Dick Dale, 'King Of Surf Guitar', Dead At 81

LOS ANGELES (CBSLA) -- Dick Dale, the "King of Surf Guitar" has died. He was 81.

Dale's surf guitar became synonymous with Southern California's beach culture in the late 50s and 60s.

It was unclear where Dale died, or what the cause of death was.

Dale is probably most famous for the 1962 song "Misirlou," which Quentin Tarantino used in the opening credits of the acclaimed 1994 film, "Pulp Fiction."

He and his band, Dick Dale and the Del-Tones, appeared in a number of the "Beach Party" movies starring Annette Funicello and Frankie Avalon.

Although Dale suffered from many health problems over the past few decades (including a battle with cancer in 2008), he was ever-present on the live music scene. He never let age slow him down -- in fact, he was on the bill for a show on May 31 in Agoura Hills and July 14 in San Juan Capistrano.

Dale was inducted into the Hollywood Rock Walk of Fame in 1996 and was given a Lifetime Achievement Award by LA Weekly in 2000.

Dale -- born Richard Anthony Monsour -- was synonymous with the Surf Guitar sound and is often credited with inventing the format but friends say he was a relatively modest man who didn't crave the recognition.

"I'm not a guitar player," he said in a 2001 interview with Riverside Press-Enterprise. "The guitar players are guys like Stevie Vai, Eddie Van Halen, these are guys that are really masters of their instruments. I'm just a master of just getting sound, if you want to call me a master of something. In fact, I just call myself a manipulator of sound."

Fans of Rolling Stone would beg to differ. The magazine voted him #31 on the list of Top 100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time in 2004.

For more about the life of the entertainer, go to his official website.