1960s Dale began playing in local country western–rockabilly bars, where in 1955 he met an entertainer who went by Texas Tiny, who gave him the name "Dick Dale" because he thought it was a good name for a country singer. Dale employed non-Western
scales in his playing. He regularly used
reverb, which became a trademark of surf guitar. Being left-handed, Dale would become known for his unorthodox method of playing a right-handed guitar upside-down, doing so (like
Albert King) without restringing the guitar (while Hendrix, by comparison, would restring his guitar). Even after he acquired a proper left-handed guitar, Dale continued to use his reverse stringing. He often played by reaching over the fretboard, rather than wrapping his fingers up from underneath. He partnered with
Leo Fender to test new equipment. In interviews Dale noted that Fender had stated, "When it can withstand the barrage of punishment from Dick Dale, then it is fit for the human consumption." His combination of loud amplifiers and heavy-gauge strings led him to be called the "Father of Heavy Metal." Furthering the development, the Showman Amp later added a second 15-inch JBL D-130 speaker, and it was named the Dual Showman Amp. Dale's performances at the Rendezvous Ballroom in Balboa in mid to late 1961 are credited with the creation of the surf music phenomenon. Dale obtained permission to use the 3,000-person capacity ballroom for surfer dances after overcrowding at a local
ice cream parlor where he performed made him seek other venues. The Rendezvous ownership and the city of
Newport Beach agreed to Dale's request on the condition that he prohibit alcohol sales and implement a
dress code. Dale's events at the ballrooms, called "stomps," quickly became legendary, and the events routinely sold out. This was followed by more locally released songs, including "Jungle Fever" and "Surf Beat" on his own Deltone label. His first full-length album was ''
Surfers' Choice in 1962. The album was picked up by Capitol Records and distributed nationally, and Dale soon began appearing on The Ed Sullivan Show, and in films where he played his signature single "Miserlou." He later stated, "I still remember the first night we played it ("Misirlou"). I changed the tempo, and just started cranking'' on that mother. And ... it was eerie. The people came rising up off the floor, and they were chanting and stomping. I guess that was the beginning of the surfer's stomp." His second album was named after his performing nickname, "King of the Surf Guitar." Dale later said "There was a tremendous amount of power I felt while surfing and that feeling of power was simply transferred into my guitar." His playing style reflected the experience he had when surfing, which he tried to project to his audience. Dale and the Del-Tones performed both sides of his Capitol single "Secret Surfin' Spot" in the 1963 movie
Beach Party, starring
Frankie Avalon and
Annette Funicello. The group performed the songs "My First Love," "Runnin' Wild" and "Muscle Beach" in the 1964 film
Muscle Beach Party. Though he recovered, he retired from music for several years. In 1979, he almost lost a leg after a pollution-related infection of a mild swimming injury. As a result, Dale became an
environmental activist and soon began performing again. He recorded a new album in 1986 and was nominated for a Grammy. In 1987, he appeared in the movie
Back to the Beach, playing surf music and performing "
Pipeline" with
Stevie Ray Vaughan. In 1993, he recorded a guitar solo for the track "Should Have Known" released as a vinyl single by the Southern California
indie band, The Pagodas. The use of "
Miserlou" in the 1994
Quentin Tarantino film
Pulp Fiction gained him a new audience. The following year,
John Peel praised his playing following a gig in the Garage, London. The same year, he recorded a surf-rock version of
Camille Saint-Saëns's "Aquarium" from
The Carnival of the Animals for the musical score of the enclosed roller coaster,
Space Mountain at
Disneyland in
Anaheim, California. Dick Dale participated in the
Vans Warped Tour in 1996, along with
NOFX,
Pennywise and
Rocket From The Crypt. A
booking agent for the event told the
Los Angeles Times: "I'm a fan [of Dale's], and I thought it would be cool to expose him to this group of young kids." Dale was inducted to the Hollywood Rock Walk of Fame that same year. In 2000 the
U.S. House of Representatives elected Dale into the
Library of Congress Hall of Records for outstanding achievements in music. In March 2005,
Q magazine placed Dale's version at number 89 in its list of the 100 Greatest Guitar Tracks. In 2009, Dale was inducted into the
Musicians Hall of Fame and Museum in
Nashville, Tennessee. Dale is also a 2011 inductee into the Surfing Walk of Fame in
Huntington Beach, California, in the Surf Culture category. In June 2009, Dale began a West Coast tour from
southern California to
British Columbia, with approximately 20 concert dates. "Forever Came Calling" (or FCC) featured Dale's then-17-year-old son, Jimmie Dale on drums, who opened for him. He was scheduled to play the Australian One Great Night On Earth festival to raise funds to benefit those affected by the
Black Saturday bushfires and other natural disasters. Dale said that he was forced to keep touring to the end of his life, because of his inability to afford his medical costs. He had many health issues, including diabetes,
kidney failure, and vertebrae damage that made performing excruciatingly painful. At the time of his death, Dale had tour dates scheduled into November 2019. ==Personal life==