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Surf music, a genre of rock music associated with surf culture, was popular in Australia from the early 1960s to 1964. The Denvermen's Surfside was the first Australian surf hit, reaching No. 1 in Sydney in 1963. The Atlantics, from Sydney, were the only Australian surf band to achieve international success with their hit Bombora in 1963. Other notable Australian surf bands include the Joy Boys and the Delltones. The summer of 1963-64 saw a brief flowering of Australian surf music, with sixteen Australian recordings with surfing themes hitting the charts.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Time period | Late 1950s to 1964 |
| Origin | Southern California |
| Australian peak | Summer of 1963-64 |
| Australian surf bands | The Atlantics, The Denvermen, The Joy Boys, The Midnighters |
| Australian surf songs | "Bombora", "Surfside", "Murphy the Surfie", "He's My Blond Headed Stompie Wompie Real Gone Surfer Boy", "Beach Ball", "Surfer Boy" |
| International surf bands | The Beach Boys, Jan and Dean, The Shadows, The Fireballs, The Astronauts, The Trashmen, The Rivieras |
| International surf songs | "Surfin'", "Surfin' Safari", "Surfin' U.S.A.", "Surfer Girl", "409", "Surfin' Bird", "California Sun", "Bulldog" |
| Musical instruments | Electric guitars, tenor or baritone saxophone, electric organ, electric piano, hand drums |
| Musical style | Instrumental dance music, surf pop, surf rock |
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What You'll Learn
The Denvermen's 'Surfside'
Surf music, also known as surf rock, surf pop, or surf guitar, is a genre of rock music associated with surf culture, particularly in Southern California. It was especially popular from 1958 to 1964, with its peak in the early 1960s. The genre is characterised by electric guitars, with extensive use of "wet" spring reverb to emulate the sound of waves, vibrato arm to bend the pitch of notes downward, and rapid tremolo picking. The first Australian surf hit was the instrumental "Surfside" by The Denvermen, which entered the charts in January 1963 and reached No. 1 in the Sydney Top 40.
The Denvermens were from Sydney and had previously been Digger Revell's backing band. The band had access to the latest guitars, amps, and PA equipment through the father of their lead guitarist, Les Green, who worked at a music store in central Sydney. "Surfside" had a catchy melody that was later recycled for "I Watch The Surf" by Darryl Stewart. The song was also notable for its use of a tape echo machine, timed to the rhythm of the tune.
The Denvermen's "Surfside" was part of the brief flowering of Australian surf music in the summer of 1963-64, inspired by the songs of Jan and Dean and The Beach Boys, as well as the reverbed guitar instrumentals of bands like the Shadows. This era saw the rise of surf culture in Australia, with the surfboard giving rise to a new youth subculture. The success of "Surfside" demonstrated the popularity of surf music in Australia during this period, with teenagers embracing the "surf sound".
The Denvermen's "Surfside" is a significant example of Australian surf music and contributed to the genre's impact on the country's popular culture in the early 1960s. The song's success also showcased how surf music influenced and inspired local artists to create their own interpretations of the genre, leaving a lasting legacy in Australia's musical landscape.
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The Atlantics' Bombora'
Surf music, also known as surf rock, surf pop, or surf guitar, is a genre of rock music associated with surf culture, particularly in Southern California. It was popular from 1958 to 1964 and was characterised by electric guitars, with extensive use of the "wet" spring reverb, emulating the sound of waves. Surf music emerged in the late 1950s, almost always in 4/4 time with a medium to fast tempo. It was pioneered by Dick Dale and the Del-Tones, with their regional hit "Let's Go Trippin'" in 1961, which launched the surf music craze.
In Australia, surf culture and surf music hit in the early 1960s. The first Australian surf hit was the instrumental "Surfside" by The Denvermen, which entered the charts in January 1963 and reached No. 1 in the Sydney Top 40. The Atlantics, from Sydney, were not exclusively surf musicians, but they made a significant contribution to the genre. In July 1963, they released "Bombora", which became their biggest hit and is considered a classic of the genre. By September 1963, "Bombora" had reached No. 1 in Australia and was also a hit in Japan, Italy, the Netherlands, the UK, New Zealand, and South America. It was written by Hood and Skiathitis, named after an Aboriginal term for large waves breaking over submerged rock shelves. The song's overseas success made The Atlantics Australia's first internationally recognised rock act.
The Atlantics' follow-up single, "The Crusher", released in November 1963, was another thundering surf instrumental that also made an impact on the Australian charts. However, their fourth single, "War of the Worlds", released in March 1964, was a departure from the surf sound. It was a mini sci-fi space opera with a dramatic buildup, tempo changes, and dynamic changes, featuring a battle in space using echo and guitar effects. Unfortunately, it failed to chart as instrumentals were becoming less popular, with the arrival of The Beatles and the Merseybeat sound.
The Atlantics have since re-emerged sporadically and continue to perform live. They have released three albums, beginning with "The Flight of the Surf Guitar". They have appeared on Australian TV shows and "Bombora" was used in the closing ceremony of the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney.
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Little Pattie's 'He's My Blond Headed Stompie Wompie Real Gone Surfer Boy'
In Australia, surf music was especially popular from 1958 to 1964. The rise of surf culture in Australia in the 1960s gave birth to a new youth subculture, with surf music at its heart.
Little Pattie's "He's My Blonde Headed, Stompie Wompie, Real Gone Surfer Boy" was released in November 1963, when the singer was just 14 years old. The song was co-written by Jay Justin and record producer Joe Halford, and used the popular surf music style and the Stomp dance craze. The song peaked at No. 19 on the national Kent Music Report and entered No. 2 in Sydney. It also reached No. 6 in Brisbane.
The song was Little Pattie's debut single, released as a double A-side with "Stompin' at Maroubra". Both songs appeared on the EP, "He's My Blonde Headed Real Gone Stompie Wompie Surfer Boy" in December 1963, and later on her debut album, "The Many Moods of Little Pattie", in 1964.
Little Pattie, born Patricia Thelma Amphlett in 1949, was billed as 'Little Pattie' and became well-known for her music. She appeared regularly on television variety shows and toured as a support act for Col Joye and the Joy Boys. In 1966, she was entertaining troops during the Vietnam War when the Battle of Long Tan began. In 1994, she received the Vietnam Logistic and Support Medal in recognition of her services. In 2009, she was inducted into the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) Hall of Fame.
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Surf music's American influence
Surf music, also known as surf rock, surf pop, or surf guitar, is a genre of rock music associated with surf culture, particularly in Southern California. It was especially popular from 1958 to 1964, with its peak in the US from 1958 to 1961. During this time, surf music in the US took two major forms. The first is instrumental surf, distinguished by reverb-heavy electric guitars played to evoke the sound of crashing waves, pioneered by Dick Dale and the Del-Tones. The second is vocal surf, which took elements of the original surf sound and added vocal harmonies, led by the Beach Boys.
The Beach Boys were the first to bring surf music to the national stage in the US, with their first chart hit "Surfin'" in 1961, peaking at number 75 on the Billboard Hot 100. In 1962, they released "Surfin' Safari", which hit number 14, and in 1963, they released "Surfin' U.S.A." and "Surfer Girl", which were Top 3 and Top 10 hits, respectively.
The popularity of surf music in the US influenced its spread to other countries, including Australia. In Australia, surf music was particularly popular during the summer of 1963-1964, with 16 Australian recordings with a surfing theme hitting the charts. The Atlantics, an American-Australian surf band founded in 1961, were the only Australian surf band to achieve international success with their hit Bombora, which reached number one in the Australian charts in September 1963.
The success of "Bombora" opened the way for six months of surf'n'stomp, a dance craze inspired by surf music that turned a minor American dance into a national Australian phenomenon. During this time, American surf musicians like the Beach Boys, Jan and Dean, and the Surfaris joined Australian bands like the Atlantics and the Denvermen in the charts, with Australian surf music capturing the public's imagination.
In addition to influencing the musical style and themes of Australian surf music, American surf music also influenced the adoption of certain instruments and equipment. For example, surf music in the US was one of the first genres to universally adopt the electric bass, particularly the Fender Precision Bass, and classic surf drum kits tended to be Rogers, Ludwig, Gretsch, or Slingerland. These influences can be seen in Australian surf music, with the Denvermen, an Australian band, using a Fender lead electric guitar for their hit "Surfside".
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The rise of surf culture
Surf music, also known as surf rock, surf pop, or surf guitar, is a genre of rock music closely associated with surf culture. It first emerged in the late 1950s as instrumental rock and roll music, characterised by electric guitars with heavy use of reverb to evoke the sound of crashing waves. The music had a medium to fast tempo and was typically in 4/4 common time.
In Australia, the summer of 1963-64 marked a significant period for surf music, with several Australian recordings with surfing themes charting during this time. The Denvermen's "Surfside" was the first Australian surf hit, reaching No. 1 in the Sydney charts in January 1963. The Atlantics, a band from Sydney, also gained international success with their hit ""Bombora" in 1963, which topped the charts in September of that year. Other notable Australian surf music acts during this period included Little Pattie, whose song ""He's My Blond Headed Stompie Wompie Real Gone Surfer Boy" became a popular hit, and the Joy Boys, whose song "Murphy the Surfie" was a hit in 1963 and was later covered by the Surfaris.
The popularity of surf music in Australia during the early 1960s was influenced by American surf bands such as Dick Dale and the Del-Tones, who pioneered the instrumental surf sound, and vocal surf groups like the Beach Boys, who added harmonies to the original surf sound. By 1964, the British Invasion led by the Beatles began to replace surf music in the Australian charts, marking a brief but impactful period for the genre in the country.
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Frequently asked questions
Surf music became popular in Australia in the early 1960s.
Some popular Australian surf songs include "Surfside" by The Denvermen, "Bombora" by The Atlantics, "Murphy the Surfie" by the Joy Boys, and "He's My Blond Headed Stompie Wompie Real Gone Surfer Boy" by Little Pattie.
Surf music was characterised by the use of electric guitars with heavy reverb to evoke the sound of crashing waves, creating a distinctive tone colour similar to a Hawaiian guitar. It was typically in 4/4 common time with a medium to fast tempo.
Surf music had three main subgenres: instrumental dance music, surf pop, and surf rock.
