Quotes from Dick Dale

If you ask me what I'd rather be doing, well, I'd rather be home in California, watching TV, polishing my tools and working around the ranch.

When I started surfing, you'd hear this neat rumbling sound when you took off and go for the drop, and when the wave is lipping up over the top of you, it makes this hissing sound.

As I'd go out learning to surf, I'd feel the power of waves coming over my body. It's like you're with God.

You know, music is sex. It's a sensual driving mode that affects people if it's played a certain way.

When I first played the guitar without plugging it into an amplifier, the people at Fender were blown away. They couldn't believe the sound. I said, 'See, gentlemen, the world is no longer flat.'

My son now is 22 months old, he's been playing since he was 12 months old and he gets standing ovations on the drums. He's been with us since he was 10 weeks old, he's been on the drums. He's got blisters on his fingers before he can even talk.

I'm going to make people happy. I'm going to make them forget about their cancer. I'm going to make them forget about their diabetes.

I always wanted a guitar. I always wanted to be a cowboy singer because I also listened to Hank Williams, and he would always sing these neat romantic songs.

There's a saying. If you want someone to love you forever, buy a dog, feed it and keep it around.

Surf music is actually just the sound of the waves played on a guitar: that wet, splashy sound.

I wanted to put a sheet in explaining what all the songs are about, but they didn't do it.

My music is more native than intricate or technical.

Buddy Rich was one of the most incredible technicians in the world, on this planet, but the only people he could really impress, who knew what he was doing was another musician or another drummer.

That's what my music does for me. It makes people happy. When I play, I thank the Lord I've never seen someone walk away from a Dick Dale dance not having a good time. That's what it's all about.

You can't eat fish. It's 6,000 parts DDT per million all over the world, not counting radiation.

I thought of Gene Krupa's drumming, his staccato drumming. I went and put 'Misirlou' to that rhythm.

As a little kid I had a girlfriend, and her boyfriend used to beat me up, so then I used to sing these songs, and that's what it's all about. Country music is all about your heart and your people and things like that.

People who have witnessed all the years of me playing, they bring their kids and say, 'I used to see this guy when I was fourteen!'

People ask about love. Real love. I was never in love; the people around me didn't love me. They were just along for the ride.

With every problem comes a gift in hand.

The Musicians Hall of Fame is chosen by thousands of your peers. So it's the real thing.

I used to be a mean maniac. Someone once threw a firecracker at a show and I jumped off the side of the stage and whacked 'em on the side of the head.

I'll just tell you the way it is. You ask me what time it is and I'm gonna tell you how to build a clock.

You shouldn't even be writing this story if you haven't heard me play live. You can't write with the passion you receive until you see a Dick Dale concert.