By the early 1960s,  instrumental rock and roll had been pioneered successfully by performers such as Link Wray, Nokie Edwards and the Ventures and Duane Eddy.
This trend was developed by Dick Dale, who added Middle Eastern and Mexican influences, the distinctive reverb (giving the guitar a "wet" sound), and the rapid alternate picking characteristic of the genre (influenced by Arabic music, which Dale learnt from his Lebanese uncle).
His performances at the Rendezvous Ballroom in Balboa, California, during the summer of 1961, and his regional hit "Let's Go Trippin'" later that year, launched the surf music craze, which he followed up with hits like "Misirlou" (1962).

While Dick Dale was crafting his new sound in Orange County, the Bel-Airs were crafting their own in the South Bay region of Los Angeles County.
The band was composed of five teen-aged boys.
In 1959 they were still learning to play their instruments: Dick Dodd on drums, Chas Stuart on saxophone, Jim Roberts on piano, and Eddie Bertrand and Paul Johnson on guitars.
Said Johnson of his relationship with Bertrand, "Learning the guitar became a duo experience versus a solo thing.
We learned to play by playing together, one guy would play the chords, the other would play the lead.
This sound would become the basis for the Bel-Airs."
They recorded their first single, "Mr. Moto", in June 1961 (with Richard Delvy on drums instead of Dodd) and the song received radio airplay that summer.
Dale was older, played louder, commanded a larger audience, and usually gets credit for creating surf music, but the Bel-Airs lay claim to having the first surf music single.

Like Dale and his Del-Tones, most early surf bands were formed in Southern California, with Orange County in particular having a strong surf culture, and the Rendezvous Ballroom  hosted many surf-styled acts.
Groups such as the Bel-Airs (whose hit "Mr. Moto", influenced by Dale's earlier live performances, was released slightly before "Let's Go Trippin'"), the Challengers (with their album Surfbeat) and then Eddie & the Showmen followed Dale to regional success.

The Chantays scored a top-ten national hit with "Pipeline", reaching number four in May 1963.
Probably the single-most famous surf tune hit was "Wipe Out" by the Surfaris, with its intro of a wicked laugh; the Surfaris were also known for their cutting-edge lead guitar and drum solos, and "Wipe Out" reached number two on the Hot 100 in August 1963 and number 16 in October 1966.
The group also had two other global hits, "Surfer Joe" and "Point Panic".

The growing popularity of the genre led groups from other areas to try their hand.
These included the Astronauts, from Boulder, Colorado; the Trashmen, from Minneapolis, Minnesota, who reached number four with "Surfin' Bird" in 1964; and the Rivieras, from South Bend, Indiana, who reached number five in 1964 with "California Sun".
the Atlantics, from Sydney, Australia, were not exclusively surf musicians, but made a significant contribution to the genre, the most famous example being their hit "Bombora", in 1963.
Also from Sydney were the Denvermen, whose lyrical instrumental "Surfside" reached number one in the Australian charts.
Another Australian surf band who were known outside their own country's surf scene were the Joy Boys, backing band for singer Col Joye; their hit "Murphy the Surfie"  from 1963 was later covered by the Surfaris.

European bands around this time generally focused more on the style played by British instrumental rock group the Shadows.
A notable example of European surf instrumental is Spanish band Los Relámpagos' rendition of "Misirlou".
The Dakotas, who were the British backing band for Merseybeat singer Billy J. Kramer, gained some attention as surf musicians with "Cruel Sea", in 1963, which was later covered by the Ventures, and eventually other instrumental surf bands, including the Challengers and the Revelairs.
By the early 1960s,  instrumental rock and roll had been pioneered successfully by performers such as Link Wray, Nokie Edwards and the Ventures and Duane Eddy. This trend was developed by Dick Dale, who added Middle Eastern and Mexican influences, the distinctive reverb (giving the guitar a "wet" sound), and the rapid alternate picking characteristic of the genre (influenced by Arabic music, which Dale learnt from his Lebanese uncle). His performances at the Rendezvous Ballroom in Balboa, California, during the summer of 1961, and his regional hit "Let's Go Trippin'" later that year, launched the surf music craze, which he followed up with hits like "Misirlou" (1962).
While Dick Dale was crafting his new sound in Orange County, the Bel-Airs were crafting their own in the South Bay region of Los Angeles County. The band was composed of five teen-aged boys. In 1959 they were still learning to play their instruments: Dick Dodd on drums, Chas Stuart on saxophone, Jim Roberts on piano, and Eddie Bertrand and Paul Johnson on guitars. Said Johnson of his relationship with Bertrand, "Learning the guitar became a duo experience versus a solo thing. We learned to play by playing together, one guy would play the chords, the other would play the lead. This sound would become the basis for the Bel-Airs." They recorded their first single, "Mr. Moto", in June 1961 (with Richard Delvy on drums instead of Dodd) and the song received radio airplay that summer. Dale was older, played louder, commanded a larger audience, and usually gets credit for creating surf music, but the Bel-Airs lay claim to having the first surf music single. 
Like Dale and his Del-Tones, most early surf bands were formed in Southern California, with Orange County in particular having a strong surf culture, and the Rendezvous Ballroom  hosted many surf-styled acts. Groups such as the Bel-Airs (whose hit "Mr. Moto", influenced by Dale's earlier live performances, was released slightly before "Let's Go Trippin'"), the Challengers (with their album Surfbeat) and then Eddie & the Showmen followed Dale to regional success.
The Chantays scored a top-ten national hit with "Pipeline", reaching number four in May 1963. Probably the single-most famous surf tune hit was "Wipe Out" by the Surfaris, with its intro of a wicked laugh; the Surfaris were also known for their cutting-edge lead guitar and drum solos, and "Wipe Out" reached number two on the Hot 100 in August 1963 and number 16 in October 1966. The group also had two other global hits, "Surfer Joe" and "Point Panic".
The growing popularity of the genre led groups from other areas to try their hand. These included the Astronauts, from Boulder, Colorado; the Trashmen, from Minneapolis, Minnesota, who reached number four with "Surfin' Bird" in 1964; and the Rivieras, from South Bend, Indiana, who reached number five in 1964 with "California Sun". the Atlantics, from Sydney, Australia, were not exclusively surf musicians, but made a significant contribution to the genre, the most famous example being their hit "Bombora", in 1963. Also from Sydney were the Denvermen, whose lyrical instrumental "Surfside" reached number one in the Australian charts. Another Australian surf band who were known outside their own country's surf scene were the Joy Boys, backing band for singer Col Joye; their hit "Murphy the Surfie"  from 1963 was later covered by the Surfaris.
European bands around this time generally focused more on the style played by British instrumental rock group the Shadows. A notable example of European surf instrumental is Spanish band Los Relámpagos' rendition of "Misirlou". The Dakotas, who were the British backing band for Merseybeat singer Billy J. Kramer, gained some attention as surf musicians with "Cruel Sea", in 1963, which was later covered by the Ventures, and eventually other instrumental surf bands, including the Challengers and the Revelairs.
Surf music