Al Jardine and John McFee remember surf guitar legend Dick Dale, who died Saturday.
- Beach Boy Al Jardine calls Dale "an innovator." In a Facebook post, he recalls how Dale "helped Leo Fender develop a Fender amplifier with an 11 setting... L-O-L. Carl [Wilson] and I enjoyed playing 'Misirlou,' 'Let's Go Trippin' and other classics early in our career when we didn't have enough songs to fill out a set. We played the Rendezvous Ballroom where Dick created the iconic surf sound that helped jump-start our career. RIP Dick, you'll ALWAYS be the King of the Surf Guitar. 🎸🎶🏄"
- Doobie Brothers guitarist John McFee often watched Dale perform at clubs while growing up in Orange County, California. Though they never met, McFee says he was a big fan -- and learned much about guitar technique and picking from watching the "Misirlou" man.
John McFee remembers Dick Dale:
"I grew up playing Fender instruments and that's what he played. And he was always... played with a clean sound, which I always did, no distortion. You've got a fast, clean picking and that was always attractive to me, 'Wow, that's cool!' And learning songs like 'Misirlou,' everyone's like, 'Man, that's hard at first.' [laugh] He was an influence, I think on everybody. Dick Dale was a... he really had his own thing and was a pioneer."