A biography for Dick Dalehasn’t been written yet.
“I've never followed a list in my life, and that's probably what has created so much nervous energy in my body.”
“I live like in the days of Daniel Boone, hauling water by hand. I used to have two Rolls-Royces. Now I got one. It's got four flat tires; the trunk is open, and a rat lives inside it.”
“Guitar Player Magazine says Dick Dale is the father of Heavy Metal, blowing up 48 amplifiers, creating the first power amplifier.”
“The ultimate guitar players can play every scale in the book.”
“When I play, I don't cheat. I played for 490,000 in Berlin, and I'll play just as hard for 100.”
“I may play the same songs night to night, but I never play them the same way.”
“I've got holes in my guitar.”
“I've never taken a lesson in my life, and I can play every instrument there is. I play by ear, but I can fool anybody into thinking I went to some conservatory of music.”
“Buddy Rich was one of the most incredible technicians in the world, on this planet, but the only people he could really impress, who knew what he was doing was another musician or another drummer.”
“I know what it's like to wash my clothes in a Chevron station.”
“I almost had to have my leg amputated because of an infection.”
“I wanted to put a sheet in explaining what all the songs are about, but they didn't do it.”
“I don't play pyrotechnic scales. I play about frustration, patience, anger. Music is an extension of my soul.”
“When I come onstage, I'm exploding.”
“The Stratocaster is like the Rolls-Royce. It can never be surpassed.”
“My uncle gave me a trumpet, but I loved the Louis Armstrong sound and the Harry James sound and I played by ear and I played always soulful or very direct from the gut.”
“My music is more native than intricate or technical.”
“My philosophy is that on a scale of 1 to 10, I will go to 15. No matter what!”
“Little Richard, he'd say, 'Oh Dick Dale! You have luscious lips!'”
“I try to read the audience, see what they're in the mood for.”