Criteria: This list strives to give the best representation of the Surf Rock sound, by consideration of impact, influence, popularity, originality and adherence to the original surf rock guitar & harmony sound. (Note: Many 'Surf Rock' artists recorded tunes of various subject matter popular with young people in the early '60s, such as 'Girls', 'Hot Rods', 'Dances', 'School', and the new 'Space Race' regarding the first satellites such as 'Telstar'. This list focuses only on songs relating to 'Surfing'.)
Edited By: Lew
Last Updated: 2015-07-19
1. Surfin' U.S.A. - The Beach Boys 2. Wipe Out - The Surfaris 3. Pipeline - The Chantays 4. Misirlou - Dick Dale & the Del-Tones 5. Surfer Girl - The Beach Boys 6. Surf City - Jan & Dean 7. Let's Go Trippin' - Dick Dale & the Del-Tones 8. Surfin' Safari - The Beach Boys 9. Walk-Don't Run '64 - The Ventures 10. Penetration - The Pyramids 11. Ride The Wild Surf - Jan & Dean 12. The Lonely Surfer - Jack Nitzsche 13. Surfer Joe - The Surfaris 14. Honolulu Lulu - Jan & Dean 15. Baja - The Astronauts 16. Catch A Wave - The Beach Boys 17. Surfer's Stomp - The Marketts 18. California Sun - The Rivieras 19. Moon Dawg - The Gamblers 20. Mr. Moto - Bel Airs 21. Surf Beat - Dick Dale & the Del-Tones 22. Surfin' Bird - The Trashmen 23. Bombora - The Atlantics 24. Diamond Head - The Ventures 25. Lonely Sea - The Beach Boys 26. Bustin' Surfboards - The Tornadoes 27. Point Panic - The Surfaris 28. Perfidia - The Ventures 29. Soul Surfer - Johnny Fortune 30. Stoked - The Beach Boys 31. Noble Surfer - The Beach Boys 32. Surf Rider - The Lively Ones 33. Toes on the Nose - Eddie & The Showmen 34. Tell 'Em I'm Surfin' - Fantastic Baggys 35. New York's a Lonely Town - Trade Winds 36. Beyond the Surf - Jack Nitzsche 37. Let's Go! - The Routers 38. Surfin' - The Beach Boys 39. Shake N' Stomp - The Surfaris 40. King Of The Surf Guitar (vocal version) - Dick Dale & the Del-Tones 41. My Big Gun Board - The Rip Chords 42. Kame-Kaze - The Challengers 43. Tidal Wave - Dick Dale & the Del-Tones 44. Surf Jam - The Beach Boys 45. Pipeline - Dick Dale with Stevie Ray Vaughan (1987) 46. Mar Gaya - Fender IV 47. Surf Sacrifice - The Eliminators 48. Surfer's Delight - Bruce Johnston 49. Banzai Washout - Dick Dale & the Del-Tones 50. Surf-Ari - The Challengers 51. The Inebriated Surfer - The Tornadoes 52. Surf-A-Nova - Bruce Johnston 53. Surf Man - Richie Allen & The Pacific Surfers 54. Surfers' Slide - Richie Allen & The Pacific Surfers 55. He's My Blonde Headed Stompie-Wompie Real Gone Surfer Boy - Little Pattie 56. In-Liner (Surf Beat '97) - Dick Dale 57. Balboa Blue - The Marketts 58. Surfin' And Spyin' - The Ventures 59. Big Wednesday - The Rip Chords 60. Surfin' 'Round The World - Bruce Johnston 61. K-39 - The Challengers 62. Fiberglass Jungle - The Crossfires 63. Toes On The Nose - Eddie & The Showmen 64. Santa Cruz - The Ventures 65. Surf Trek - Davie Allan & Dick Dale 66. Gone Surfin' - Gary Hoey 67. Save Your Sundays For Surfin' - Fantastic Baggys 68. Surfer Dan - The Turtles 69. The Sweet Ride - The Supertones 70. I Live For the Sun - The Sunrays 71. Malibu Run - Fender IV 72. Surfin's Here To Stay - Bruce Johnston 73. Black Surf - Surf Guitar Villains 74. Surfer's Life - The Blue Stingrays 75. Shootin' The Pier - The Lively Ones 76. Summer Means Fun - Bruce and Terry 77. Two On The Beach - The Ventures 78. Surfin' Tragedy - The Sentinals 79. Surfin' Natasha - The Mel-Tones 80. Surfin' Time Again - Little Pattie 81. The Perfect Wave - Neil Norman 82. Surfin' School - The Del-Tinos 83. Surf Party - The Blue Stingrays 84. Shangai Surf - The Supertones 85. Pray For Surf - The Essex 86. Curl Rider Stomp - The Mel-Tones 87. The Ninth Wave - The Bomboras 88. Caught in the Undertow - The Retroliners 89. Surfmania - The Aqua Velvets 90. King Of The Surf - The Trashmen 91. Parafin Jungle - The Eliminators 92. You'll Never Surf In This Town Again - The Mel-Tones 93. Sex Wax - Surf Nation 94. Sultans of Surf - Surf Guitar Villains 95. Return Of The Surfin' Headhunters - The Mel-Tones 96. Curl Rider - Surf Nation 97. Surf Nouveau - The Aqua Velvets 98. Surf Blaster - The Vara-Tones 99. Ghost Wave - The Verbtones 100. Little Miss Red Riding Hood Surfer Queen Of Hollywood - Jim Pewter
Dick Dale
Jan & Dean
Honerable Mentions
Theme from The Endless Summer - The Sandals (1964)
Theme from The Endless Summer - Gary Hoey (from The Endless Summer II) (1994)
Definition:
'Surf Rock' originated in Southern California in the early '60s where the sport of surfing and the young people who
followed the trend became a sub-culture of their own. Dick Dale, a surfer himself, originated the sound on 1961s
instrumental "Let's Go Trippin", using a generous amount of 'reverb', fast staccato picking, and use of the 'whammy
bar' to to generate the excitement of rushing down a crashing wave. Other Instrumental bands followed the 'surf'
sound including 'The Ventures', The Surfaris, The Chantays, and The Tornadoes. In '62 & '63 the Beach Boys and
Jan & Dean recorded harmony-filled songs and ballads with the surfing theme. After its peak year of 1963,
the instrumental surf-rock style gradually faded from prominence, while the vocal-oriented surf-rock style began to shift
towards 'hot-rod' music, which consequently had the potential for even broader national appeal. In the 1990s,
the popularity of the soundtrack from the movie "Pulp Fiction" (1994) brought about a whole new generation of
instrumental Surf Rock bands, such as 'The Blue Stingrays', 'The Aqua Velvets', 'The Mel-Tones', & 'The Bomboras'.
Today there are hundreds of 'Surf Rock' bands from around the world keeping the original sound alive.
