The Fastest Guitar in the West: How a Mariachi Teenager Accidentally Invented Surf Rock

Dick Dale was supposed to be playing traditional Lebanese music like his father wanted, but when he plugged his electric guitar into a 100-watt Fender amp at a 1961 Balboa dance, something beautiful and deafening happened. We explore how a Lebanese-American kid mixing mariachi, Middle Eastern scales, and way too much volume created the sound that would define California cool—and nearly destroy every amplifier on the West Coast. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.