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Surf music

Music genre
NameSurf music
Stylistic originsRock and roll, Jump blues, country, European, Middle Eastern, Mexican
Cultural originsMid 1950s, United States
Typical instrumentsGuitar, bass, drums, keyboards
Mainstream popularitySignificant regional mainstream success in the early 1960s, revival in late 1980s and 1990s
Derivative formsSurf rock - Surf pop - Hot rod rock - Rautalanka - String (Thai pop) - Garage rock - Protopunk - Punk rock - Pop punk - Garage punk

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Surf music is a genre of popular music associated with surf culture, particularly as found in Orange County and other areas of Southern California. It was particularly popular between 1961 and 1965, has subsequently been revived and was highly influential on subsequent rock music. It has two major forms: largely instrumental surf rock, with an electric guitar or saxophone playing the main melody, pioneered by acts such as Dick Dale and the Del-Tones, and vocal surf pop, including both surf ballads and dance music, often with strong harmonies that are most associated with The Beach Boys. Many notable surf bands have been equally noted for both surf instrumental and surf pop music, so surf music is generally considered as a single genre despite the variety of these styles. During the later stages of the surf music craze, many groups started to leave surfing behind and write songs about cars and girls; this was later known as hot rod rock. Surf music is often referred to as simply surf rock, even though the genre has many forms.


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