Listen Now

x
#

THE VENTURES

The Ventures are the most successful instrumental combo in rock and roll history. They also rank among its most prolific bands, too. They're best remembered for a pair of Sixties smashes, "Walk, Don't Run" and "Hawaii Five-O." Yet their most impressive feat was charting 38 albums from 1960 to 1972. The Ventures' "big guitar sound" made them instrumental institution in the Sixties, and they've remained an in-demand working unit down the decades.

The band, formed in 1958 in Tacoma, Washington by Don Wilson and Bob Bogle, two masonry workers, has had an enduring impact on the development of music worldwide, having sold over 100 million records, and are to date the best-selling instrumental band of all time. In 2008, the Ventures were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Their music has been cited by many guitarists as an influence; their virtuosity, experimentation with guitar effects, and unique sound laid the groundwork for innumerable groups, earning them the moniker "The Band that Launched a Thousand Bands". They have also contributed to the surf music genre, though they are not, as popularly perceived, strictly a surf band. Though their popularity in the United States waned in the 1970s, the group remains revered in Japan, where they still tour regularly to this day. The Ventures: Don Wilson - rhythm guitar (co-founder in 1958), Nokie Edwards - lead guitar (joined in 1960), Gerry McGee - lead guitar (joined in 1968), Bob Spalding - lead guitar and bass guitar (joined in 1981), Leon Taylor - drums (joined in 1996 after the passing of his father, Mel Taylor), Bob Bogle - lead and bass guitar (co-founder in 1958, passed away June 14th, 2009), Mel Taylor - drums - (member from 1962 - 1996, passed away August 11th, 1996)

Albums