R.I.P.

King of Surf Guitar Dick Dale Dead at 81

Famous for songs like “Let’s Go Trippin” and “Pulp Fiction” riff “Misirlou.”

Dick Dale, the man credited with inventing surf music, has died at the age of 81. Dubbed by fans as the “King of the Surf Guitar,” the rocker was best known for his guitar riffs on songs like “Misirlou” and “Let’s Go Trippin’.” He often said that it was he who invented surf music, not the more successful Beach Boys. “His star dimmed after the Beatles led music’s British invasion onto the pop charts in 1964 and his record label dropped him,” The Washington Post said in its obituary.“His career also was sidelined by a battle with cancer in the 1960s and a serious foot infection in the 1970s that was the result of a surfing injury.” The frenetic opening to “Misirlou” gained widespread attention in 1994 when its punchy start appeared at the beginning of Quentin Tarantino’s Pulp Fiction.