Dick Dale, the King of the Surf Guitar, Keeps Summer Going on Friday at Brooklyn Bowl

Even if you don’t recognize his name, you know Dick Dale’s music. The “King of the Surf Guitar,” Dale was one of the first — if not the first — to combine instrumental rock with Mexican and Middle Eastern flourishes and Eastern European melodies, adding a heavy dose of reverb and a single-note staccato picking technique, influencing the likes of Jimi Hendrix and Eddie Van Halen in the process. Dale (below, performing “Misirlou” for KEXP FM) has had loads of health problems, including two bouts with cancer, damaged vertebrae, and kidney failure. But for this energetic 78-year-old performer, the show must go on. “Sure, I’d love to stay home and build ships in a bottle and spend time with my wife in Hawaii, but I have to perform to save my life.” And he just may change yours when you experience the surf-rock pioneer’s fun-loving, passionate guitar play live at Brooklyn Bowl on Friday night.