Today we honor the greatest electric guitar instrumental band ever. Formed in Tacoma Washington in 1958 by Don Wilson, who died this week at the age of 88, and fellow guitarist Bob Bogle, at first they called themselves the Versatones. Wilson and Bogle later changed their name to The Ventures and made the duo a quartet by adding guitarist/bassist Nokie Edwards and drummer Howie Johnson. Johnson didn’t play on the group’s first major recording, however; drummer Skip Moore did.
Bogle and Wilson had heard a jazzy rendition of the song by Chet Atkins.
- Walk Don’t Run, Chet Atkins
The Ventures’ version reached number two on the Billboard charts in July of 1960, but it wasn’t their first record. Their second was a vocal—Wilson was singing in bars and nightclubs. Performed by Wilson and Bogle and drummer George Babbitt, on the flip side was a tune called The Real McCoy with someone impersonating Walter Brennan. Since no record label chose to make the record, Wilson and Bogle released it on their own:
After Walk Don’t Run, The Ventures would find a formula that greatly popularized the electric guitar in rock music around the world. For me personally, drummer Howie Johnson was my idol, and was my greatest influence on the drums. You can tell it’s him when you hear his rimshot on stroke four of the beat. The Ventures found their identity by the time they recorded a beautiful 1940s standard:
Several gimmicks made The Ventures easily identifiable: the tremolo bar, the fuzz-tone, and flanging guitar effects. Some people might say that their songs all sound alike. Some did because of their arrangements, but the way the band members played and the guitars they used (Fenders initially) had their own signature sound.
By early 1961, The Ventures were a smash and were on a major label, one that turned them down initially. It wasn’t a singles band, although 14 of their records made it on the Top 100 charts. Thirty-eight of their albums made Billboard, The Ventures are the best-selling instrumental band of all time. Their third single was Ram-Bunk-Shush:
From 1960 to 1962, The Ventures settled on the lineup of Wilson on rhythm guitar, Bogle on bass, Edwards on lead guitar, and Johnson on drums. Drummer George Babbitt, who recorded Cookies and Coke, had left the band because he was too young to tour. He later became a four-star general in the Air Force. Drummer Skip Moore chose not to accept royalties on Walk Don’t Run, taking just the $25 session fee. He quit. Then Johnson was hired, but he had been in a car wreck and needed a brace to tour. He recorded with the group until mid-1962.
Prominent electric guitar songs were exploding on the Top Forty. Duane Eddy was certainly a major player in this genre, there was Bill Justice with Raunchy, and Scotty Moore was Elvis’s guitar player. But as a group, none simply made instrumental albums the way The Ventures did. They would cover their competition with songs from groups like The Wailers or hits from Link Wray. The Ventures would even record vocal hits and play them as instrumentals on their albums. Here’s they are playing Link Wray:
The Ventures released four albums in the first year-and-a-half of their existence. The first, Walk Don’t Run, was issued in such a hurry that the four guys (who were on tour) couldn’t get their picture taken for the cover, so they used a couple of male employees from Liberty Records in their place. Add the frame of a fine-looking model out in front, and no one would know the difference, or pay any attention.
Among the other innovations spawned by the band, including the introduction of the 12-string guitar to rock music, was the creation of the concept album. They released Colorful Ventures in 1962 with the use of colors in the song titles: Silver City, Yellow Jacket, Greenfields, and a single that reached number 54:
About this time, drummer Howie Johnson left the group to be with his family. The Ventures easily found a new drummer: Mel Taylor, the house drummer for a club in LA called The Palomino. He also had some hits under his belt, like Alley Oop, Monster Mash, and The Lonely Bull. Taylor had a drumming style similar to Johnson, without the rim shots. His first outing with the Ventures:
in August 1962, The Ventures softened a bit with a theme song from the movie Lolita, called Lolita Ya-Ya. They would re-create themes from movies and television often throughout their career with great success—everything from Summer Place to Medic to Outer Limits.
If you don’t think The Ventures were ahead of their time, listen to Nokie Edwards and the whole group on a song that made the top 100 at the end of 1962:
The Ventures were the only group ever to have one of their hit records hit the Top Ten twice. At this point in 1964 almost considered a surf group (which they really weren’t),The Ventures released an updated version of Walk Don’t Run 64. The first time around in 1960 it climbed to Number Two. In 1964, it made it to Number Eight. The Washington group was still very popular, especially considering it was 1964.
From 1964 to 1967, The Ventures released nearly 25 albums, with all but one charting. During this time their popularity in the U.S. began to wane a bit, but not in Japan, where they were gods. Crowds would greet them at the airport. Their 1965 single Diamond Head reached only Number 70 in the U.S.—but hit Number One in Japan. The Ventures were responsible for a period in Japanese music known as the eleki boom, where thousands of Japanese purchased electric guitars and many guitar-based bands stared up.
The lineup of Wilson, Bogle, Taylor, and Edwards continued until 1968. Other personnel changes would take place in the coming years, but not before the release of the song that identifies them. Remember I mentioned themes? Their biggest by far was Hawaii Five-O from the TV series of the same name. In March of 1969 it reached Number Four.
What’s happened since? All original members are deceased. But the band with a new lineup still performs
- Wilson died January 22, 2022 at the age of 88
- Bogle died June 14, 2009 at the age of 75
- Johnson died May 5, 1988 at the age of 54
- Taylor died in 1996
- Edwards died March 12, 2018
- McGee died October 12, 2019 at the age of 81
The Ventures, who played Mossrite guitars, were among the first rock acts able to sell albums based on a style and sound without needing hit singles on the albums. While they predated the advent of the terms “surf guitar” and “surf rock” and they did not consider themselves a surf rock group, they were a major building block of surf music, if not the first to play the style.