In this series we travel back to the 1960’s and the beach. Surf was a huge pop culture trend in the sixties. Everyone from hippies to Hollywood jumped on the lay back, free and easy lifestyle.
First up is an amazing website I discovered called http://surfclassics.com. They boast that they are “The world’s only website devoted to vintage surf movie posters.” Featuring over 400 retro posters from the 60’s. The collection is impressive and it kept me entertained for hours. The typography, the images, the name of the movie titles, it was a delight for the eyes. If you have a love of surfing this is a must see. Here is a little teaser.
"Directors of surf movies used a poster to advertise the film and venue in which it would be shown. Many of these posters featured the director’s own creative artwork or photography and became “works of art” in their own right"
-Keith Maynard Eshelman
Next up is something I am quite familiar with while living in sunny Queensland, Australia. Meter maids. The meter maids in Surfers Paradise have a long history of strutting their stuff in gold bikinis and dropping change in meters to help out the tourists. They’ve been around since 1964 and their history and iconic presence in Surfers Paradise is an interesting read https://www.metermaids.com/our-history
And finally, our last destination back in time is an auditory venture with Dick Dale and the Del Tones. The 60’s saw a rise in instrumental surf rock. The sound of guitars with saturated re-verb is said to mimic crashing waves. Wipe out and the theme to Hawaii 5 O were popular hits but Dick Dale is known as the King of Surf Guitar . For more on his history check out his website http://www.dickdale.com/history.html.
And for your listening pleasure here is the song Mirilou
Credits -
A special thanks goes to Keith Maynard Eshelman @ http://surfclassics.com for permission to use his fab images and information.