Dale is revered as one of the pioneers of surf rock and one of the most influential guitarists of the early 1960s. His technique influenced future guitarists such as Jimi Hendrix and Eddie Van Halen. He experimented with reverberation and made use of custom-made Fender amplifiers. Among Dale's most well-known songs are "Misirlou", "Surf Beat", and "Let's Go Trippin'". He also released music under Dick Dale & His Del-Tones.
Born Richard Anthony Mansour to a Lebanese father and a Polish mother, he soon learned to play the drums, the ukulele, and finally the guitar. Among his early musical influences was his uncle, an oud player performing belly dance music. A plethora of Dale's early material contains middle eastern musical influences. Dale's professional career began in 1959, playing with his band The Del-Tones for surfers at the Rendezvous Ballroom in Balboa, California. With authorities concerned about the mix of young people and guitars, one of the requirements at the Ballroom was that every male patron wear a tie, so the audience was often made up of barefooted guys in surfer garb wearing ties that were handed out at the door.
Dale is often credited as one of the first electric guitarist to employ exotic scales in his playing. When Dale started surfing he became so fascinated that he began seeking ways of channeling the energy and power of the sport through his guitar playing. While he is primarily known for introducing the use of guitar reverberation, which has since become a staple of the surf sound, it was Dale's fast staccato picking that was his trademark. Due to his left-handedness, Dale was initially forced to play a right-handed model. However, he did so without restringing the guitar, leading him to effectively play the guitar upside-down (while Hendrix would restring his guitar). Even after he acquired a proper left-handed guitar, Dale continued to use his reverse stringing.
Discography:
Albums:
1962 - Surfer's Choice (Deltone)
1963 - King of the Surf Guitar (Capitol)
1963 - Checkered Flag (Capitol)
1964 - Mr. Eliminator (Capitol)
1964 - Summer Surf (Capitol)
1965 - Rock Out With Dick Dale & His DelTones: Live At Ciro's (Capitol)
1983 - The Tigers Loose (Balboa)
1993 - Tribal Thunder (HighTone)
1994 - Unknown Territory
1996 - Calling Up Spirits (Beggars Banquet)
2001 - Spacial Disorientation
Smoke on The Water
Dick Dale Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
On the Lake Geneva shoreline
To make records with a mobile
We didn't have much time
Frank Zappa and the Mothers
Were at the best place around
But some stupid with a flare gun
Burned the place to the ground
They burned down the gambling house
It died with an awful sound
Funky Claude was running in and out
Pulling kids out the ground
When it all was over
We had to find another place
But Swiss time was running out
It seemed that we would lose the race
Smoke on the water, fire in the sky
We ended up at the Grand Hotel
It was empty cold and bare
But with the Rolling truck Stones thing just outside
Making our music there
With a few red lights and a few old beds
We make a place to sweat
No matter what we get out of this
I know we'll never forget
Smoke on the water, fire in the sky
Dick Dale's "Smoke on the Water" tells the story of a real-life incident that happened in Montreux, Switzerland in 1971. The band Deep Purple was set to record their new album at the Montreux Casino, which was located on the shore of Lake Geneva. They brought in a mobile recording studio to capture the sound of the casino on their album. The song starts by narrating the arrival of the musicians on the Lake Geneva shoreline. They were excited to make records but didn't have a lot of time. The lyrics mention Frank Zappa and the Mothers, who were also performing in Montreux during this time.
The song then takes a dark turn with the mention of a "stupid with a flare gun" who burned down the casino, which resulted in the "Smoke on the water, fire in the sky" line of the chorus. Funky Claude, who was the director of the Montreux Jazz Festival, is mentioned as he rescued many people from the burning building. The band was forced to find another venue to continue their recording session, and they ended up at the Grand Hotel which was empty and cold, but they still managed to make music that would live forever.
Overall, "Smoke on the Water" is a reflection of the power of music and how it can rise above even the darkest of events. It teaches us to never give up and to push through in the face of adversity.
Line by Line Meaning
We all came out to Montreux
We traveled to Montreux, Switzerland.
On the Lake Geneva shoreline
We were near the shore of Lake Geneva.
To make records with a mobile
We planned to record music with a portable studio.
We didn't have much time
Our time was limited for recording.
Frank Zappa and the Mothers
Frank Zappa and his band, The Mothers of Invention, were also present.
Were at the best place around
They were in the best venue nearby.
But some stupid with a flare gun
Unfortunately, a foolish person had a flare gun.
Burned the place to the ground
That person set the building on fire and destroyed it.
Smoke on the water, fire in the sky
The smoke and flames from the fire were visible for miles.
They burned down the gambling house
The building that burned down was a casino.
It died with an awful sound
The casino was consumed by the fire with a terrible noise.
Funky Claude was running in and out
A man named Funky Claude was helping people escape from the burning building.
Pulling kids out the ground
He was rescuing children from the casino.
When it all was over
After the fire was finally extinguished.
We had to find another place
We needed to locate a new venue to continue our work.
But Swiss time was running out
We had limited time left in Switzerland.
It seemed that we would lose the race
It appeared unlikely that we would be able to complete our recordings in time.
We ended up at the Grand Hotel
We relocated to the Grand Hotel nearby.
It was empty cold and bare
The new venue was devoid of any furnishings or equipment.
But with the Rolling truck Stones thing just outside
Fortunately, the Rolling Stones' mobile recording studio was parked nearby.
Making our music there
We were able to record music in that location.
With a few red lights and a few old beds
We used minimal equipment to makeshift a recording studio.
We make a place to sweat
We worked hard to create a suitable environment for recording music.
No matter what we get out of this
Regardless of the final outcome.
I know we'll never forget
We will always remember this experience.
Smoke on the water, fire in the sky
The remnants of the fire and smoke still linger in our memories.
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: Ritchie Blackmore, Ian Gillan, Roger D Glover, Jon Lord, Ian Paice
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
jemert96
I like how Dick Dale rarely sings, his music just speaks for itself
Tommie Lemke
Lived in California in 1964.He was the greatest guitarists then.Loved his unigue sound.
Joelle Brodeur
Hands down the coolest tone on the planet. Nothing beats early surf rock. Dick Dale was something special.
Albert Powell
I've seen Dick for the past 15 years every time I had the chance. This is about as close to an actual "Smoke on the Water" as he would get, meaning that he ALWAYS threw in a bunch of other stuff. Sam Bolle, his bass player, said that he had to watch every second because Dick would go anywhere he wanted, and throw it to Sam for solos at a moment's notice. Wonderful stuff; we have lost a true giant of music!!
Kurt Gøran Andersen
Albert Powell I can easily belive that....😁
Jeff F
it's obvious the 3 of them have a great rapport and Dick doesn't act like he's the star and they are just support, they play off each other
Tundra Tortoise
Wished I could' a seen him
Dragon Fly
@Tundra Tortoise I saw him twice, both times were the loudest shows I've ever been to in my life.
1 2
And Sam did it ridiculously good.
Gabe Horn
Nice rock stars fall apart like shit when they're that old. Dick Dale is not one of them. Still fucking kills it.