My brother Grant and I used to go watch, listen, and dance to the music of Dick Dale at the Rendezvous Ballroom in the early 60's. Great music !!!
Sad news. His music is part of my normal rotation of music on my digital library and he has gotten some extra play lately with his passing. Thanks for posting. Cliff Ramsdell
1950 Dick Dale... Let’s go Trippin’ My high school English teacher liked his music, too, but she would have a fit at the English grammar usage. Hello, As a teenage surfer/hot rod/drag race guy in 1959, music played a big part of growing up. Rock and roll music as well as moving Motown sounds went with just about anything as background music. Our teenage high school days started by going to Balboa for Easter Vacation and usually ended up at the Merle’s Drive-In on MacArthur and PCH. But, prior to that, it was hang out at the pier and get into the Rendezvous Ballroom to see our friends. Of course, Dick Dale was the headliner, playing his music. Being completely self taught, Dick Dale plays left handed, upside down which was a result of holding the guitar left-handed. The strings became upside-down, chords are designed for right handed players making it very difficult for a left handed player unless he were to change the strings for a left handed guitar, something that Dale never did. Deaf tones in front of the huge speakers probably added to the drag racing sounds, plus calcium from surfing to create a 60 year "deafening" that my wife says is convenient when she has to repeat something again… (ha selective listening plays a big roll in this phenomenon.) But those early speakers are responsible for watching TV with the sound at 20 not 10. Well, at least it sounds like a movie theater. How is an aspiring guitarist supposed to look at the chords on his own guitar if they are upside down with regular strings on stage? We usually got up to the stage while on the dance floor. In doing the latest dance move called the Surfer’s Stomp, it felt weird, but it was the times that made everyone do that silly dance. (My granddaughter laughed when I did the famous Surfer's Stomp in the living room.) I wanted to watch his fret/finger placement when he played his famous songs. But, the combination of loud music, crowded dance floor, and some obnoxious people made the Rendezvous not always a nice place. Jnaki So, what made us come back time and time again? It was either the different type of girls hanging around, the music, or it was the hot rod cruise down the coast into the Newport-Balboa area that was far enough away from our normal Bixby Knolls areas. The historical marker (#35) for the Rendezvous Ballroom is in Balboa is near the Balboa Pier, right on the famous boardwalk. If you have ever stayed at the Balboa Inn on the corner leading to the entrance of the pier, it is a short stroll West (on the boardwalk) to the marker.
Hello, The Rendezvous Ballroom was an iconic place for anyone in So Cal to go for some fun. It wasn't just all rock and roll. There was big band music, dinner music, gatherings, etc. If someone or group wanted a huge empty hall with access to facilities, this was the place. So, someone's grandparents or great grandparents may have attended the Rendezvous at a different time period. In the time of 1959-64, that was our time period with the infusion of rock and roll, plus the added social theme of being local surfers. The Balboa Pier was not a famous surfing pier like the Huntington Beach Pier just up the coast. Being located just step away from the parking area of the Rendezvous, made it memorable for secluded walks at night. During the day, the beach is one of the coolest places to hang out, but stepping into the water can be dangerous with the instant drop off over most people's heads. When the big Summer swells hit the beach, it is no place to be in the water. The rip currents, plus the drop off, play havoc with anyone. The term "Surfers Stomp" was a free flowing dance that made you make moves as if you were surfing, shooting the tube, making wild arms up cutbacks, the music made you free flowing with the dance partner. Later versions added moves from other dance names and actions. But the original "stomp" was from the smooth surfing motions added into the basic, foot forward/back "stomp." (once it was rumored that the "stomp" was just that, stomping on something, like hot coals, or people...) Jnaki Who knows what George Barris did back then, we were not in his group of idol followers. They were more of the heavy duty, custom car guys in the So Cal area. When he became Hollywood famous, we were already out of that hot rod custom car era. I am not sure if George Barris was the "Surfers Stomp" kind of guy. The article was a good story about a bunch of custom car guys from a different neighborhood and their trip to the Rendezvous Ballroom. For the times we went there, the cars were just station wagons, 4 door sedans, some hot rods, old woodies, but we never saw a long row of full custom cars and folks inside. To us, it was a local surfer's hangout joining up with some friends from Huntington, Balboa, Newport Beach and Seal Beach.
Rendezvous,Golden Bear, Retail Clerk, for Dick Dale. I preferred Harmony Park. And wish I got out to Riverside to his place in later days. As for Barris don’t forget his Atlantic ave shop.
I picked up a couple of his CD's off Amazon plus one that is a mixed bag of surf music from various groups. Great stuff for the road trip to Spokane for the car show last Saturday.
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