Richie Allen

In the early 1960s, Allen—born Richie Podolor—served as an unsung creator of the Southern Californian surf sound by laying down countless session guitar parts on surf and hot rod releases, above all those helmed by producer Gary Usher. He further supplied guitar for drummer Sandy Nelson on the landmark instrumental “Teen Beat” and similar tracks, while also issuing a number of surf instrumentals under his own name that came across as rather subdued and standard next to the finest examples of the style. Switching back to his birth name, Podolor later earned production credits on releases by Iron Butterfly, Steppenwolf, and Three Dog Night in the late 1960s and continues to work behind the console today.