The Ventures "Walk,
Don't Run," "Hawaii Five-O," and
many more
In 1958, Tacoma, Washington, hobby guitarists
Bob Bogle and Don Wilson recorded a vocal single
titled "Cookies and Coke." The single
did not fare well, however, so Bogle and Wilson
decided to recruit bassist Nokie Edwards and
drummer Skip Moore and become an instrumental
group, which they named The Ventures because they
were "venturing into a new style of
music." In 1959, The Ventures recorded
"Walk, Don't Run," which became a
regional hit after it was played as a news
lead-in by a Seattle radio station (thanks to a
friend with connections). Subsequently released
nationally by Dolton Records, "Walk, Don't
Run" hit the Billboad Singles Chart on July
18, 1960, and ultimately peaked at #2. The
group's debut album, Walk, Don't Run
(released December 5, 1960), peaked at #11 on the
album chart and eventually went gold. A string of
singles followed, two of which,
"Perfidia" and
"Ram-Bunk-Shush," made it onto the
Billboad Top 40.
The Ventures went on to become the most
successful instrumental rock group of all time,
with over 100 million records sold, 14 hit
singles, and 38 hit albums (17 of which made it
into the Top 40). In the early 1960's, that
success was fueled by the group's ability to keep
abreast of of the latest vocal hits, and a great
number of their albums focus on covers of vocal
hits. One of the most successful of these albums
was Twist with The Ventures (1961),
featuring a cover of Chubby Checker's
hit "The Twist," which peaked at #24 on
the album charts. The Ventures were also willing
to cover instrumental hits by other artists, with
the most notable example being The Ventures
Play Telstar and the Lonely Bull (1963),
featuring a cover of the #1 instrumental hit
"Telstar" by The Tornadoes, which
peaked at #8 on the chart and went gold.
The Ventures also routinely came up with
unifying album concepts. Every song on The
Colorful Ventures (1961), for example, had a
color in its title, Ventures in Space
(1963) consisted of space-themed songs around the
time NASA was firing up the publics
imagination, and The Ventures Christmas
Album (1965) charted annually for four
years.
Willing to venture into almost any musical
genre, The Ventures grabbed a share of the
surf-music audience with Surfing (1963).
When rock became psychedelic, so too did The
Ventures, with Guitar Freakout (1967), Super
Psychedelics (1967), Flights of Fantasy
(1968), and Underground Fire (1969). The
group ventured into the country world with The
Ventures Play the Country Classics (1963),
and even cut an album exclusively for the
Japanese market, Ventures in Japan
(1965).
The Ventures began losing their American
market in the late-1960's. Hawaii Five-O
(released May 10, 1969) peaked at #11 on the
album charts and went gold, and its accompanying
single, "Hawaii Five-O," peaked at #4,
but by 1972 The Ventures had disappeared from the
American charts for good. They did not, however,
disappear from the music scene, because by then
they had developed a huge fan base abroad,
especially in Japan, and they are still
performing to packed houses today.
Inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
in 2008, The Ventures' phenomenal success did not
come with the constant turnover of personnel
typical of many other bands. 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,
which lasted until 1968, when 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. Todays 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.
The Ventures' official website is www.theventures.com.
Chubby Checker
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