Only 7% of LAist readers currently donate to fund our journalism. Help raise that number, so our nonprofit newsroom stays strong in the face of federal cuts. Donate now. Fifty years ago, Dick Dale’s ...

When it came time for Dale to play, nearly every desk at KEXP was empty, as our staff squeezed into our engineering booth and nearby production room, angling for a glimpse at the king of surf guitar.

Dick Dale wanted to play the guitar to mimic how he felt when he went surfing. That’s how Peter Townend — as Dale was inducted into the Surfing Walk of Fame in 2011 — described the music that was a ...