In the late 1950's a number of white instrumental groups
began to appear possibly as a response to the studio focus on promoting
vocal groups and perhaps because there was a market for party music to suit
people that just wanted to dance and didn't care so much for vocals.
Initially, these groups relied on saxophones and keyboards but soon the
guitar took over. Link Wray and Duane Eddy were among the first guitarists
to create their own sounds. Link Wray's hit Rumble presaged the power
chords of metal bands that would come a decade later. Duane Eddy's sound was
more polished and came to be called "twangy guitar". The most successful
instrumental group was the Ventures (listen to Diamond Head), out of
the
Seattle area. Their music was highly polished and sophisticated and they had
numerous successful singles and albums.
One of the most important sub-genres of instrumental music was surf
music---a style that was born in Southern California in the late 1950's and
reached its zenith in the early 60's. The
king of the surf guitar was San Diego based Dick Dale, a virtuoso guitarist
whose music was distinguished by the lightning fast double picking he used
on hits such as Miserlou. Surf music is distinguished by a clean
guitar sound reinforced with lots of reverb. Other surf groups included the
Belairs, Chantays,
Surfaris, Astronauts, and Pyramids. Surf music enjoyed something of a
renaissance in the 90's through the music of bands such as the Aqua Velvets
and the Exotics.
Dick Dale, King of the Surf Guitar
Although the instrumental lost some of its luster when the girl groups
began to ascend in the early 60's, there continued to be occasional hits
from groups like Booker T and the MGs. Also, Guitarists like Steve Vai,
Joe Satriani, and Eddie Van Halen have also kept the genre alive in recent
years.
