Surf

Originating Location: West Coast, US

Originating Era: 1960s

Key Artists

 * The Ventures
 * The Shadows
 * Shadowy Men On A Shadowy Planet
 * The Surfaris
 * Dick Dale

Key Albums

 * Shadowy Men On A Shadowy Planet - Savvy Show Stoppers
 * The Ventures - Walk Don't Run
 * The Surfaris - Wipeout

Genre Description
A form of instrumental rock music that typically has a distinct sound. It's guitar-based, typically a trio or quartet, with a distinct bass line performed on an electric bass, drums and a higher-register sounding guitar, often with tremelo arm useage on the melody lines. Typically there is no distortion on the guitars, though plenty of reverb and vibrato.

Surf music gave way to Surf-Pop, which bands like the early era of The Beach Boys and Jan & Dean are the biggest examples of, which would put lyrics to surf-style songs, often about surfing and car-culture. Similarly, Surf Rock did the same thing for Surf and Rock music, combining elements, with such acts as The Hollies contributing to that genre, although that seemed more of an outgrowing of Surf-Pop rather than actual Surf.

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