ''Little Deuce Coupe''
** 1964 - ''Shut Down, Volume 2''
** 1964 - ''Music/AllSummerLong''

** 1962 - ''Surfin' Safari''

** 1964 - ''All Summer Long''
** 1992 - ''Summer In Paradise''

On the MohsScaleOfRockAndMetalHardness, Surf Rock covers a wide spectrum. While vocal Surf Rock could range from as light as 2 to as hard as 4, the instrumental side of the style was some of the first rock music to reach 5; in some revivals, instrumental surf rock can go as high as 7.

* Music/JanAndDean ("Surf City")[[note]]Equally renowned for their ''hod rod rock'' - see ''Dead Man's Curve'', ''Drag City'' and The Little ''Old Lady from Pasadena''[[/note]]

* Music/JanAndDean

On the MohsScaleOfRockAndMetalHardness, Surf Rock covered a wide spectrum. While vocal Surf Rock could range from as light as 2 to as hard as 4, the instrumental side of the style was some of the first rock music to reach 5; in some revivals, instrumental surf rock can go as high as 7.

On the MohsScaleOfRockAndMetalHardness, Surf Rock covered a wide spectrum. While most vocal Surf Rock was between 3 and 4, the instrumental side of the style was some of the first rock music to reach 5; in some revivals, it can go as high as 7.

* Music/Tennis

Surf rock was incredibly popular between 1961-1965, the period from which originated its iconic songs such as "[[OlderThanTheyThink Misirlou]]", "Let's Go Trippin'", "Pipeline", "Wipe Out", "Surfin' USA", "Fun, Fun, Fun" and others. Another label applied to some of these bands, who played songs about fast cars rather than surfing, was "hot rod rock". The genre's popularity was effectively killed by TheBritishInvasion starting in 1964, with the only group that survived being Music/TheBeachBoys, who despite their association weren't really a SurfRock band.

* Music/TheBeachBoys: From 1961 to 1964 only, although Mike Love brought the band back to that genre in the early Nineties:

Surf rock was incredibly popular between 1961-1965, the period from which originated its iconic songs such as "[[OlderThanTheyThink Misirlou]]", "Let's Go Trippin'", "Pipeline", "Wipe Out", "Surfin' USA", "Fun, Fun, Fun" and others. Another label applied to some of these bands, who played songs about fast cars rather than surfing, was "hot rod rock". The genre's popularity was effectively killed by TheBritishInvasion starting in 1964, with the only group that survived being TheBeachBoys, who despite their association weren't really a SurfRock band.

* [[Music/TheBelAirs The Bel-Airs]] ("Mr. Moto")

* Music/JanAndDean

* Music/TheAstronauts

* Music/DickDale and His Del-Tones ("Let's Go Trippin'", "Misirlou")

* Music/TheRevels ("Comanche")

* Music/TheTornados ("Bustin' Surfboards")
* Music/TheVentures ("Walk Don't Run")