Originally out of Bakersfield California
– very expensive and also pretty popular.
The Ventures
I was a huge fan of this group, purchased lots of vinyl. I could never play guitar anywhere close to as well as they could, but I still enjoyed…
- Bob Bogle (guitar, bass; born January 16, 1934, died June 14, 2009)
- Nokie Edwards (lead guitar, bass; born May 9, 1935)
- Mel Taylor (drums; born September 24, 1933, died August 11, 1996),
- Don Wilson (guitar; born February 10, 1933)
Videos:
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Their Music
2. Perfidia/ Dolton 28/ 11/14/60/ #15 Billboard
3. Ram-Bunk-Shush/ Dolton 32/ 2/13/61/ #29 Billboard
4. Walk-Don’t Run ’64/ Dolton 96/ 8/1/64/ #8 Billboard
5. Slaughter On Tenth Avenue/ Dolton 300/ 11/21/64/ #35 Billboard
6. Hawaii Five-O/ Liberty 56068/ 4/12/69/ # 4 Billboard
And some of my Favourites
1. Torquay
2. Driving Guitars (album cut)
3. Bulldog (album Cut)
4. Gone Gone Gone
5. Guitar Twist
6. Whittier Blvd / 1965 Dolton LP / which I purchase for $4 but now is $75 (inflation)
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The Ventures’ nucleus came together in 1958, when Don Wilson and Bob Bogle met on a car lot in Tacoma, Washington. The two guitarists played as a duo before hooking up with guitarist/bassist Nokie Edwards and drummer Howie Johnson.
They performed as “The Impacts” and “The Versatones” before settling on “The Ventures”. “We were venturing into a different style of music, and the name would give us room to expand”, Wilson told journalist Robert J. Dalley.
The Ventures self-released two singles on their Blue Horizon label, including “Walk – Don’t Run,” released in 1960. When that song became popular on local radio stations, Seattle-based Dolton Records (a Liberty affiliate) signed the group and reissued the single. It became a #2 national hit, and an instrumental standard, selling 2 million copies. A new version, retitled “Walk – Don’t Run ’64” and done in a surf-guitar style, also made the Top Ten.
The Ventures kept abreast of the latest hits, cutting instrumental versions while they were still fresh in the public’s mind. In addition, the Ventures came up with unifying album concepts that were unique and timely. Ventures in Space (1963) consisted of space-themed songs around the time NASA was firing up the public’s imagination. Every song on The Colorful Ventures (1961) had a color in its title. Their collection of seasonal music, The Ventures’ Christmas Album (1965), charted annually for four years.
Great Video – Wipe Out:
The group ventured into any musical area that grabbed their fancy. They tapped into the surf-music craze with Surfing (1963). When rock went psychedelic, they cut a brace of albums – Guitar Freakout, Super Psychedelics, Flights of Fantasy and Underground Fire – in that sonically expressive style.
The Ventures even cut material exclusively for the Japanese market, as they are highly revered in that country, even outselling the Beatles there in their heyday. The group became paragons of pop culture and foremost ambassadors of the electric guitar in Japan.
Recalling their 1965 tour, Don Wilson told Goldmine, “It seemed like every group in Japan knew only our songs. If a group played 100 songs, they were all Ventures songs.”
The Ventures were eventually accorded the Grand Prix award for their contributions to Japanese music.
The Ventures’ startling, horn-filled arrangement of the “Hawaii Five-O” theme returned them to the Top Five in 1969. Although it was their last major hit, the group continued to chart albums through 1972’s Joy/The Ventures Play the Classics.
Even after dropping off the American charts, the Ventures maintained a flourishing career as touring and recording artists, and they remain especially popular in Europe and Japan – as well as among surf-music aficionados on the West Coast – to this day.
There have been relatively few personnel changes since the group’s inception. Original drummer Howie Johnson broke his neck in a 1961 car accident and was unable to handle extensive touring. Mel Taylor replaced him in 1962. This cemented the classic Ventures lineup of Don Wilson, Bob Bogle, Nokie Edwards and Mel Taylor.
In 1968 Edwards left to go solo and was replaced on lead guitar by Gerry McGee. Edwards returned to the fold in 1972 and remained until late 1984. Once again, he was replaced by McGee, who remains with the group and continues to tour with them in Japan. Bob Bogle retired from touring in December 2004 and was replaced by Bob Spalding.
Today’s lineup comprises Don Wilson, Bob Spalding (who first appeared live with the group in 1981), Gerry McGee, and Leon Taylor (who replaced his late father Mel in 1996). Nokie Edwards still joins them on selected dates.
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OK, so I will admit to always being a big fan of Instrumentals. It is a form of music that lasted from the mid Fifties to the mid Sixties but, sadly, is now pretty much extinct; – too bad! We lost a great art form.
For a complete album Discography, you can visit this site: http://discografiasdeantonio.blogspot.ca/2009/10/ventures.html
–o–
