Wong shadow was a genre of Thai pop music current in the early 1960s. It was developed by native Thai musicians inspired by Western groups such as Cliff Richard & the Shadows. Its origins lie in American R&B, surf rock artists like The Ventures, Dick Dale, Exotica, rockabilly and country and western brought over by American and Australian Soldiers serving in Vietnam in the late 1950s and early 1960s when on R&R.