Larry Collins and Dick Dale

[Strat-o-rama]

Here's a good one for you guys:
Over at the Surf Guitar forum, one of the mods posted a link to an interview with Dick Dale in the July 1981 isuue of Guitar Player. In the interview, DD claims to have learned lead guitar from Larry Collins and that they met on Town Hall Party. Some of the members over there are very aware of the King of Surf Guitar's propensity for spinning highly entertaining yarns, and commented on this fact. However, DD's stories may change a bit, but there is always a core that remains consistent.
Some of you west coast guys have been around to have picked up a lot of tales--has anyone ever gotten Larry Collin's version of this?

[Deke Dickerson]

Yeah, and this is one of my secret theories of music evolution....

If you look at a lot of those Town Hall Party videos, Larry did a lot of fast pickin' stuff, but unlike Joe Maphis, who used all wrist strokes to play the fast parts, young Larry used mostly arm strokes, and the result was a less refined, but more frantic kind of a tone. If you listen to the double-picking in songs like "Whistle Bait" and "Mercy" you'll hear what I mean.

Larry's sister Lorrie Collins was dating Dick Dale at the time, Dick was just getting started and was singing and playing country and 50's rock & roll (this was before she dated Ricky Nelson, and 3-4 years before Dick recorded any instrumentals). Larry told me that when Dick came over to visit Lorrie he would ask Larry for guitar lessons.

3 or 4 years later, Dick comes out with "Miserlou," doing the fast arm-stroke double-picking that Larry showed him years earlier. I truly believe that's how the surf music style of staccato double-picking evolved...though you would NEVER get Dick to admit that he didn't "invent" it. ha!

Early Town Hall Party clip showing what I mean:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jO0I400V ... re=related

Clip of Dick Dale early on demonstrating the same arm-stroke double picking technique:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NVduB6as2VU

Recent clip of Larry showing more surf - hillbilly double picking technique:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LVr4JcFGDe4

Deke

[zarfnober]

But Deke, until Larry is seen surfing, Mr. Monsour still holds the patent. As for Joe Maphis' wrist action, is that where Johnny Ramone got his?

Rocco

[Strat-o-rama]

Thanks for the input on this, Deke. That makes sense. I don't think it really takes anything away from DD, but obviously Larry did have a major influence. At some point, DD really moved towards the Spanish Gypsy scale (transposed harmonic minor) to create the 'surf' sound, while Larry functions more pentatonically. Not to sound too analytical, but the Ed Sullivan clip of DD playing instro has none of the rockabilly flavor, but the trem-picking is all Larry influence.
Fascinating bit of musicology.