Pulp

I just wanted to thank the Black Eyed Peas for ruining the song Misirlou for me.

Thanks to them, whenever I listen to Misirlou, performed by Dick Dale & His Del-Tones, I hear the phrase: pump it.

Here’s a little thing you probably don’t know about the song Misirlou. Before it became a signature song on the movie Pulp Fiction, it was on the 1963 Beach Boys album Surfin’ USA.

But it’s not a Beach Boys original. The song was first performed by the Michalis Patrinos rebetiko band in Athens, Greece in 1927. It even had lyrics, and was performed at a slower tempo.

In 1941, Nick Roubanis, a Greek-American music instructor released a jazz instrumental arrangement of the song, crediting himself as the composer. Since his claim was never challenged, he is still officially credited as the composer today.

In the 60s, the song was rearranged as a solo guitar piece by, the pinoeer of surf rock, Dick Dale after a fan asked if Dale could play a song entirely on one string. It was Dale's version of the piece that introduced Misirlou to the United States.

The Beach Boys were inspired by Dale and thus included their own version on Surfin’ USA.

Misirlou, by the way, means Egyptian girl.

Who knew one little song from Greece could gain cult-like status, not only in rebetiko and surfer rock, but as a popular belly dancing tune that is also heard at Jewish weddings and now in hip hop circles.

As an interesting side note, Dale has been known to keep wild cats, like a lion and tiger as pets.