Shoutbox

dp: dude
366 days ago

Bango_Rilla: Shout Bananas!!
321 days ago

BillyBlastOff: See you kiddies at the Convention!
305 days ago

GDW: showman
256 days ago

Emilien03: https://losg...
178 days ago

Pyronauts: Happy Tanks-Kicking!!!
171 days ago

glennmagi: CLAM SHACK guitar
157 days ago

Hothorseraddish: surf music is amazing
137 days ago

dp: get reverberated!
87 days ago

Clint: “A Day at the Beach” podcast #237 is TWO HOURS of NEW surf music releases. https://link...
21 days ago

Please login or register to shout.

IRC Status
  • racc

Join them in the #ShallowEnd!

Need help getting started?

Current Polls

No polls at this time. Check out our past polls.

Current Contests

No contests at this time. Check out our past contests.

Donations

Help us meet our monthly goal:

62%

62%

Donate Now

Cake May Birthdays Cake
SG101 Banner

SurfGuitar101 Forums » Surf Music General Discussion »

Permalink Obscure, lesser known first wave bands?

New Topic
Goto Page: 1 2 Next

What are your favorite lesser known first wave bands?

Maybe even proto-surf stuff too…like late 50’s instrumentals

What’s some stuff that you think people should check out?

There's a great sticky "Lost Hero's from the Dawn of Surf" that I cannot recommend enough when this question comes up. Unfortunately, some of the links are dead now - it started 11 years ago! Good news, many of the posts that have now-defunct video links also list the band and song name so you can still find/hear quite a few of them.

Fady

El Mirage @ ReverbNation

The Toads; Morpheus is one of the greats.

I like a band called The Esquires. Their record sounds like it was recorded on a shoestring budget, which I actually like.

MooreLoud.com - A tribute to Dick Dale. New EP Louder Than Life available on bandcamp and website. Taking guitar lessons from Jimmy Dale.

Here's the 2015 Classic Surf Rankings from the old North Sea Surf Radio & SurfGuitar101.com Poll. Further down the list are some great tracks from lesser known (and downright obscure) first wave bands. Well worth checking out.

Rank Artist Track
1 The Fender IV Mar Gaya
2 Dick Dale & his Del-Tones Misirlou
3 The Chantays Pipeline
4 The Sentinels Latinia
5 The Trashmen Malaguena
6 The Astronauts Baja
7 The Lively Ones Surf Rider
8 The Belairs Mr. Moto
9 The Pyramids Penetration
10 Eddie & The Showmen Squad Car
11 Dick Dale & his Del-Tones The Wedge
12 The Fender IV Everybody Up!
13 The Astronauts Movin
14 The Atlantics Bombora
15 Dave & The Customs Ali Baba
16 Dick Dale & his Del-Tones The Victor
17 The Original Surfaris Bombora
18 Link Wray Jack the Ripper
19 The Original Surfaris Exotic
20 The Lively Ones High Tide (Tranquilizer)
21 The Astronauts Surf Party
22 The Surfaris Wipe Out
23 The Original Surfaris Surfari
24 The Centurions Bullwinkle Pt. II
25 The Avengers VI Time Bomb
26 The Pharos Pintor
27 Bobby Fuller & the Fanatics Our Favorite Martian
28 Eddie & The Showmen Mr. Rebel
29 The Fender IV Malibu Run
30 The Astronauts Hot Doggin'
31 The Ventures Walk Don't Run
32 Yuzo Kayama Black Sand Beach
33 The Surfaris Point Panic
34 The Marketts Out of Limits
35 Sandy Nelson Casbah
36 The Ventures Diamond Head
37 Jim Messina & his Jesters The Jester
38 Richie Allan & the Pacific Surfers The Quiet Surf
39 The Chandelles El Gato
40 The Creations Crash!
41 The Sandals Theme From The Endless Summer
42 The Crossfires Fiberglass Jungle
43 The New Dimensions Cat On A Hot Foam Board
44 Dick Dale & his Del-Tones Hava Nagila
45 Dave Myers & The Surftones Gear
46 The Sentinals Exotic
47 The Centurions Intoxica
48 The Hondells Haulin' Honda
49 The New Dimensions Failsafe
50 The Original Surfaris Failsafe
51 The Pyramids Bikini Drag
52 Dave Myers Moment of Truth
53 Al Casey with the KC-ettes The Hearse
54 Jerry Cole Deep Surf
55 Davie Allan & the Arrows Blues Theme
56 The Ventures Journey to the Stars
57 The Toads Morpheus
58 The Belairs Bedlam
59 The Catalinas Banzai Washout
60 The Surf Teens Moment of Truth
61 Eddie & The Showmen Scratch
62 The Super Stocks Midnight Run
63 The Revels Intoxica
64 The Surfaris Storm Surf
65 Jim Messina & his Jesters Yang Bu
66 The Trademarks Baha Ree Bah
67 The Nocturnes Baha Ree Bah
68 The Phantoms XL-3
69 The Shadows Apache
70 Attila & The Huns The Lonely Huns
71 Link Wray Run Chicken Run
72 Eddie & The Showmen Toes on the Nose
73 The Astronauts The Hearse
74 The Nocturnes Third Star To The Left
75 Jim Messina & His Jesters The Cossack
76 PJ and the Galaxies Tally Ho!
77 The Pyramids Pressure
78 Link Wray Rumble
79 Jack Nitzsche The Lonely Surfer
80 The Vy-Dels Unknown
81 Dick Dale & his Del-Tones Take it off
82 Eddie & The Showmen Far Away Places
83 The Vistas Ghost Wave
84 The Blazers Sound of Mecca
85 The Ventures Walk, Don’t Run ‘64
86 The Fentones the Mexican
87 The Ventures The Cruel Sea
88 The Debonairs High Wall
89 The Jokers Tabou
90 The Surfmen Paradise Cove
91 Dick Dale & his Del-Tones Surfbeat
92 The Avengers VI Heartbeat
93 The Sentinals Big Surf
94 The Tornadoes Bustin’ Surfboards
95 The Chantays Monsoon
96 The Ventures Hawaii Five O
97 The Gamblers Moon Dawg!
98 The Rumblers Boss
99 The Astronauts Banzai Pipeline
100 The Surfmen El Toro
101 The Chantays Wayward Nile

-Tim
MyYouTubeChannel
My Classic Instrumental Surf Music Timeline
SSS Agent #777

wow! did not remember Margaya beating Misirlou

Danny Snyder

"With great reverb comes great responsibility" - Uncle Leo

I am now playing trumpet with Prince Buster tribute band 'Balzac'

Playing keys and guitar with Combo Tezeta

Formerly a guitarist in The TomorrowMen and Meshugga Beach Party

Latest surf project - Now That's What I Call SURF

I think the Atlantics are pretty well known here but not so much in the wider culture. Those guys were amazing, so far ahead of their time. The Crusher, Bombora, War of the Worlds, Shark Attack, etc. etc. Killer stuff!

Site dude - S3 Agent #202
Need help with the site? SG101 FAQ - Send me a private message - Email me

"It starts... when it begins" -- Ralf Kilauea

For proto surf or just fun party music The Revels can't be beat.

Site dude - S3 Agent #202
Need help with the site? SG101 FAQ - Send me a private message - Email me

"It starts... when it begins" -- Ralf Kilauea

SilverFlash, thanks for that list. If anyone uses Spotify, I made a playlist of the 2015 Classic Surf Rankings as listed by SilverFlash above. I found 86 of the 100 songs on the list, and did not substitute another artist's version if I couldn't find the original. Anyway, here you go:

https://open.spotify.com/playlist/5A5sOyEO5ZEmtaYEllmyLQ?si=edbfa776a0584a4a


https://hyperfollow.com/weepingfigs

cricketseed wrote:

SilverFlash, thanks for that list. If anyone uses Spotify, I made a playlist of the 2015 Classic Surf Rankings as listed by SilverFlash above. I found 86 of the 100 songs on the list, and did not substitute another artist's version if I couldn't find the original. Anyway, here you go:

https://open.spotify.com/playlist/5A5sOyEO5ZEmtaYEllmyLQ?si=edbfa776a0584a4a

src="https://open.spotify.com/embed/playlist/5A5sOyEO5ZEmtaYEllmyLQ?utm_source=generator" width="100%" height="352" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen="" allow="autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; fullscreen; picture-in-picture" loading="lazy">

Wow, Cricketseed, that's super cool! Thanks for sharing. I know what I'll be listening to today.

-Tim
MyYouTubeChannel
My Classic Instrumental Surf Music Timeline
SSS Agent #777

WOW crickestseed that's awesome, thanks for putting it together. Saved it in my Spotify library.

Garrett_Immel wrote:

The Toads; Morpheus is one of the greats.

Absolutely! I love that track …would love to learn to play it one day!

Garrett_Immel wrote:

The Toads; Morpheus is one of the greats.

It'd be awesome if a certain band of 'devilish travelers' were to include it in their set at SG101 Big Grin

Danny Snyder

"With great reverb comes great responsibility" - Uncle Leo

I am now playing trumpet with Prince Buster tribute band 'Balzac'

Playing keys and guitar with Combo Tezeta

Formerly a guitarist in The TomorrowMen and Meshugga Beach Party

Latest surf project - Now That's What I Call SURF

DannySnyder wrote:

Garrett_Immel wrote:

The Toads; Morpheus is one of the greats.

It'd be awesome if a certain band of 'devilish travelers' were to include it in their set at SG101 Big Grin

Noted!

Last edited: Jul 11, 2023 19:41:16

The Trademarks: Ba-ha-ree-ba
The Pharos: Pintor
Proto-surf The Gamblers: Moon Dawg

Site dude - S3 Agent #202
Need help with the site? SG101 FAQ - Send me a private message - Email me

"It starts... when it begins" -- Ralf Kilauea

Brian wrote:

I think the Atlantics are pretty well known here but not so much in the wider culture. Those guys were amazing, so far ahead of their time. The Crusher, Bombora, War of the Worlds, Shark Attack, etc. etc. Killer stuff!

It's funny that because Bombora was played at the closing ceremony of the Sydney 2000 Olympics but I wonder how many people knew the song or the Atlantics...

Paul

The Dead Planet Surfers

This is a great topic. Keep those suggestions coming!

El Bluesky
El Ray
El Ray on Bandcamp
El Twang on YouTube

If you're looking for under/unknown instrumental jams from the early and great era of rock'n'roll instrumentals then you could do a lot worse than picking up all volumes of "Strummin' Mental". I believe it's five LPs or all that music crammed onto 3 CDs. Killer, crude, and pretty much a total mystery to everyone. This is a pretty good breakdown:

https://www.thevinyldistrict.com/storefront/2014/02/graded-curve-strummin-mental-vol-1/

There are also some good, but tough to find compilation albums out there that go by names like "Surfer's Mood", "Surfin' in the Midwest", "Diggin' Out", "Wail on the Beach", "The Surf Creature", and on and on. Most of what I've just listed are at the very least pretty listenable to fantastic. Of course, this is all subjective. I have a tendency to enjoy poor fidelity and a ham fisted approach, so do with this what you will. Happy hunting!

Last edited: Jul 12, 2023 11:59:08

Good choices there Goldenbirdies!

Site dude - S3 Agent #202
Need help with the site? SG101 FAQ - Send me a private message - Email me

"It starts... when it begins" -- Ralf Kilauea

For some pretty obscure tracks check out John Blair's 'Bad News' podcasts on Soundcloud. Includes some very educational commentary by John.

https://soundcloud.com/user-542309562

Woody D
S3 #148
Henrico Va

Goto Page: 1 2 Next
Top