Brian Wilson was greatly influenced by Dick Dale. In the early 60s, Brian would go and listen to Dick Dale when he played around the So Cal area. I really think the fact that Mr. Dale didn’t use vocals prevented him from being as widely known as the Beach Boys.
Love his music. On Miserlou, Dick Dale is the one playing the trumpet.
I agree with that although Dale does tend to stay 'close to home' in terms of the style he developed.
On the other hand, it can be argued that surf music evolved from Chuck Berry (in the case of the Beach Boys) and especially the Ventures (in the case of most others), who hit #2 with Walk Don't Run in '60 and made the top 10 again with an updated version in '64 as well as many instrumental hits, covers, and millions of records sold here and abroad, particularly in Japan thanks to the absence of a language barrier.