Surfin' - Instrumentals of the 1960s Part 2 Quiz

Answer: The Surfaris

"Point Panic" by the Surfaris follows the line of their signature hit "Wipe Out". It starts with the manic call, "Point Panic" then begins a rocking instrumental that fits right into the surf genre. "Point Panic" made the top fifty on the Billboard Hot 100 and the top forty in Australia.

Answer: The Mar-Kets

"Surfer's Stomp" by The Mar-Kets was a good Surf Instrumental and made the Billboard Hot 100 in 1962 and climbed to number 31; the record did not chart elsewhere. The Mar-Kets were comprised of studio musicians, all part of the now famous Wrecking Crew who played on hundreds of pop hits in the 1960s. Some of the personnel involved on "Surfer's Stomp" were Hal Blaine, Glen Campbell, Tommy Tedesco, Bill Pitman and Leon Russell. Many of the players on this record were featured on "The Lonely Surfer" by Jack Nitzsche. The Mar-Kets followed "Surfer's Stomp" with "Balboa Blue" backed with "Stompede" which charted on the Hot 100 peaking at number 48 both tunes are part of the Surf Rock genre. Then came their biggest hit "Out of Limits" which hit number three on the Hot 100 in 1963.

Many of the musicians on these records were the group called The Routers featured on a hit in 1962 "Let's Go".

Answer: Dick Dale and the Dell Tones

"Lets Go Trippin'" was a track on the first album "Surfers Choice" released by Dick Dale and the Dell Tones in 1961. That tune was the first to make the Billboard Hot 100 for this loud guitarist. The record with its twelve bar blues beat is rather subdued for Dick Dale who is renowned for loud and fast. "Let's Go Trippin'" Made it to number 60 on the Billboard Hot 100, but did not chart outside the USA except for a two week visit to the Australian top forty.

Answer: The Joy Boys

Local rock and roll band The Joy Boys had a big hit with the instrumental "Sothern Rora" in 1962 which reached the Australian top ten. They followed with another top ten in 1963 when "Murphy the Surfie" climbed to number four on the charts. As usual at that time the record did no business outside Australia except for Japan where the group was very popular along with their lead singer, Aussie rock pioneer Col Joye. "Murphy the Surfie" was covered by The Surfaris and The Challengers.

Answer: The Astronauts

"Hot Doggin'" was another surfing Instrumental from The Astronauts; like their other surfing tunes, "Baja", "Gouch" and "Banzai Pipeline" they capture the sound so well. The record did not chart in the USA and only received some airplay in Australia.

Answer: The Lively Ones

The Lively Ones were a surfing band from Southern California who made the Australian top forty in 1963 with "Surf Rider". "Surf Rider" was written by and originally recorded by The Ventures and featured on their album "Surfing". The Lively Ones released some interesting surf rock instrumentals which can be found on U-Tube and are worth a listen if you enjoy the music of that era.

Answer: The Atlantics

The Atlantics followed their smash hit "Bombora" with "The Crusher" in 1963. "The Crusher" raced up the Australian charts stalling in the top twenty.
Another fine example of surfing music.

Answer: The Denvermen

The Denvermen had an Australian number one hit with "Surfside" rising to the top spot in February 1963, one of seven instrumentals to hit number one in Australia in 1963. "Surfside" was written by adopted Aussie rocker (he's actually from New Zealand) Johnny Devlin. Devlin was an Elvis Presley style rocker (he opened in Australia for The Beatles on their 1964 tour down under) who wrote songs for many artists.

His composition "Surfside" was the Denvermen's biggest hit and the flipside, also a Devlin composition, unknowingly paid homage to the King with its title "Lisa Marie".

The Denvermen followed "Surfside" with a surf stomping instrumental featured in part one of these quizzes, "Avalon Stomp".

Answer: The Chantays

The Chantays from Southern California followed their monster hit "Pipeline" with a single simply called "Banzai" only released in Australia as a single. The song also covered by many bands of the era made number forty on the Aussie top forty in 1963.

Answer: Hal Blaine and The Young Cougars

Not entirely an instrumental as backup singers sing a verse and chorus, much like Al Casey's similar themed "Surfin' Hootenanny", "Surfin Band" by Hal Blaine and the Young Cougars was an entry into the surfing genre. The Young Cougars were actually members of the Wrecking Crew.

The Wrecking Crew are best described as a close knit collection of much in demand studio musicians of the fifties, sixties and seventies. Hal Blaine is his book, "Hal Blaine and the Wrecking Crew" states, and it has been verified, that he played on seven Grammy "Records of the Year", six in succession from 1966.