Dick Dale Quotes & Sayings

“Every song is like a painting.”

“There's a saying. If you want someone to love you forever, buy a dog, feed it and keep it around.”

“Guitar Player Magazine says Dick Dale is the father of Heavy Metal, blowing up 48 amplifiers, creating the first power amplifier.”

“I'm a perfectionist. I'm not going to cheat the people.”

“You know, music is sex. It's a sensual driving mode that affects people if it's played a certain way.”

“I'll just tell you the way it is. You ask me what time it is and I'm gonna tell you how to build a clock.”

“I met Leo Fender, who is the guru of all amplifiers, and he gave me a Stratocaster. He became a second father to me.”

“I called it Rockabilly 'cause I was rocking the strums, which you're not supposed to do.”

“I learned everything by ear and played all the different instruments. So then I was able to find a guitar. That was, like, in the seventh grade. And then I didn't know how to put my fingers on all the different strings, so I had to figure out how to do it upside down and backwards, and I still play that way today.”

“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.”