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Surf

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Surfer Girl

“Surfer Girl”  The Sentinals  “12 Swingin’ Tunes for the Tuffest of Bunnies”  Del-Fi Records  (1963)   The second Sentinals long-player, Surfer Girl (1963), followed their debut Big Surf! (1963) by only a few scant months. The five-member unit featured future Turtles and Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young percussionist Johnny Barbata (drums), alongside Tommy Nunes (guitar), Bobby Holmquist (sax), Harry Sackrider (guitar), and Kenny Hinkle (vocals/bass). Their sound is comparable to that of their first collection, blending a handful of originals — primarily by Hinkle this time rather than Nunes — with some adeptly chosen covers. The platter kicks off on the upbeat and clap-happy “Surf ‘n Soul,” sporting a built-in party atmosphere and the occasional whistle and shout thrown in for maximum effect. Although the Holmquist-penned “Sentinal” is presumably the band’s theme song, it bears an uncanny resemblance to the Royaltones’ second-tier hit “Flamingo Express,” while Hinkle’s “Nite Shuffle” is based on “Night Theme” by the Preps, according to Bryan Thomas’ liner notes in the 2004 Big Surf!/Surfer Girl CD reissue. Other standouts of note are the redux of Jessie Hill’s Crescent City R&B classic “Ooh Poh Pa Doo” and Freddie King’s “Sensation,” both of which are admittedly lightweight but thoroughly enjoyable. One of the more fascinating remakes is the comparatively up-tempo rendering of the Beach Boys’ title track “Surfer Girl.” Should keen-eared listeners detect something slightly different about the performance, it may well be because the combo in question is actually the Lively Ones rather than the Sentinals — again, based on Thomas’ essay. This brings up the inevitable conclusion that even though they are undeniably accomplished, the arguably ersatz West Coast style could have easily been mistaken for any number of similar groups such as the Routers, Centurians, Challengers, or Impacts.

Good eye Steve!

1 Star2 Stars3 Stars4 Stars5 Stars (48 votes, average: 3.81 out of 5)
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Sandwaves

“Scrambler”   World Pacific Records   (1964)   The Sandells first LP (The same group that scored the movie “Endless Summer”)

1 Star2 Stars3 Stars4 Stars5 Stars (55 votes, average: 3.00 out of 5)
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Bubbling under

“Surf’ Boum”   J.C. Pelletier   Gala des Varieties Records (France)

1 Star2 Stars3 Stars4 Stars5 Stars (38 votes, average: 3.47 out of 5)
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“Which way to Highway 1?”

“Mr. Eliminator”   Dick Dale and His Del-Tones   Capitol Records (1964)   The king of surf guitar!

1 Star2 Stars3 Stars4 Stars5 Stars (59 votes, average: 3.64 out of 5)
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“Wussup, beaches?”

Francisco y Fernando   “Vamos a la Playa”   Sacven Records

1 Star2 Stars3 Stars4 Stars5 Stars (61 votes, average: 3.30 out of 5)
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Surfbroads

Waikiki Swings

“Waikiki Swings” With Hawaii’s Greatest Recording Artists   Don Ho (of course), Nani Lee, Kui Lee, Zulu (!), Sonny Chillingworth, and introducing ALVAN!

1 Star2 Stars3 Stars4 Stars5 Stars (58 votes, average: 4.12 out of 5)
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The crips and the bloods

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1 Star2 Stars3 Stars4 Stars5 Stars (38 votes, average: 3.39 out of 5)
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Surfing bird

“Surf Ride”   Savoy   Featuring Art Pepper and an all-star west coast jazz band.   (1954)   Another example of incongruous cover art.

1 Star2 Stars3 Stars4 Stars5 Stars (50 votes, average: 3.60 out of 5)
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It’s Monster Surfing Time

“It’s Monster Surfing Time”   By The Deadly Ones   VeeJay Records.   (1964)   Hear the title track and other genre-mashing monster/surf songs at “Music for Maniacs”

1 Star2 Stars3 Stars4 Stars5 Stars (52 votes, average: 4.08 out of 5)
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Stop the Violents

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The Violents “Strings of Hits” on Tono Disc from Uruguay.

1 Star2 Stars3 Stars4 Stars5 Stars (34 votes, average: 3.06 out of 5)
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