The Rock Mountain Music Experience
  • RM HOME
    • About Rock Mountain (RM)
    • RM Lay-Out
    • Contact, Sponsor, Support, Advertise With RM
    • Site Map
    • JOIN/LOGIN
  • RM'S MUSIC INGREDIENTS
    • RM'S MUSIC INGREDIENTS
    • Jazz >
      • Many Forms of Jazz
    • The Blues >
      • Slave Music
      • Gospel
    • Soul >
      • Motown
    • Funk
    • Rhythm and Blues
    • Rockabilly
    • Surf Rock
    • Rock N Roll >
      • Skiffle
      • History of Rock n Roll
    • Rock >
      • Progressive Rock
      • Psychedelic Rock
      • Folk Rock
      • Glam Rock
      • Punk Rock
      • Country Rock
      • New Wave >
        • New Wave - Sub Genres: Ska, New Romantics & Others
    • MTV
    • Folk >
      • Country And Western
      • Bluegrass
    • Disco
    • Electronic
    • Grunge
    • Metal >
      • Thrash Metal & Others
    • Hip-Hop And Rap
    • Reggae
    • World Music
  • ROCKING THE WORLD
    • ROCKING THE WORLD
    • 1. Music as Power
    • 2. Music & Mass Production >
      • Part B. Pop & Mass Production
    • 3. Rock's Implicit Politics >
      • The Answer?
      • Rock n Roll's Death
    • 4. 1960s - Cold War - Hot Rock >
      • Era of Rock Politics
    • 5. Rock Revolution - Woodstock to Watergate >
      • The Counterculture
      • 1968 - What A Year
    • 6. 1970s - Glam to Punk: The West Falters
    • 7. 1980s Onwards -The West Triumphs - But Rock Dies
    • ROCKING THE WORLD - POLITICAL THEMES IN POPULAR MUSIC >
      • 1. Music & War & Peace
      • 2. Music & The Environment
      • 3. Music & Human Rights
      • 4. Music - Empowering Class
      • 5. Music & Drugs
      • 6. Music & Sex
    • ROCKING THE REGIME >
      • Rocking Australia
      • Rocking China
      • Rocking Cuba
      • Rocking Ireland
      • Rocking Japan
      • Rocking Germany
      • Rocking Russia
  • RM VILLAGE
    • RM VILLAGE
    • Dead End Street >
      • Leadbelly Blues Bar
      • Chelsea Hotel 45th Street
      • Heartbreak Hotel RM Village
      • Between Rock and a Hard Place
      • Hard and Heavy Rock- The Troubadore Club
      • Rockers, Bikers and Broads (Harleys, Triumphs and Hooters)
    • Peace Train >
      • Buddha's Guitar Rescue Shop
      • Greenwich Village
      • House of Big Pink
      • Environmental Earth Music
    • Times Square >
      • Tin Pan Alley
      • Brill Building
      • Pistols Punk Den
      • Vaudeville Theatre
    • Road Down-Under >
      • Slim Dusty Way >
        • Bushwhackers Pub And Shearing Shed
        • Australia - Down-Under Inn
      • Countdown the Village
      • Surf Down-Under Shop
    • Hank Williams Drive >
      • The Wild Horse Saloon
      • The Ryman Auditorium
      • Sun Records
    • Route 66 >
      • Route 66 - Kansas
      • Route 66 - Oklahoma
      • Route 66 - Texas
      • Route 66 - New Mexico
      • Route 66 - Arizona
      • Route 66 - California
    • Woody Guthrie Way >
      • Alice's Restaurant
      • The Gospel Church
    • The Dock Of The Bay >
      • Yellow Submarine
      • The Edmund Fitzgerald
      • Reavell's Jetty >
        • River Boat Queen
        • The Black Swan - Buccaneer, Colonial Settler & Slave Ship
    • Long And Winding Road >
      • Fidel and Che's Place - Music of the Revolution
    • Abbey Road >
      • Over There Club - Crooners and Big Bands
      • The Cavern Club - Mathew Street >
        • Experience The Cavern Club
        • The Cavern - Backstages >
          • Early Beatles
          • The Complete Beatles
          • The Yardbirds
          • The Kinks
          • The Who
          • The Rolling Stones
          • The Animals
          • The Moody Blues
          • The Hollies
          • Gerry & The Pacemakers
          • Cilla Black
      • The King's Head Tavern
      • The Marquee Club
      • Carnaby Street >
        • Models, Fashions and Styles of the 60s
        • Apple Studios
        • Mods, Rockers and Skinheads
      • Abbey Road Studios
      • Haight Ashbury >
        • Experience Simply Love >
          • I Love My Animal
          • I Love My Motor
          • Loving The Environment
          • Loving My Home/Country
          • Simply Sex
      • RM Surf Shop >
        • Experience Endless Summer >
          • Surfing History
          • Surf Boards
          • Surf Big
          • Surfin Horrors
          • Surf Music
          • Surf Babes
          • Surf The Pacific
          • Surf Down Under >
            • Surf Down Under - Part Two
            • Surf Down Under - Part Three
            • Surf Down Under - Part Four
      • Beat Boulevarde
    • RM THEATRE >
      • RM THEATRE
      • Arena One - Concerts & Films
      • Arena Two - New Acts
      • Arena 3 - Listen to RM Core Albums Page 1 - 50's & 60's >
        • Page 2 - 1970's
        • Page 3 - 1970's
        • Page 4 - 1970's
        • Page 5 -1980's
        • Page 6 - 1990's
        • Page 7 - 2000's
        • The Beatles Core Album's
        • Rolling Stones Core Album's
  • EXPERIENCE RM
    • EXPERIENCE RM
    • Experience The Cave of Fame
    • Experience The Wild One >
      • Walk On The Wild Side
      • Bad Boys, Bad Girls
    • Experience The Rock Hotels Journey >
      • Hotel Saigon
      • The Chelsea Hotel >
        • Leonard Cohen
        • Janis Joplin
      • Hotel California
      • Heartbreak Hotel
    • 2021 - A Space Rock Odyssey
    • Experience Women >
      • Women With Attitude >
        • Respect
        • With Ambition
        • With A Message
        • At Work
        • At Play/Teasing
        • Traditional
        • In Lust
        • In Love
        • In Pain
        • With Regrets
        • Pissed Off
        • Behaving Badly
        • Askew
        • Moving On
        • Empowering Themselves
        • And Men Coming Together
    • Experience Warsongs >
      • First World War
      • Second World War >
        • NAZI War Songs
  • BANDS & ARTISTS
    • BANDS & ARTISTS
    • Rocking The USA & Canada >
      • Andrew Sisters
      • Artie Shaw
      • Benny Goodman
      • Billie Holiday
      • Jo Stafford
      • Louis Armstrong
      • Bing Crosby
      • Ella Fitzgerald
      • Glenn Miller Orchestra
      • Hank Williams
      • The Platters
      • Bill Haley & The Comets
      • Little Richard
      • Chuck Berry
      • Dean Martin
      • Buddy Holly & The Crickets
      • Frank Sinatra
      • Miles Davis
      • Patsy Cline
      • Elvis Presley
      • Sam Cooke
      • Ricky Nelson
      • Paul Anka
      • Johnny Cash
      • Doris Day
      • Connie Francis
      • Everly Brothers
      • Bobby Vee
      • Roy Orbison
      • Del Shannon
      • Dion & The Belmonts
      • James Brown
      • Ray Charles
      • The Byrds
      • The Lovin Spoonful
      • The Young Rascals
      • Turtles
      • Beach Boys
      • Gene Pitney
      • Frankie Valli & The Four Seasons
      • The Righteous Brothers
      • Neil Sedaka
      • Joan Baez
      • Bob Dylan
      • Simon & Garfunkel
      • The Doors
      • Jimi Hendrix
      • Janis Joplin
      • Jefferson Airplane
      • The Velvet Underground
      • Todd Rundgren
      • Mama's & The Papa's
      • Peter, Paul & Mary
      • Supremes
      • Dionne Warwick
      • Barbra Streisand
      • Buffalo Springfield
      • Frank Zappa
      • JJ Cale
      • Rodriguez
      • Creedence Clearwater Revival
      • Jackson 5
      • The Monkees
      • Al Green
      • Eric Carmen & The Raspberries
      • The Band
      • America
      • Chicago
      • The Eagles
      • Canned Heat
      • Carole King
      • Joni Mitchell
      • Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young
      • Joe Walsh & The James Gang
      • Earth, Wind & Fire
      • Blood, Sweat & Tears
      • Jimmy Buffett
      • Don McLean
      • Seals and Crofts
      • Neil Diamond
      • John Denver
      • Bread
      • Kenny Rogers
      • Emmylou Harris
      • Dolly Parton
      • Jim Croce
      • Linda Ronstadt
      • Gordon Lightfoot
      • Steely Dan
      • Ry Cooder
      • Doobie Brothers
      • England Dan & John Ford Coley
      • Steve Miller Band
      • Carly Simon
      • James Taylor
      • Alice Cooper
      • Aerosmith
      • Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band
      • Bachman-Turner Overdrive
      • Boston
      • Patti Smith Group
      • The Ramones
      • Kiss
      • Joan Jett
      • Lou Reed
      • Blondie
      • Billy Joel
      • Styx
      • Boz Scaggs
      • Bette Midler
      • Lionel Richie
      • Devo
      • Dire Straits
      • Rickie Lee Jones
      • Judds
      • Randy Travis
      • Joan Armatrading
      • B-52's
      • Prince
      • Bon Jovi
      • Cher
      • R.E.M
      • Travelling Wilburys
      • K.D. Lang
      • Run-D.M.C
      • Strokes
    • The British Rock Invasion
    • Rocking The United Kingdom >
      • Honeycombs
      • Freddy & The Dreamers
      • Searchers
      • Billy J Kramer & The Dakotas
      • Graham Bond Organisation
      • The Troggs
      • Zombies
      • Small Faces
      • Eric Burdon
      • Dusty Springfield
      • Marianne Faithfull
      • Herman's Hermits
      • Peter & Gordon
      • Dave Clark Five
      • Spencer Davis Group
      • Manfred Mann
      • Donovan
      • Engelbert Humperdinck
      • Arthur Brown
      • Petula Clark
      • Procol Harum
      • Blind Faith
      • Derek & The Dominos
      • Gary Glitter
      • Marc Bolan/T Rex
      • Badfinger
      • Black Sabbath
      • Deep Purple
      • Slade
      • David Bowie
      • Elton John
      • Pink Floyd
      • Mike Oldfield
      • Led Zeppelin
      • Average White Band
      • Bad Company
      • Buzzcocks
      • Sex Pistols
      • Gerry Rafferty & Stealers Wheel
      • Fleetwood Mac
      • Electric Light Orchestra
      • Peter Frampton
      • Queen
      • Adam & The Ants
      • Joe Cocker
      • Rod Stewart
      • Bryan Ferry & Roxy Music
      • Bay City Rollers
      • Elvis Costello
      • Genesis
      • Big Country
      • Damned
      • Iron Maiden
      • George Harrison
      • Boy George & Culture Club
      • The Cure
      • Ian Dury & The Blockheads
      • Slits
      • Police
      • Dire Straits
      • Eric Clapton
      • Simple Minds
      • Phil Collins
      • Big Audio Dynamite
      • Duran Duran
      • Pretenders
      • Fine Young Cannibals
      • Billy Bragg
      • Pet Shop Boys
      • Depeche Mode
      • Stone Roses
      • Bush
      • Oasis
      • Blur
      • Amy Winehouse
      • Arctic Monkeys
    • The Supergroups
    • Rocking Down Under - Australia & New Zealand >
      • Aussie Music TV >
        • Bandstand Music TV
        • Six O'Clock Rock Music TV
        • Uptight Music TV
        • GTK Music TV
        • Hit Scene Music TV
        • Happening 70,71,72 Music TV
        • Countdown Music TV
        • Rock Arena Music TV
        • Recovery Music TV
        • Rage Music TV
        • Wrok Down Music TV
      • Australian & NZ Major Bands & Artists >
        • Johnny O'Keefe
        • Frank Ifield
        • Ray Brown & The Whispers
        • Bees Gees
        • Billy Thorpe & the Aztecs
        • Easybeats
        • Twilights
        • Loved Ones
        • Normie Rowe
        • Ronnie Burns
        • Seekers
        • Strangers
        • Bobby and Laurie
        • Johnny Chester & Jigsaw
        • John Farnham
        • Zoot
        • Masters Apprentices
        • La De Da's
        • Brian Cadd-The Groop & Axiom
        • Mixtures
        • Doug Parkinson
        • Russell Morris
        • Spectrum
        • Captain Matchbox
        • Ted Mulry Gang
        • Daddy Cool, Mondo Rock & Ross Wilson
        • Max Merritt & the Meteors
        • Sherbet
        • Jon English
        • Helen Reddy
        • Skyhooks
        • ACDC
        • Split Enz
        • Little River Band
        • Dragon
        • Angels
        • Sunnyboys
        • Radiators
        • Rose Tattoo
        • Jo Jo Zep & The Falcons-Black Sorrows-Jo Camilleri
        • Icehouse & The Flowers
        • Sports
        • MI-Sex
        • Divinyls
        • Richard Clapton
        • Cold Chisel
        • Men at Work
        • INXS
        • Midnight Oil
        • Goanna
        • Mental As Anything
        • Australian Crawl
        • Hunters and Collectors
        • Hoodoo Gurus
        • Crowded House
        • Paul Kelly
        • Yothu Yindi
        • Screaming jets
        • Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds
        • Kylie Minogue
        • Tina Arena
        • Whitlams
        • Silverchair
        • Living End
        • Grinspoon
        • Powderfinger
        • Cat Empire
        • Sleepy Jackson
        • The Cure
        • John Butler Trio
        • Jet
        • Bob Evans & Jebediah
        • Eskimo Joe
        • Pete Murray
        • Lior
        • Josh Pyke
        • Angus & Julia stone
      • Mixed-Pg 1 Aussie & NZ Bands/Artists
      • Mixed-Pg 2 Aussie & NZ Bands & Artists
      • Mixed-Pg 3 Aussie & NZ Bands and Artists
      • Mixed-Pg 4 Aussie & NZ Bands and Artists
      • Mixed-Pg 5 Aussie & NZ Bands & Artists
      • Docs of Aussie Music
    • Rocking Latin America & The Caribbean >
      • Bob Marley & The Wailers
      • Jose Feliciano
      • Los Lobos
      • Peter Tosh
      • Ricky Martin
      • Ritchie Valens
      • Santana
      • Shakira
    • Rocking Europe & Beyond >
      • ABBA
      • A-ha
      • Boney-M
      • Demis Roussos
      • Julio Iglesias
      • Kraftwerk
      • Tee-Set
      • Focus
      • Golden Earring
      • Nana Mouskouri
      • Pussycat
      • The George Baker Selection
      • Vangelis
      • Nena
      • Shocking Blue
      • Europe
      • Scorpions
      • Falco
      • Roxette
      • Enigma
      • Bjork
    • Rocking Ireland >
      • Boomtown Rats
      • Chieftains
      • Clannad
      • Cranberries
      • Corrs
      • Dubliners
      • Enya
      • Fureys
      • Gilbert O'Sullivan
      • Hothouse Flowers
      • Luka Bloom
      • Nolans
      • Pogues
      • Ronan Keating
      • Sinead O'Connor
      • Thin Lizzy
      • U2
    • Rocking Africa
  • MEMBERS
    • Members List
    • Blog
Surfing using boards (Wave Riding) is one of the oldest water-based human activities 

there is. Believed to be about three thousand years old, surfing originated in Polynesia 

and most likely in the Hawaiian Islands. It is unique in its athleticism and harnessing the

power of the waves - the power of nature- to project human beings along and down 

huge waves like a guided missile. More than that when adopted by advanced Western 

Society it has produced its own sub-culture and lifestyle (including music).
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
As one observer noted, the act of riding waves with wooden boards originated in

Western Polynesia with the first surfers being fishermen who discovered riding waves 

was most efficient way to getting to shore with their catch . Eventually this form of 

activity, catching waves for fishing,morphed from an everyday work activity to an 

every day fun pastime. This change revolutionized surfing.
It isn't known when stand-up surfing actually 

became a sport. During the 15th century, 

both the royalty and the people of the 

Sandwich Isles were big into the sport of what

was known as "he'enalu" (old Hawaiian for 

wave-sliding). Some historical records of

wave surfing appear in the late 1700s. At that 

time Europeans and Polynesians made contact 

in Tahiti. Captain James Cook described how a

Tahitian caught waves with his outrigger canoe

just for the fun of it. He stated "On walking

one day about Matavai Point, where our tents 

were erected, I saw a man paddling in a small 

canoe so quickly and looking about him with 

such eagerness of each side. He then sat 

motionless and was carried along at the same 

swift rate as the wave, till it landed him upon 

the beach. Then he started out, emptied his 

canoe, and went in search of another swell. I 

could not help concluding that this man felt the

most supreme pleasure while he was driven on 

so fast and so smoothly by the sea."

Picture
Picture
It is thought the first Polynesians who arrived in Hawaii were skilled in simple surfing, 

and after a few centuries riding the waves of Hawaii, the well-known Hawaiian form of 

the sport emerged.


As one historian observed: 'The Hawaiians who surfed, the ali'i or high class, claimed 

the highest reputation for skill with boards on waves. They developed their own

prayers, board shapers, wood and beaches where a select few could surf with people

of their talent. No one dared to drop in on their wave in fear of getting punished and 

possibly dying. The surfboards underwent a sacred ritual before construction. Only 

three types of trees were picked to make a board. The board maker would dig up the 

tree and around the roots place fish in the hole as an offering to the gods for the tree.

The process of shaping then began.


There were four basic board types used in ancient Hawaii:


- The paipo or kioe, a body board, from 2-to-4 feet long, usually used by children. 

- The alaia (ah-LAI-ah) or omo (O-mo), a mid-sized board, about 8 feet or longer.

- The kiko`o, larger than the alaia, but not as big as the biggest boards; between 12 

   and 18 feet; good for bigger surf, but requiring a high level of skill to handle. 

- The olo (O-lo), a very long surfboard reserved for royalty that could be as long as

   18-to-24 feet in length.'
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture

By the early 20th century much interest in surfing had waned and was practiced only 

by a few of the local people on O'ahu. Discovered by Captain Cook, many foreigners 

had begun to explore, trade and eventually settle on the Hawaiin islands. A major

factor contributing to surfing's near disappearance was the rapid decline in full blooded 

natives by 1900 the number of full-blooded native Hawaiians had dropped drastically. 

True bloods made up only 25.7 percent of the total population of the Hawaiin Islands.

As a result the sport had degenerated back to its beginnings: boards were short, and 

the riding techniques returned to simplicity with a dramatic drop in skill level and major

reduction in participants.
Timeless A
Timeless B
The Resurgence

Surfing's eventual resurgence to a very popular sport was due to a number of factors 

not least of which the influence of certain natives on the scene at the time. Known as 

the 'Father of Modern Surfing," Duke Kahanamoku was an Olympic swimmer who 

started a surf club on Wakiki Beach. Duke also swam in exhibitions and swimming 

meets in Europe and the United States, as such his popularity attracted the attention of 

many on the US West Coast and in particular many Southern Californians who became 

interested and took up the sport of surfing.

Dispelling the myth that only Hawaiians could 

balance while standing and riding waves, in the early

1900's, a number of Honolulu residents, both natives

and others, re-discovered the waves at Waikiki, and 

gradually the interest was renewed. Soon, these 

'surfers' were no longer satisfied with simply riding

waves. By the 1930s, their ambitons surpassed 

their crued surfing equipment. Ever since then the 

surfboard was the focus - "pushing technology and 

design to provide boards that could match surfers' 

skills."


Tom Blake was considered one of the pioneers of

reinventing surfboards. Weighing half of what 

traditional boards did, his hollow Hawaiian board

proved controversial in competitions, but was soon 

recognized as a success.


Much experimenting by board builders followed, 

with new ideas in sizes, shapes, weights, and

materials all tested. Blake soon added another

innovation - a small fin on the board's bottom,

underside which significantly helped in turning and

cutting through the wave. World War Two research

also led to discoveries of certain chemicals and

materials to hold boards together. Waterproof glues

soon developed to replace bolts running from rail to 

rail. Fiberglass, resin, and styro-foam also soon 

developed to immensely improve boards and the 

whole surfing experience.
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture

The Safari

Greatly expanding the popularity of Surfing in the United States and particularly 

California, was the advance in design and versatility of the automobile which allowed 

so many youth to travel to their favourite surf spots. In other words, the Surfing Safari

was borne, wherein groups of youths got together in their 'woodies' or station wagons 

and traveled far and wide searching for the best waves. 
Picture
The Golden Age Of Surfing 

The onset of the 1950s saw what was the Golden Age of Surfing unfold. Following the 

Second World War many people enjoyed greater prosperity and leisure time. Beach

movies, surf fashion and in particular the show called Gidget greatly commercialised

the sport and reinvented and shaped the surfing lifestyle and culture. Surfing had gone 

evolved from an elite and sacred Pacific Island activity to a multi-million dollar industry

soon to be global in reach, particularly when also adopted by the Australians, who soon

led the world in the sport.


In the 21st century, Surfing is now global and here to stay with a complete, lifestyle, 

culture and multi-million dollar industry to support it. At one with nature, surfing is and

always will be a sport of intensity and the shared experience of the power of the ocean.
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
With globalised transportation, the world is now much more accessible for those 

advocates and devotees of the sport so many keen to find the perfect wave. Pro surfers 

(including big wave surfers) are constantly pushing all limits to modernize the sport. 

Competition is constant to ride the biggest waves, jump the biggest airs and take the 

biggest risks. Underpinning the sport, magazines, documentaries, accessories and 

advertisements all contribute to its mainstream popularity. But for all true surfers, 

whether industry supported or not - the passion remains to be compete with nature and

yet be part of it.
Once Upon A Wave - Surf Movie 1959-1962
The Earliest History Of Surfing
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture

Continue Surfing

 Journey
Picture
RM Surfing Journey

Return To 

Endless Summer
Picture
Endless Summer

Go To 

RM Home
Picture
RM Home
Picture
Copyright © Politics International Pty Limited 2012. Contact Rock Mountain via email: secretary@rock-mountain.org