Dick Dale, who provided the theme song for ‘Pulp Fiction’, has died at the age of 81.
The legendary surf guitarist – whose 1962 version of Greek folk song ‘Misirlou’ played over the opening credits of the classic 1994 movie – passed away on Saturday (16.03.19) evening, his bassist Sam Bolle has announced.
The musician – who was credited with pioneering a genre based on Californian surf culture and was known for his fast strumming style, inspiring acts like The Beach Boys and Jimi Hendrix – had a long history of ill health, including renal failure, diabetes and cancer, however the cause of his death is not yet known.
‘Pulp Fiction’ director Quentin Tarantino previously praised the guitarist and believed his version of ‘Misirlou’ "throws down the gauntlet" and set a standard for his movie to live up to.
He said in the rock critic Gary Graff’s book ‘Pulp Fiction: The Complete Story of Quentin Tarantino’s Masterpiece’: "Having ‘Misirlou’ as your opening credit, it’s just so intense.
"It just says you’re watching an epic, you’re watching a big, ol’ movie.
"It just throws down a gauntlet that the movie now has to live up to."
Hollywood actor Seth Rogen was among the stars who took to twitter to pay tribute to Dale.
Replying to a Tweet by Rolling Stone magazine, who described Dale as the "King of Surf", Seth said: "Once I drove an hour and half to see Dick Dale perform at a horse track, and it was wonderful. RIP. (sic)"
Billy Idol also paid tribute to the late guitarist, writing on Twitter: "Sad 2 hear the ‘King of the Surf Guitar’ Dick Dale has passed on, RIP…(sic)"
Dale was born in in 1937 as Richard Anthony Monsour in Boston, Massachusetts to his father who had emigrated from Lebanon and a mother who was Polish Belarusian and his guitar style was inspired by his his heritage – using Middle Eastern and Eastern European melodies as well as "exotic" scales. He is survived by his wife Lana and their son Jimmie.
Pulp Fiction theme writer Dick Dale has died
