Dick Dale - Playgirl - February 1974

 Playgirl 

February 1974

Coverguy

Jerry Mansfield and Mary Pat Bonney (Not nude) photographed by Norbert Jobst

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Dick Dale (born Richard Anthony Monsour on May 4, 1937) is an 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 picking technique" as well as his showmanship with the guitar is considered a precursor to heavy metal music, influencing guitarists such as Jimi Hendrix and Eddie Van Halen.

Dale said in the 1990s that he was not born in Beirut, Lebanon, as he had been telling interviewers for decades. He said he was born in Boston.

Dale has said that he has never used alcohol or drugs and discourages their use by band members and road crew. Health was a priority for him. In 1972, he stopped eating red meat. He studied martial arts for over 30-years. At age 76 he is still putting on physically energetic live shows. In early 2008, he experienced a recurrence of rectal cancer and finished a surgical, chemotherapy, and radiation treatment regimen.

In June, 2009 Dale began a West Coast tour from Southern California to British Columbia, with approximately 20 concert dates. "Forever Came Calling" (or FCC) featured Dale's then-17-year-old son, Jimmy Dale on drums, who opened for him. He was scheduled to play the Australian One Great Night On Earth festival to raise funds to benefit those affected by the Black Saturday busfires and other natural disasters. Dale continues to perform at venues across the U.S. into 2014.