Bob Bogle (Bass and Lead Guitar)
Don Wilson (Rhythm Guitar)
Gerry McGee (Lead Guitar)
Leon Taylor (Drums)
Mel Taylor (Drums)
Nokie Edwards (Bass and Lead Guitar)
Bob Spalding (Guitar and Bass)
The Ventures are an American instrumental rock band formed in 1958, by Don Wilson and Bob Bogle, two Seattle masonry workers. They have also contributed to the surf music genre, though they are not, as popularly believed, a strict surf band.
Initially calling themselves "The Versatones", Bogle and Wilson played small clubs and beer bars in the Northwest. In 1959 they recorded and released two vocal tunes, "The Real McCoy" and "Cookies and Coke", but neither record charted. They met and recruited Nokie Edwards as bass player, and recorded "Walk Don't Run" with Bogle on lead, Wilson on rhythm, Edwards on bass, and Skip Moore on drums. They approached several record companies, none of whom showed any interest in signing them. With support from Don Wilson's mother, Josie, they started their own record company, "Blue Horizon Records". They self-produced the 45 RPM single of "Walk Don't Run" and promoted it themselves.
They succeeded in getting a local Seattle DJ, Pat O'Day, to use the song as a news "kicker" (lead-in); Bob Reisdorf, owner of Dolton Records, heard it on the radio, contacted and signed The Ventures. Walk Don't Run climbed to 2 for a week on the Billboard Top 100, in September 1960.
The story behind their selection of Walk Don't Run provides some insight into the distinction between technical virtuousity and the essential elements of a wildly successful pop music hit. Bob Bogle, original lead guitarist, cites Chet Atkins as one of his early influences. Bogle bought the Chet Atkins LP Hi Fi In Focus, which featured Atkins' fingerstyle rendition of a song originally written by the great jazz guitarist, Johnny Smith. Within Atkins' elaborate and laid-back delivery of "Walk Don't Run" Bogle found inspiration. He stated years later that there was no way his "pedestrian" guitar skills would allow him to play it the same as Chet Atkins did, so he and Wilson worked out a highly energized, very much simplified arrangement, and a Rock & Roll Classic was born. Another Chet Atkins inspired guitarist, Steve Howe of Yes, covered "Walk Don't Run" on his 1998 album Quantum Guitar.
The Ventures Play "Telstar" and "The Lonely Bull" (1962)
The Ventures enjoyed their greatest popularity and success in the US in the 1960s, but they have continued to perform and record up to the present (2007). With over 110 million albums sold worldwide, the group remains the best selling instrumental rock group of all time. 37 Ventures albums charted in the US, and six of fourteen chart singles made it into the Top 40. The band was among the first rock acts able to sell albums based on a style and sound without needing hit singles on the albums.
By the mid-1970s the group had nearly no audience in America, but they continued to have an enormous influence on pop culture globally. The Ventures became one of the most popular world-wide groups ever and are still the most popular American rock group in Japan. They produced dozens of albums exclusively for the Japanese and European markets, and have regularly toured Japan from the 60s through to 2007. They have influenced pop music in Japan far more than any other Western act. A recent Japanese pop music poll listed "Ginza Lights" as the most popular song of all time; it was composed and recorded for their 1966 LP Go With The Ventures.
Among their achievements in America, in 1963 The Ventures had five LPs in the Billboard Top 100 at the same time. Additionally, they released a series of instructional LPs entitled Play Guitar with The Ventures and Play Electric Bass with The Ventures. Four LPs were released in this series, the first of which reached in the Billboard Top 100 Album Chart - an achievement previously unheard of for an instructional LP. In a novelty achievement, The Ventures were the first act to place two different versions of the same song in the Top 10, those being "Walk Don't Run" (2) and "Walk Don't Run '64" (8).
During the 1960s, a California guitar manufacturer, Mosrite, developed and marketed a uniquely styled futuristic-looking electric guitar, "The Ventures Model Mosrite". The originals have become so popular among vintage instrument collectors that several companies internationally are still manufacturing copies that, in some cases, are nearly impossible to spot as reproductions.
"The Ventures" was originally just Bogle and Wilson, up to their recording of "Walk Don't Run". For the recording session, they needed to be a full combo. The lack of bass and drums during their first two years caused them to develop a unique rhythm-heavy style in which Wilson (rhythm guitar) tried to be "an orchestra on six strings". It was this strong interplay between lead and rhythm guitar which gave The Ventures their trademark "rhythm-heavy" sound, one which captivated huge audiences. When they added Nokie Edwards on bass, and Howie Johnson on drums, right after being signed by Dolton Records, they maintained this strong lead/rhythm interplay, so that even with Johnson's very much jazz/swing-influenced drum style, their sound carried an aggressive "drive" that was very influential on the sound of guitar-based combos that followed.
While they predated the advent of the terms 'surf guitar' and 'surf rock', and they do not consider themselves a surf rock group, they were a major building block of surf music, if not the first to play the style. Guitar Player, in an article titled '20 Essential Rock Albums', cited elements of their 1960 "Walk Don't Run" album which presaged the then-coming surf trend.
Over thirty major artists have identified The Ventures as an influence. George Harrison stated in a Guitar Player interview that the Beatles preferred the American guitar sound of The Ventures to British contemporaries. When asked to name the most influential rock guitar solos, Joe Walsh (James Gang and the Eagles) said he'd have to include the entire song "Walk Don't Run" because it changed so many guitar players' lives. Stephen Stills told Ventures guitarist Don Wilson that he learned to play on Ventures records. Jeff Baxter (Steely Dan and the Doobie Brothers) and Gene Simmons (Kiss) were early members of the Ventures Fan Club. More recently, Joe Perry and Tom Hamilton (Aerosmith), and Elton John (via liner notes on his Starbucks Elton John's Christmas Party album) joined the array.
Hawaii Five-O (1969)
The lineup of Bogle, Wilson, Edwards and Johnson remained intact until 1962, or roughly the release of their 8th album. Around this time, Edwards (a very talented guitarist in his own right) suggested that Bogle's lead guitar abilities were being stretched, and that they were in essence wasting Edwards' talents by keeping him on bass. Bogle agreed, and rapidly learned the bass parts to all their songs, allowing Edwards to take lead guitar, which helped modernize the sound of the band and keep them current-sounding into the late 1960s.
At about this time Johnson was injured in an auto crash which caused irreversible spinal damage. On doctor's orders, he quit the band. Bogle and Wilson already knew Mel Taylor, house drummer at The Palomino in North Hollywood (the venue where they would play numerous shows during their resurgence in the 1980s). Taylor had performed as drummer on the Bobby "Boris" Pickett hit "Monster Mash", The Hollywood Argyles' "Alley Oop" and "The Lonely Bull" by Herb Alpert and The Tijuana Brass. Taylor was known for a very aggressive, hard-hitting style of drumming. They invited him to some recording sessions, which led to him becoming a permanent member of The Ventures.
The combination of Edwards on lead guitar, Taylor on drums, Bogle on bass and Wilson on rhythm guitar created what many fans feel was The Ventures at their very best. This lineup remained unchanged until Edwards left the band in 1968, to be replaced by Gerry McGee. Edwards came back in 1973 and remained with them until 1984, although he has toured and gigged with them dozens of times in the subsequent 22 years. Drummer Mel Taylor remained the heartbeat of The Ventures until cancer took his life in 1996. His spot has since been filled by his son, Leon Taylor (Original drummer Howie Johnson had died in 1988).
The Ventures In Space (1963)
The Ventures pioneered the use of special effects on such songs as "2000 Pound Bee", recorded in late 1962), in which guitarist Nokie Edwards employed a fuzz distortion pedal, pre-dating the "King of Fuzz Guitar", Davie Allan (The Arrows), by at least three years. The landmark album Ventures in Space (1963) included their first use of the then-new Mosrite Ventures Model guitars. That album, because of its etherial spacey effects, was deemed an influence on the later sixties San Francisco movement. The album was also identified as a favorite by Who drummer Keith Moon.
Some of The Ventures' best-remembered tunes are "Walk-Don't Run" (1960), "Perfidia" and "Lullaby of the Leaves" (1961), a cover version of the Tornadoes' 1 hit "Telstar" (1963), "Slaughter On Tenth Avenue" (1964), "Walk Don't Run '64" (1964), and "Hawaii Five-O" (1969). But their commercial fortunes in the US sharply declined after 1967 due to changing musical trends. In the late 1970s and into the 1980s, a resurgence of interest in surf music led to some in the Punk/New Wave audience rediscovering the band, which revived The Ventures as a viable live attraction in America. New Wave band the Go-Go's, a highly popular all-female band of the era, wrote "Surfin' And Spyin'" and dedicated it to The Ventures. The Ventures recorded their own version and continue to occasionally perform the song in current-day shows. Their career was given another rejuvenating shot in the arm by the further resurgence of interest in surf music brought on by Quentin Tarantino's use of The Lively Ones' version of Nokie Edwards' "Surf Rider" and several other classic surf songs in the soundtrack of the hit movie Pulp Fiction...even though no Ventures recording was used in this soundtrack.
Given their tremendous cultural influence, both in the US and Japan, as well as their ranking as 6th biggest album-selling pop act of the 1960s, Ventures fans and supporters have been campaigning for the past several years to have The Ventures inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland, Ohio. On September 27, 2007, it was announced that The Ventures were one of the nine nominees for the 2008 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony.[1]
The Ventures maintain an active website, www.theventures.com, and there is a Yahoo discussion forum [2] dedicated to the group.
Nokie Edwards also maintains an active website, www.nokieedwards.com. Information about his tour dates, CDs, videos and his custom made guitar, called the HitchHiker, is also available on his web site.
I discovered The Ventures as a nine year old in 1962 thanks to my older cousin Laurie who had the fourth album, "The Colorful Ventures". I think it took about thirty seconds of the opener, "Blue Moon" and I was enamored. They were my very first favorite rock "band". So, the name of Bob Bogle has been with me, needless to say, most of my life. Finally getting to see him and the band in LA in the eighties (once with Mel Taylor at The Palamino) I was surprised by his "mild manored" presentation. I remember thinking from time to time, "Doesn't he know how good he is?" or something to that effect. Listening back over the records (as I always do) like "Another Smash", "Dance Party, Vol. 1", "Country Classics" "Surfing", "Where The Action Is", or "Batman Theme" it seems he kept all that aggressive perfection in the grooves. Anyway, I shall certainly miss him. My condolenses to Don and Nokie.
Just letting you know that due to the success of my Debut Album "Ambivalence" You can now get your own copy for the small price of $10 or download straight to your computer for $6.
This special is available from CD baby at the link below so check it out and grab yourself a copy today.
To Bob Bogle, you are one of my idols along with the rest of The Ventures that influenced my lead and bass guitar playing.The world will miss you and your tasteful playing. I play guitar in a surf band, Drifting Sand from the San Francisco area. Rest In Peace Rockaway Rob Galindo on behalf of myself and Drifting Sand
THE CARS’ ELLIOT EASTON DEBUTS BAND WITH ALL-STAR LINE UP ELLIOT EASTON’S TIKI GODS FRI. MAY 8, 2009 AT KEY CLUB
Featuring Members of The Brian Wilson Band and The Wondermints
(LOS ANGELES, April 28, 2009) – Famed The Cars’ guitarist, Elliot Easton debuts Elliot Easton’s Tiki Gods, an Exotica instrumental group featuring some of music’s greatest talents on Friday, May 8, at Key Club. With members from The Brian Wilson Band and The Wondermints, this nine-piece ensemble plans to create waves in the exotica, Tiki music scene. Doors at 9:00 p.m. Ticket price is $10. 00 and advance tickets are available at www.Ticketmaster.com or at the Key Club box office (310) 274-5800.
“There isn’t really a word to describe the band’s sound,” explains Easton. “Think martini lounge, space age, Exotica, with lush, romantic themes from Hollywood 60’s movie soundtracks like Pink Panther and James Bond. It’s the hybrid sounds of the Tiki culture and Polynesian dance and a combination of surf rock and instrumental mood music. Most importantly, it’s a very fun kind of music,” he added. “For example, we’ll be playing the theme song from Star Trek. ”
The all-star, nine-piece band includes Elliot Easton (lead guitar, vocals), Nick Walusko (guitar), Probyn Gregory (trumpet, percussion), Brett Simons (bass), Nelson Bragg (drums), Todd Jaeger (keyboard), producer Andy Paley (keys, bass), Gary Griffin (keyboard), and Scott Bennett (multi-instrumentalist). Each of these master musicians have played and toured with bands such as The Who, Sheryl Crow, Tom Waits, Flaming Lips, Filter, Smashing Pumpkins, Creedence Clearwater Revisited, Todd Rundgren, as well as with The Brian Wilson Band and The Wondermints.
ABOUT ELLIOT As lead guitarist for the legendary rock band “The Cars” and “The New Cars,” Elliot has sold over 30 million records worldwide. Well respected in the guitar community,
Just letting you know I have uploaded some tracks from my debut album "Ambivalence" now avaliable from my website and from cd baby (click the link below to check it out and get your copy today)
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You can also check out my now live official Todd Robinson website where you can pre-order the "Ambivalence" album, check tour dates,watch videos, learn my songs with full tab, check out my bio and gear and much much more
Online!
THE CARS’ ELLIOT EASTON DEBUTS BAND WITH ALL-STAR LINE UP
