I enjoy living like a hermit, but I cannot live like a hermit.

Drums were my first instrument.

My father never put me on his lap and said he loved me.

What we perceive things to be when they come out of our mouth is not what the listener perceives it to be. They think it differently. They’re not your blood. They’re not your mind. You...

I was reading a magazine when I was a little kid, probably about twelve years old, and an ad said that if you sell so many jars of Noxzema skin cream, we’ll sell you a...

I make jokes because humor is the greatest healing factor that there is.

They’re putting cement dust into cattle feed to make the cows heavier; the FDA knows all about it.

Every song is like a painting.

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

I’ve been called ‘the father of loud.’

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...

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

Earthlings are confused, insecure. And some Earthlings have no heritage: that’s what leads them to kill each other and rob 7-11 stores.

My mind never left 20, because once it does, that’s when you start to die.

When I first played the guitar without plugging it into an amplifier, the people at Fender were blown away. They couldn’t believe the sound. I said, ‘See, gentlemen, the world is no longer flat.’

I make my guitar scream with pain or pleasure or sensuality. It makes people move their feet and shake their bodies. That’s what music does.

What I play now isn’t surf music. It’s too powerful. I used to go through paper bags; now I go through brick walls. I play hard.

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

I have all the rhythm in my left hand, and I use the rhythms that Gene Krupa did on his drums.

I’ve never followed a list in my life, and that’s probably what has created so much nervous energy in my body.

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.

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...

Every time I do an album, I say, ‘That’s the last one.’

My philosophy is that on a scale of 1 to 10, I will go to 15. No matter what!

When I played with Johnny Cash and Waylon Jennings in Vegas, the guys used to go, ‘Dick, cut it out, man! You’re moving around too much on this stage. You’re making us look bad!’

I may play the same songs night to night, but I never play them the same way.

Whatever you do, don’t take shortcuts. It’s great advice to take and live by.

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

My music is more native than intricate or technical.

If I ever wrote a book, people would never believe it.

When I started surfing, you’d hear this neat rumbling sound when you took off and go for the drop, and when the wave is lipping up over the top of you, it makes this hissing...

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...

I always felt people should live with animals.

Nothing could capture the sound of Dick Dale – he was too loud.

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...

I refuse to bring my son up in a world corrupt as it is now.

When I come onstage, I’m exploding.

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

People just loved the sound because I kept it simple.

If you ask me what I’d rather be doing, well, I’d rather be home in California, watching TV, polishing my tools and working around the ranch.

For 20 years I’ve been screaming at these guitar companies, saying, ‘It’s abnormal to put your arm around an acoustic guitar that is about 6 to 8 inches deep.’ Your arm reaches over, and you...

That’s what my music does for me. It makes people happy. When I play, I thank the Lord I’ve never seen someone walk away from a Dick Dale dance not having a good time. That’s...

I became stereotyped.

People ask about love. Real love. I was never in love; the people around me didn’t love me. They were just along for the ride.

Surf music is actually just the sound of the waves played on a guitar: that wet, splashy sound.

I surfed Dana Point, San Clemente, and of course Huntington Beach. Every morning, you could find me at the hot water pipe.

When I play, I don’t cheat. I played for 490,000 in Berlin, and I’ll play just as hard for 100.

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

Some guys record an album with songs that are filler. I recorded this album like it was my last.

In the Shao Lin temple, they never allow you to touch the skin of a drum until you can tongue what you’re going to play.