Misirlou, meaning \"Egypt\", is the title of the very popular song in four completely different types of music: Greek rebetiko, folk music of the Middle East, Jewish music played at weddings and celebrations (Klezmer), and surf rock.
The song was first performed by the rebetiko orchestra of Michalis Patrinos in Athens, in 1927. As was the case with almost all early rebetika songs, the original composer of the song remained unknown, and the composition was registered by the leader of the company. The melody was probably composed collectively by the musicians, as was often the case at the time, while the lyrics were almost certainly Patrinos'. In the original version of the song, the name of the girl in the title was pronounced by the Patrinos \"Mousourlou\", with a heavy Smyrnaean accent.
The song was originally written as zeibekiko, in a slower rhythm and a different tone from today's \"oriental\" version, thanks to which it has become known. This is how it sounds in the first known recording made by Patrinos in Greece around 1930; a second recording was made by him in New York, in 1931.
In 1941, Nick Roubanis, a Greek-American music teacher, released an orchestral jazz performance of the song, referring to himself as a composer. Since his claim was never disputed, he is still considered the composer of the piece. S. Russell, N. Wise and M. Leeds later wrote English lyrics for the song. Roubanis also changed the tone and melody, giving the song the oriental sound with which it is known today.
The song was adapted by surf guitarist Dick Dale in the 1960s, when someone in his audience asked him if he could play an entire song on a single guitar string. Dale's performance was the one that made the song famous in the United States. Dale was of Lebanese descent and often mentioned the influence of Armenian music on his guitar style, so many at times believed that the song was Armenian or Lebanese. The oriental version of the song has been very popular in the Middle East for years, so many in the area believe it is a traditional song of their country.
In 1963, the Beach Boys on their album Surfin 'USA presented a performance of the song similar to that of Dale, thus making Misirlou a part of the surf tradition but also of American pop culture. To date, hundreds of re-performances have been performed by artists of all kinds.
