The Dickies were amongst the first punk rock bands to emerge from Los Angeles, and the first California punk band to be signed to a major record label and appear on network television.

The Dickies' style was campy and humorous with obvious influences from The Ramones. They were extremely popular in the UK and had a top 10 hit with "Banana Splits (Tra La La Song)" in 1979; oddly enough, many of their lyrics were about aspects of Southern California life not easily decipherable to those unfamiliar with the region, in songs like "Waterslide", "I'm A Cholo", "Manny, Moe and Jack", and "(I'm Stuck in a Pagoda with) Tricia Toyota", which is about a local TV news anchorwoman. Drug problems slowed them down considerably in the 1980s, but they have continued playing and recording sporadically to the present day.