Dick Dale's Quotes

You can't eat fish. It's 6,000 parts DDT per million all over the world, not counting radiation.

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.

Every time I went into the studio some engineer tried to impress me with how they're going to capture my sound with all kinds of tricks. But they limited the sound and never allowed me to play how I felt.

I always wanted a guitar. I always wanted to be a cowboy singer because I also listened to Hank Williams, and he would always sing these neat romantic songs.

I told them if were going to do it were going to do it right, I'm not leaving 'til it's done. My wife, child and I slept in the studio. We cut these raw.

I used to be a mean maniac. Someone once threw a firecracker at a show and I jumped off the side of the stage and whacked 'em on the side of the head.

My son now is 22 months old, he's been playing since he was 12 months old and he gets standing ovations on the drums. He's been with us since he was 10 weeks old, he's been on the drums. He's got blisters on his fingers before he can even talk.

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.

When I start playing I'm just a rollercoaster of sound. I don't know what's coming next, I never do, and I sit and sign and talk to the people afterwards.

You shouldn't even be writing this story if you haven't heard me play live. You can't write with the passion you receive until you see a Dick Dale concert.

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

I don't play pyrotechnic scales. I play about frustration, patience, anger. Music is an extension of my soul.

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

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

As a little kid I had a girlfriend, and her boyfriend used to beat me up, so then I used to sing these songs, and that's what it's all about. Country music is all about your heart and your people and things like that.

Every song is like a painting.

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

I almost had to have my leg amputated because of an infection.

I always felt people should live with animals.

I became stereotyped.

I can play every instrument there is, every horn, I've played all the saxes and trumpets and everything and keyboards.

I don't claim to be a musician, I didn't go to Julliard.

I grew a love for helpless, defenseless things. People would give me lions and jaguars. I had cheetahs, monkeys.