Dick Dale

Dick Dale (born  Richard Anthony Monsour on May 4, 1937) is a  Lebanese American  surf rock  guitarist, known as  The King of the Surf Guitar. He pioneered the  surf music style, drawing on  Eastern musical  scales and experimenting with  reverberation. He worked closely with  Fender to produce custom made  amplifiers,  including the first-ever 100-watt  guitar amplifier.  He pushed the limits of electric amplification technology, helping to develop new equipment that was capable of producing  distorted, "thick, clearly defined tones" at "previously undreamed-of volumes." The "breakneck speed of his single-note  staccato<span style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:sans-serif;line-height:19.1875px;">  picking<span style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:sans-serif;line-height:19.1875px;"> technique" as well as his showmanship with the guitar is considered a precursor to  heavy metal music<span style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:sans-serif;line-height:19.1875px;">, influencing guitarists such as  Jimi Hendrix<span style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:sans-serif;line-height:19.1875px;"> and  Eddie Van Halen<span style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:sans-serif;line-height:19.1875px;">.