(Guitar Reference). Surf Beat is the first book to tell the story of the birth of surf music, and its persistent survival and reinvention in the face of decades of dismissal as a mere cultural aberration. Conventional wisdom posits that rock 'n' roll languished in the period between 1959 and 1963. Yet in that four-year stretch between Elvis joining the army and Buddy Holly's death, and the emergence of the Beatles, a musical revolution took place in Southern California that would influence all electric guitar forms that followed it. They called it surf music, and in Surf Beat , the genre finally gets its day in the sun. Surf music authority and author Kent Crowley uncovers the story of the initial emergence of surf music as first a local, then a national and international phenomenon, and its subsequent waves of popularity through the ensuing decades.
Introduction: The Day The Music Didn't Die 4
Glossary of Essential Terms 7
Prologue: The Surf Also Rises: Commencing the Last Wave 8
Summer Story 1 The South Swell 1957-1962
Chapter 1 Secret Surfin' Spot 14
Chapter 2 Rebel Rouser 28
Chapter 3 Let's Go Trippin' 43
Chapter 4 Mr Moto 53
Chapter 5 Stoked 65
Summer Story 2 The West Swell 1962-1964
Chapter 6 Moment Of Truth 81
Chapter 7 Miseriou 94
Chapter 8 Dead Man's Curve 109
Chapter 9 Penetration 145
Summer Story 3 The North Swell 1964-1972
Chapter 10 A New Shade of Blue 158
Chapter 11 Third Stone From The Sun 171
Chapter 12 The Endless Summer 189
Summer Story 4 The Great Swell 1971-1999
Chapter 13 Don't Let Your Goodbye Stand 203
Chapter 14 Rumble At Waikiki 212
Chapter 15 Surfers Rule 224
Summer Story 5 Big Wednesday 1999-2007
Epilogue 233
Endnotes 239
Recommended Listening 241
Sources 244
Index 247
Acknowledgements 255
Dr_Wilson_Trivino
Posted February 23, 2012
Nestled between the Rockibilly tunes of Buddy Holly and the Rock and Roll beat of the Beatles was the surf beat. This free flowing style began as free as the ocean waves. The author, Kent Crowley performs this music and has writes about music for numerous publications.
In Surf Beat: Rock ‘n’ Roll’s Forgotten Revolution by Kent Crowley, this book takes you down the pier where this youthful angst was spelled out in the mystical hum of instrumental music. This book is broken into five “summer stories” Crowley shares insights into greats such as Bob Keane, Ritchie Valens, Frank Zappa, and more.
The reader discovers groups like the Belairs, the Surfaris who rode the wave of amplified loud guitars and a beat that howled to the ocean waves. This surfing culture of which the Beach Boys rose shares an intimate portrait of those who made this scene alive until a recent resurgence today.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
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Posted August 11, 2011
I just finished reading "Surf Beat", and it was a very enjoyable read. The author really provides an in-depth, yet very interesting history and story of the surf scene, culture and music that created so many great bands and songs. I am a fan of a lot of the music in the book, and it gave me a much better appreciation of how the music came about. But don't mistake this book as a history textbook. Mr. Crowley creates an engaging story around the history and you can really tell that he did a lot of in-depth and personal research on this book. I can only give it one rating: Two Thumbs up!
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Overview
(Guitar Reference). Surf Beat is the first book to tell the story of the birth of surf music, and its persistent survival and reinvention in the face of decades of dismissal as a mere cultural aberration. Conventional wisdom posits that rock 'n' roll languished in the period between 1959 and 1963. Yet in that four-year stretch between Elvis joining the army and Buddy Holly's death, and the emergence of the Beatles, a musical revolution took place in Southern California that would influence all electric guitar forms that followed it. They called ...