The Ventures – Surfing (1963)

The Ventures are an American instrumental rock band, formed in 1958 in Tacoma, Washington, by Don Wilson and Bob Bogle. The band, a quartet for most of its existence, helped to popularize the electric guitar in the United States and across the world during the 1960s. While their popularity in the United States waned in the 1970s, the group remains especially revered in Japan, where they tour regularly to this day. The classic lineup of the band consisted of Wilson (rhythm guitar), Bogle (initially lead guitar, switched to bass), Nokie Edwards (initially bass, switched to lead guitar), and Mel Taylor (drums).

Their first wide-release single, “Walk, Don’t Run”, brought international fame to the group, and is often cited as one of the top songs ever recorded for guitar. In the 1960s and early 1970s, 38 of the band’s albums charted in the US, ranking them as the 6th best album chart performer during the 1960s, and the band had 14 singles in the Billboard Hot 100. With over 100 million records sold, the Ventures are the best-selling instrumental band of all time.

The Ventures have had an enduring impact on the development of music worldwide. The band was among the first to employ and popularize fuzz and flanging guitar effects, concept albums, and twelve-string guitars in rock music. Their instrumental virtuosity, innovation, and unique sound influenced many musicians and bands, earning the group the moniker “The Band that Launched a Thousand Bands”. Their recording of “Walk, Don’t Run” was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame for its lasting impact, and in 2008 the group was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame

The Ventures pioneered the use of special effects on such songs as “The 2000 Pound Bee”, recorded in late 1962, in which lead guitarist Nokie Edwards employed a fuzz pedal. Edwards’ use of “fuzz tone” predated the “King of Fuzz Guitar”, Davie Allan of The Arrows, by at least three years. In addition, Edwards was among the first to use the twelve-string guitar in rock. The 1964 The Ventures In Space album was a primer in the use of special guitar effects, and made pioneering use of ‘reverse-tracking’. The Ventures In Space, because of its ethereal space-like effects, was deemed an influence on the later 1960s San Francisco psychedelic generation, as well as being cited as a favorite by Keith Moon of the Who.

The band’s cover of the Tornados’ “Telstar” (released in January 1963) featured one of the first instances of flanging on a pop record. The song “Silver Bells” on The Ventures’ Christmas Album, released in November 1965, has one of the first recorded uses of a talk box as a musical effect, voiced by Red Rhodes.

The Ventures have had an influence on many musicians, both professional and amateur. Their instructional album, Play Guitar with the Ventures, was the first such record to chart on the Billboard Top LPs list, peaking at No. 96, and taught thousands of budding guitarists how to play the guitar. George Harrison stated in a Guitar Player interview that he preferred the American guitar sound of the Ventures to British contemporaries. When asked to name the most influential rock guitar solos, Joe Walsh said he would have to include the entire song “Walk, Don’t Run” because it changed so many guitar players’ lives.

John Fogerty, during his introduction of the Ventures at their Hall of Fame induction, said that it “kicked open a whole movement in rock and roll… The sound of it became ‘surf music’ and the audacity of it empowered guitarists everywhere.” Stephen Stills told Ventures guitarist Don Wilson that he learned to play on Ventures records. Jeff Baxter[35][36] and Gene Simmons were early members of the Ventures Fan Club.[37] Carl Wilson called the Ventures a major influence on his early guitar playing, stating that the Beach Boys had learned to play all of their songs by ear. (wikipedia)

And here´s their 12th album !

The Ventures were not a surf band. Well-established before surf music’s brief heyday in the mid-’60s, they have nonetheless been easily lumped in with the likes Dick Dale and the Challengers due mostly to the Ventures’ theme for Hawaii Five-0 and a penchant for Hawaiian shirts late in their career. However, their Surfing album is not hindered by a lack of authentication. Perhaps because they were older, or were more professional musicians, Surfing sounds less like an actual surfer’s attempt at re-creating the feeling on their boards and more like a cloudy, early-morning walk on the beach, evoked by languid, almost atmospheric numbers like “Changing Tides” and “The Lonely Sea.” Lead guitarist Nokie Edwards wrote perhaps the best-known song from the album, “Surf Rider,” made famous by its inclusion in the movie Pulp Fiction. Other Ventures originals showcase the band’s capabilities with the lightning-quick guitar work and pounding drums that went on to define the genre. The album also contains a helpful glossary for the landlocked. (by Kurt Edwards)

Personnel:
Bob Bogle (bass , guitar)
Nokie Edwards (lead guitar)
Mel Taylor (drums)
Don Wilson (guitar)

An EP from Italy:

Tracklist:
01. Pipeline (Spickard/Connan) 2.18
02. Diamonds (Lordan) 2.10
03. Windy And Warm (Loudermilk) 2.24
04. Ten Over (Wilson/Taylor/Edwards/Bogle) 1.57
05. Surf Rider (Edwards) 2.24
06. Changing Tides (Wilson/Taylor/Edwards/Bogle) 2.55
07. The Ninth Wave (Wilson/Taylor/Edwards/Bogle) 2.08
08. Party In Laguna (Wilson/Taylor/Edwards/Bogle) 2.18
09. Barefoot Venture (Wilson/Taylor/Edwards/Bogle) 2.11
10. The Heavies (Wilson/Taylor/Edwards/Bogle) 1.48
11. Cruncher (Wilson/Taylor/Edwards/Bogle) 2.24
12. The Lonely Sea (Wilson/Taylor/Edwards/Bogle) 2.51

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**

Don Wilson, co-founder and rhythm guitarist for the influential instrumental rock band the Ventures, died on January 22 at the age of 88. Wilson’s family first confirmed to Seattle journalist Saint Bryan that the guitarist “passed peacefully” of natural causes in Tacoma, Washington.

“Our dad was an amazing rhythm guitar player who touched people all over world with his band, The Ventures,” Don’s son Tim Wilson said in a statement. “He will have his place in history forever and was much loved and appreciated. He will be missed.”

Wilson and guitarist/bassist Bob Bogle formed the Ventures in 1958 when they were both Seattle-area construction workers moonlighting as musicians; just two years later, the Ventures’ electric guitar-led rendition of Johnny Smith’s “Walk, Don’t Run” rose to Number Two on the Hot 100; it was later included among Rolling Stone’s 100 Greatest Guitar Songs of All Time.

“[“Walk, Don’t Run”] started a whole new movement in rock & roll,” John Fogerty said when inducting the Ventures into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. “The sound of it became ‘surf music’ and the audacity of it empowered guitarists everywhere.” In the first half of the Sixties, the band would go on to have hits with “Telstar,” “Perfidia” and a take on the theme from “Hawaii Five-O.”

Drummer Mel Taylor died in 1996, followed by Bogle in 2009, lead guitarist Nokie Edwards in 2018 and guitarist Gerry McGee in 2019. (Rollingstone.com)

More from The Ventures:

Link Wray – Jack The Ripper (1963)

Fred Lincoln “Link” Wray, Jr. (May 2, 1929 – November 5, 2005) was a Shawnee rock and roll guitarist, songwriter, and vocalist who became popular in the late 1950s.

Building on the distorted electric guitar sound of early records, his 1958 instrumental hit “Rumble” by Link Wray & His Ray Men popularized “the power chord, the major modus operandi of modern rock guitarists,” facilitating the emergence of “punk and heavy rock”. Rolling Stone placed Wray at No. 45 of the 100 greatest guitarists of all time. In 2013 and 2017 he was a nominee for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Though he began in country music, his musical style went on to consist primarily of rock and roll, rockabilly, and instrumental rock.

Wray was born on May 2, 1929 in Dunn, North Carolina, to Fred Lincoln Wray, Sr., and his wife, Lillian M. Wray (née Coats), who were both Native Americans of Shawnee descent,. although the 1930 and 1940 censuses refer to them as White as many Native Americans either registered themselves as White or Black to avoid discrimination.

His two brothers, Vernon (born January 7, 1924) and Doug (born July 4, 1933), were his earliest bandmates.

Three songs he performed were named for indigenous peoples: “Shawnee,” “Apache,” and “Comanche.” “Apache” was an instrumental composed by Jerry Lordan; it was originally a hit in the United Kingdom for The Shadows in 1960 and reached #2 on the Billboard charts in the U.S. on April 3, 1961 by Danish guitarist Jørgen Ingmann. Wray recorded a cover version 30 years later, when it was also associated with The Ventures and the Incredible Bongo Band.

Wray served in the U.S. Army during the Korean War (1950–53), and contracted tuberculosis, which hospitalized him for a year. His stay concluded with the removal of a lung, which doctors predicted would mean he would never be able to sing again.

In 1958, Wray’s first hit, “Rumble,” was banned in New York and Boston for fear it would incite teenage gang violence. The record was first released on Cadence Records (catalog number 1347) as by “Link Wray & His Ray Men.” Building on the distorted electric guitar sound of early records, his 1958 instrumental hit “Rumble” by Wray and his band popularized “the power chord, the major modus operandi of modern rock guitarists,”  facilitating the emergence of “punk and heavy rock”. Before, during, and after his stints with major labels Epic and Swan, Wray released 45s under many names. Tiring of the corporate music machine, he began recording albums using a three-track studio he converted from an outbuilding on his brother’s property that his father used to raise chickens.

While living in the San Francisco Bay Area in the early 1970s, Wray was introduced to Quicksilver Messenger Service guitarist John Cipollina by bassist James “Hutch” Hutchinson. He subsequently formed a band initially featuring special guest Cipollina along with the rhythm section from Cipollina’s band Copperhead, bassist Hutch Hutchinson, and drummer David Weber. They opened for the band Lighthouse at the Whisky a Go Go in Los Angeles from May 15–19, 1974. He later did numerous concerts and radio broadcasts in the Bay Area including KSAN and the Bill Graham venue Winterland Ballroom, with Les Lizama later replacing Hutchinson on bass. He toured and recorded two albums with retro-rockabilly artist Robert Gordon in the late 1970s. The 1980s to the present day saw a large number of reissues as well as new material. One member of his band in the 1980s, drummer Anton Fig, later became drummer in the CBS Orchestra on the Late Show with David Letterman. In 1994, he played on four songs of the album Chatterton by French rocker Alain Bashung. He went on to release two albums of new music: Shadowman (1997) and Barbed Wire (2005). Recently discovered recordings were slated to be released in 2018.

Wray’s first three marriages, to Elizabeth Canady Wray, Katherine Tidwell Wray, and Sharon Cole Wray, produced eight children. Wray relocated to Denmark in the early 1980s.

Wray died of heart failure at his home in Copenhagen, on 5 November 2005, at the age of 76. Survivors included his eight children and 23 grandchildren, two great-grandchildren from the United States, daughter Beth Wray Webb, son Link Wray III, son Link Elvis Wray, daughter Belinda Wray Muth, daughter Mona Wray Tidwell, daughter Rhonda Wray Sayen, son Shayne Wray, daughter Charlotte Wray, and his fourth wife, Olive Julie Povlsen Wray, and their son. He was buried in the crypt of the Christian’s Church, Copenhagen.

Jack Rose cited Wray as an influence, as did Iggy Pop and Neil Young. Jimmy Page says that Link Wray had a “real rebel attitude” and credits him in It Might Get Loud as a major influence in his early career. According to Rolling Stone, Pete Townshend of The Who once said, “If it hadn’t been for Link Wray and ‘Rumble,’ I never would have picked up a guitar.” “The only people I ever really looked up to were Link Wray and Iggy Pop,” said Mark E. Smith of The Fall. “Guys like…Link Wray…are very special to me.”

Bob Dylan references Wray in his song, “Sign Language”, which he recorded as a duo with Eric Clapton in 1975: “Link Wray was playin’ on a juke box I was payin’/ for the words I was saying, so misunderstood/he didn’t do me no good”  Both Dylan and Bruce Springsteen performed Wray’s tune “Rumble” in concert as a tribute to the influential musician upon his 2005 death.(by wikipedia)

As bad-ass as Elvis and Gene Vincent were, Link Wray was the first real punk rocker. Not only did his guitar work suggest a man whose talent came from a deal with Satan, one look at the man’s face told you this was no one to fuck with. That’s why his fellow guitarist Duane Eddy, with the pretty-boy looks, got into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame while Link was relegated to cult-rocker status.

Wray is most famous, and justifiably so, as the originator of 1958’s “Rumble,” the first power-chord-based guitar number. “Jack the Ripper” sports a re-recording, which is nowhere near as good as its predecessor. Another track I could have done without is “My Beth,” a cloying surf number that sounds like the Ventures on Quaaludes.

As for the other ten tracks, they’re all first-rate instrumental rockers! The cowboy-flavored “Mr. Guitar” begins Side A and leaves the listener thirsting for more. The organ-driven “Deacon Jones,” with Wray’s demented yowls, might just be the first garage-rock tune. (It predated the Kingsmen’s “Louie, Louie.”) “Steel Trap,” with its jabbing brass riffs, could have been a lo-fi soul record if a singer had replaced the lead guitar. “Cross Ties” evokes images of a steam-powered train chugging through the Old West. Closing out Side A is “Jack the Ripper,” which more than lives up to its title.

The numbers on Side B are just as hot, especially “Run Chicken Run” and “Big Ben.” And “Mash Potato Party” is even grittier than what Nat Kendrick & The Swans (A/K/A James Brown & The Famous Flames) came up with! (by goldwax)

Personnel:
Link Wray (guitar, vocals)
+
a bunch of unknown studio musicians

Tracklist:
01. Mr. Guitar (F.L. Wray, Sr.) 2.36
02. My Beth (B.Wray) 2.17
03. Deacon Jones (F.L. Wray, Sr.) 2.08
04. Steel Trap (F.L. Wray, Sr.) 2.08
05. Cross Ties (F.L. Wray, Sr.) 1.37
06. Jack The Ripper (F.L. Wray, Sr./Cooper) 2.22
07. Fat Back (F.L. Wray, Sr.) 2,43
08. Run Chicken Run (F.L. Wray, Sr.) 1.48
09. Dinosaur (V.Wray) 2.12
10. Big Ben (F.L. Wray, Sr.) 2.18
11. Mash Potato Party (F.L. Wray, Sr.) 2.12
12. Rumble (F.L. Wray, Sr./Cooper) 2.27

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Link Wray, Jr. (May 2, 1929 – November 5, 2005)

Beach Boys – Today (1965)

The Beach Boys Today! is the eighth studio album by the American rock band the Beach Boys, released on March 8, 1965. The album signaled a departure from their previous records with its orchestral approach, intimate subject matter, and abandonment of themes related to surfing, cars, or superficial love. It peaked at number four on US record charts during a 50-week chart stay and was preceded by the top 10 singles “When I Grow Up (To Be a Man)” and “Dance, Dance, Dance”, along with “Do You Wanna Dance?” which reached number 12. When issued in the UK one year later, Today! peaked at number six.

The album was produced, arranged, and largely written by Brian Wilson with additional lyrics by Mike Love. Shortly before recording began, the group completed their album All Summer Long (1964), intended to be their final statement on beach-themed music. In December 1964, Brian Wilson had a nervous breakdown while on a flight, and resigned from touring with the group to focus solely on writing and producing. He began using marijuana, which he later said had profound effects on his musical conceptions.

Today! established the Beach Boys as album artists rather than just a singles band. Side one features an uptempo sound that contrasts side two, which consists mostly of ballads. Author Scott Schinder referred to its “suite-like structure” as an early example of the rock album format being used to make a cohesive artistic statement.[3] In 2012, the album was voted 271 on Rolling Stone magazine’s list of the “500 Greatest Albums of All Time”. In 2005, it was included in the musical reference book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die.

By the end of a particularly stressful 1964, the Beach Boys had released four albums in 12 months, dismissed the Wilsons’ father Murry from his managerial position and recorded the advance hit singles “When I Grow Up (To Be a Man)” and “Dance, Dance, Dance”. Mid-1964 also saw the divorce of Mike Love from his first wife Frances St. Martin whom he had married in 1961. During the album’s recording sessions, Love told Melody Maker that he and the band wanted to look beyond surf rock, wanting to avoid living in the past or resting on the band’s laurels. Brian Wilson had written his last surf song in April 1964, intending All Summer Long (released July 1964) to be the group’s final statement on beach-themed music.

Wilson became physically and emotionally exhausted to a point that he suffered an anxiety attack on December 23, 1964. During the recording sessions of Today! in January 1965, he informed the band that he intended to retire from touring and focus his attention solely on creating and producing music, to which the band reluctantly agreed.[5] Wilson expressed regret over not having done this sooner so that he could do “justice” to the band’s recordings, saying “I was run down mentally and emotionally because I was running around, jumping on jets from one city to another on one-night stands, also producing, writing, arranging, singing, planning, teaching – to the point where I had no peace of mind and no chance to actually sit down and think or even rest.”[10][nb 1] According to Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil, in early 1965, Wilson phoned the couple to congratulate them on their new song “You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feelin'”, as Weil quotes Wilson: “Your song is the greatest record ever. I was ready to quit the music business, but this has inspired me to write again. I want to write with you guys.”

In songs like ‘She Knows Me Too Well’ and ‘In the Back of My Mind’, Wilson’s dream lovers were suddenly no longer simple happy souls harmonizing their sun-kissed innocence and dying devotion to each other over a honey-coated backdrop of surf and sand. Instead, they’d become highly vulnerable, slightly neurotic and riddled with telling insecurities. (Nick Kent, “The Last Beach Movie Revisited”, 2009)

Today! marked a maturation in the Beach Boys’ lyric content by abandoning themes related to surfing, cars, or teenage love. Some love songs remained, but with a marked increase in depth, along with introspective tracks accompanied by adventurous and distinct arrangements. British rock critic Nick Kent explained: “What was really happening was Brian’s approach to romance was becoming more and more personalized, more honest in a distinctly autobiographical way.”

According to author Scott Schinder, “Today!’s suite-like structure, with the album divided into a side of fast songs and a side of ballads, presented an early manifestation of the rock album format being used to make a cohesive artistic statement – an idea that Brian would soon explore more fully.” It was thus the band’s first flirtation with the album-as-art form.[15] Brian’s recent introduction to marijuana, which he used as a stress reliever,[16] greatly influenced the album’s writing, as he later stated: “Pot made the music grow in my head.” Musicologist Philip Lambert disagrees with the notion that “Brian wrote B-side songs before his December catharsis and A-side songs in the sunny glow of his subsequent freedom”, believing that the compositions which preceded his plane episode still showed evidence of progressive ingenuity. (by wikipedia)

Brian Wilson’s retirement from performing to concentrate on studio recording and production reaped immediate dividends with Today!, the first Beach Boys album that is strong almost from start to finish. “Dance, Dance, Dance” and “Do You Wanna Dance” were upbeat hits with Spector-influenced arrangements, but Wilson began to deal with more sophisticated themes on another smash 45, “When I Grow Up,” on which these eternal teenagers looked forward to the advancing years with fear and uncertainty. Surf/hot rod/beach themes were permanently retired in favor of late-adolescent, early-adult romance on this album, which included such decent outings in this vein as “She Knows Me Too Well,” “Kiss Me Baby,” and “In the Back of My Mind.” The true gem is “Please Let Me Wonder,” one of the group’s most delicate mid-’60s works, with heartbreaking melodies and harmonies.

Be aware that the version of “Help Me, Rhonda” found here is an inferior, earlier, and slower rendition; the familiar hit single take was included on their next album, Summer Days (And Summer Nights!!). [Today!/Summer Days (And Summer Nights!!), a Capitol two-fer CD, combines this and Summer Days (And Summer Nights!!) onto one disc, adding alternate takes of “Dance, Dance, Dance,” “I’m So Young,” and “Let Him Run Wild,” as well as a previously unreleased studio version of “Graduation Day.” Most significantly, it also adds the non-LP single from late 1965, “The Little Girl I Once Knew,” which looked forward to Pet Sounds in its studio experimentation and lyrical themes.] (by Richie Unterberger)

Personnel:
Al Jardine (vocals. guitar, bass)
Mike Love (vocals)
Brian Wilson (vocals, bass. keyboards, harpsichord)
Carl Wilson (vocals, guitar, bass)
Dennis Wilson (vocals,  drums, percussion)
+
Hal Blaine (drums, percussion)
Glen Campbell (guitar)
Peter Christ (english horn)
Steve Douglas (saxophone)
David Duke (french horn)
John Gray (piano)
Carl Fortina (accordion)
Plas Johnson (saxophone)
Carol Kaye (bass guitar)
Barney Kessel (guitar)
Larry Knechtel (bass)
Carrol Lewis (harmonica)
“Louie” (last name unknown) (castanets)
Jack Nimitz (saxophone)
Jay Migliori (saxophone)
Earl Palmer (drums, timbales)
Don Randi (keyboards)
Bill Pitman (guitar)
Ray Pohlman (bass)
Billy Lee Riley (harmonica)
Leon Russell (keyboards)
Billy Strange (guitar, mandolin)
Ron Swallow (tambourine)
Tommy Tedesco (harp, guitar, mandolin)
Russ Titelman (percussion)
Julius Wechter (vibraphone, percussion)
Jerry Williams (vibraphone, timpani)
Marilyn Wilson (background vocals)
+
unknown: oboe, cellos, violins, violas, English horn

Tracklist:
01. Do You Wanna Dance? (Freeman) 2.40
02. Good To My Baby  (B.Wilson/Love) 2.22
03. Don’t Hurt My Little Sister  (B.Wilson, Love) 2.10
04. When I Grow Up (To Be a Man) (B.Wilson/Love) 2.06
05. Help Me, Ronda (B.Wilson/Love) 3.07
06. Dance, Dance, Dance (B. Wilson/C.Wilson/Love) 2.05
07. Please Let Me Wonder (B.Wilson/Love) 2.49
08. I’m So Young  (Tyus) 2.35
09. Kiss Me, Baby (B.Wilson/Love) 2.44
10. She Knows Me Too Well (B.Wilson/Love) 2.32
11. In The Back Of My Mind (B.Wilson/Love) 2.12
12. Bull Session with the ‘Big Daddy’ (spoken word) 2.11

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More from The Beach Boys:

Dick Dale And His Del-Tones – Surfers’ Choice (1962)

Guitarist Dick Dale, whose fast, thunderous sound pioneered the California “surf rock” genre of the early 1960s and gained a new generation of fans decades later through its appearance in “Pulp Fiction,” has died. He was 81.
His former drummer Dusty Watson told CNN that Dale died Saturday night after “having issues related to his heart.”
Dale had a “wet,” reverb-heavy guitar sound that evoked crashing waves and sought to echo the sounds he played in his mind while surfing, according to the Huntington Beach Surfing Walk of Fame. His singular, staccato picking drew upon Middle Eastern music (his father was Lebanese) and influenced the Beach Boys, the Ventures and other surf-rock artists of the era.

His best-known song, 1962’s “Miserlou” (sometimes spelled “Misirlou”), was an adaptation of an early-19th century Middle Eastern instrumental folk tune. In Dale’s hands it became a furious rave-up that packed dance floors — and has had a long life in pop culture.

Quentin Tarantino used it over the opening credits of “Pulp Fiction,” giving the song a new veneer of retro cool, and the Black Eyed Peas sampled it prominently in “Pump It,” their 2006 hit. That same year the song also appeared in a “Guitar Hero” video game.
Dale’s early fame and impact brought him the nickname, “King of the Surf Guitar.”

“I’m sorry to hear about Dick Dale passing. Dick’s guitar playing was a big influence on all of us, and we covered ‘Misirlou’ on our Surfin’ USA album in ’63,” Beach Boys leader Brian Wilson said on Twitter.
Dale was born Richard Anthony Monsour in Boston but moved to Southern California as a teenager and quickly discovered surfing.
He and his band the Del-Tones began playing weekend gigs in the late 1950s at the Rendezvous Ballroom in the seaside Balboa neighborhood of Newport Beach. He played a Fender Stratocaster guitar and used a customized Fender amp to develop his signature thick sound and ear-shredding volume.

Dale’s “Let’s Go Trippin,'” first played in 1961, is viewed by many as the first-ever surf rock song. His debut album, “Surfers’ Choice,” came out in 1962 and earned him appearances on Ed Sullivan’s show and in “Beach Party,” the 1963 Frankie Avalon-Annette Funicello movie.
Dale’s later career was interrupted repeatedly by health problems. He had recurring battles with rectal cancer and toured into his 80s to help pay his medical bills.
“I want to thank all my music lovers for supporting me these last 3 months with your wonderful heartfelt letters praying for my speedy recovery as I battle this demon that attacks so many other friends and their loved ones,” he wrote on his website in 2008. “For now, no touring for a while.”
But Dale returned to the road and was still performing as recently as December.

Watson, his former drummer, called Dale “the creator of an entire genre of Southern California indigenous music — not by him, but by his fans who were surfers — a new craze that had taken over the beaches up and down the coast.”
Watson said Dale was a gracious performer who would stay for hours after each show talking to fans and signing autographs. Onstage, he said, Dale was “a true force of nature … delivering a punch that would ricochet off the back wall and punch us all in the chest.” (by CNN)

And here´s his debut album … from the early Sixties:

Very few early rock & roll albums were true groundbreakers, but this is one: not only did it single-handedly establish the surf music genre (and Dick Dale’s hegemony over it), but also sold the entire concept to mass America, where surfing in landlocked regions was only a state of mind. Largely recorded at the Rendezvous Ballroom in Balboa Beach — Dale’s ruling home turf, where one can clearly hear the kids screaming in anticipation at the start of “Surf Beat” — this lays out the vocal highlights from Dick’s set list (“Peppermint Man,” “Lovey Dovey,” “Night Owl,” “Fanny Mae,” and “Sloop John B.,” sounding very odd here with overdubbed strings) up against the instrumentals that truly forged the style.

“Miserlou Twist” — a different version than the original Del-Tone single — and the original, pre-reverb single version of “Let’s Go Trippin'” appear to be the only studio tracks aboard. But the live takes on “Surfing Drums” (later retitled “Tribal Thunder” on one of Dale’s comeback albums), “Take It Off,” “Shake ‘n’ Stomp,” and the lowdown stomp of “Death of a Gremmie” just as clearly delineate the wild, reverbed excitement of the new style in its native habitat. Without a doubt, surf guitar’s finest hour, the genre’s equivalent to Charlie Parker’s Dial recordings. (by Cub Koda)

Alternate frontcover

Personnel:
Dick Dale (guitar, vocals, piano)
Bryan Dietz (bass)
Armon Frank (saxophone)
Jack Lake (drums)
Art Munson (guitar)
Nick O’Malley (guitar)
Barry Rillera (saxophone)

Tracklist:
01. Surf Beat (Dale) 3.01
02. Sloop John B. (Mays/Sandberg) 2.19
03. Take It Off (Dale) 2.11
04. Night Owl (Allen) 2.37
05. Fanny Mae (Brown) 2.38
06. Miserlou Twist (Russell/Wise/Rubanis/Leeds) 4.08
07. Peppermint Man (Willis) 2.25
08. Surfing Drums (Dale) 4.53
09. Shake N’ Stomp (Dale) 2.12
10. Lovey Dovey (Curtis/Ertegun) 3.34
11. Death Of A Gremmie (Dale) 2.48
12. Let’s Go Trippin’ (Dale) 2.12
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13. Del-Tone Rock (Dale) 2.43
14. Jungle Fever (Dale) 2.17
15. Miserlou (Dale) 2.18
16. Eight Till Midnight (Wayne/Rasch) 2.09
17. Lovin’ On My Brain (Dick Dale solo) (Dale) 2.23
18. A Run For Life (Dick Dale solo) (Dale) 2.08

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Dick Dale (May 4, 1937 – March 16, 2019)

Various Artists – Pulp Fiction (OST) (1994)

Music from the Motion Picture Pulp Fiction is the soundtrack to Quentin Tarantino’s 1994 film Pulp Fiction. No traditional film score was commissioned for Pulp Fiction. The film contains a mix of American rock and roll, surf music, pop and soul. The soundtrack is equally untraditional, consisting of nine songs from the movie, four tracks of dialogue snippets followed by a song, and three tracks of dialogue alone. Seven songs featured in the movie were not included in the original 41-minute soundtrack.

The album reached No. 21 on the Billboard 200, while Urge Overkill’s cover of the Neil Diamond song “Girl, You’ll Be a Woman Soon” peaked at No. 59 on the Billboard Hot 100.

Tarantino used an eclectic assortment of songs by various artists. Notable songs include Dick Dale’s now-iconic rendition of “Misirlou”, which is played during the opening credits. Tarantino chose surf music for the basic score of the film because, “it just seems like rock ‘n’ roll Ennio Morricone music, rock ‘n’ roll spaghetti Western music.”

Many of the songs on the soundtrack were suggested to Tarantino by musician Boyd Rice through their mutual friend Allison Anders, including Dick Dale’s “Misirlou”. Other songs were suggested to Tarantino by his friends Chuck Kelley and Laura Lovelace, who were credited as music consultants. Lovelace also appeared in the film as Laura the waitress.

In addition to the surf-rock rendition of “Misirlou”, other notable songs include “Jungle Boogie” by Kool & the Gang, Dusty Springfield’s version of “Son of a Preacher Man”, “Flowers on the Wall” by the Statler Brothers and “Bustin’ Surfboards” by The Tornadoes, from 1962, which had been one of the first instrumental surf songs to hit the United States music charts after notables such as “Walk–Don’t Run” by the Ventures.

Excerpts of dialogue include Jules’ “Ezekiel 25:17” speech and the “Royale with Cheese” exchange between Jules and Vincent.

A two-disc collector’s edition of the album was issued in 2002 — the first disc contained the songs, including four additional tracks; and the second disc was a spoken-word interview with Tarantino.

Woody Thorne’s 1961 song “Teenagers in Love” and Link Wray’s 1965 single “Rumble” are two of the three songs missing from the collector’s edition soundtrack. The last song is unique to the movie: it is Ricky Nelson’s “Waitin’ In School” as performed by the actor Gary Shorelle, which plays as Vincent and Mia enter Jackrabbit Slim’s.

The soundtrack reached No. 21 on the Billboard 200, and at the time, went platinum (100,000 units) in Canada alone. By November 12, 1994, total sales of more than 1.6 million were reached and by 1996 over 2 million units had been sold. In 1995 the soundtrack reached No. 6 on the charts according to SoundScan.

The soundtrack helped launch the band Urge Overkill, which covered Neil Diamond’s “Girl, You’ll Be a Woman Soon” (produced by Kramer) in 1993, into a mainstream market. Sony “received a nice sum” for “Son of a Preacher Man” and Kool & The Gang enjoyed a resurgence when “Jungle Boogie” was released on the soundtrack.

The Orange County Register described why the soundtrack of Pulp Fiction stood out from all the others: “Unlike so many soundtracks, which just seem to be repositories for stray songs by hit acts regardless of whether they fit the film’s mood, Tarantino’s use of music in Reservoir Dogs and Pulp Fiction exploded with a brash, Technicolor, pop-culture intensity that mirrored the stories he was telling.” Karyn Rachtman was the music supervisor on both Reservoir Dogs and Pulp Fiction.

Analyzing the success of Tarantino’s marketing, Billboard chalked up MCA’s compilation to identifying the market niche: “Pulp Fiction…successfully spoke to those attuned to the hip, stylized nature of those particular films.” The eclectic “mix-and-match strategy” is true to the film. “In some cases, like Pulp Fiction and Reservoir Dogs, which were not geared toward any specific demographic, the soundtracks were still very focused albums,” said Kathy Nelson, senior VP/general manager at MCA Soundtracks. “In both cases, the body of work — both the music and the film — has a specific personality.”[12]

In 1997, Gary Thompson of The Philadelphia Inquirer said that Pulp Fiction “reinvigorated surf rock”. That statement would be defining for Del-Fi Records, owned by legendary producer Bob Keane; the Pulp Fiction soundtrack contained two songs that were originally released on Del-Fi: Bullwinkle Pt II by The Centurions, and Surf Rider by The Lively Ones. Del-Fi Records released a compilation CD in 1995 entitled Pulp Surfin’ featuring songs by those bands plus sixteen other surf tracks from the vaults. The cover artwork was yet another parody of the Pulp Fiction movie poster.

Inspired by the soundtrack, advertisers started to use surf music in their commercials “to help sell everything from burritos to toothpaste”, making surf music hugely popular again.

More than two years after the film was released, the influence and monetary success was still being felt in the industry. “Mundane commercials using Dick Dale ’60s surf licks, the kind made popular again by the Pulp Fiction soundtrack…following a trend — in this case, a two-year-old hit movie.” (by wikipedia)

The soundtrack to Quentin Tarantino’s darkly funny crime classic Pulp Fiction manages to re-create the film’s wildly careening sense of style, violence, and humor by concentrating on the surf music that comprises the bulk of the movie’s incidental music and adding a few sexy oldies integral to the film’s story (“Let’s Stay Together,” “Son of a Preacher Man,” “You Never Can Tell”). Of course, the inclusion of dialogue and Urge Overkill’s seductive cover of Neil Diamond’s “Girl, You’ll Be a Woman Soon” doesn’t hurt either. /by Stephen Thomas Erlewine)

Okay, boys and girls, this is trash, but what a wonderful trash !

Tracklist:
01.1. Amanda Plummer + Tim Roth: Pumpkin And Honey Bunny (dialogue) (Tarantino)
01.2. Dick Dale & His Del-Tones: Misirlou (Wise/Leeds/Roubanis/Russell) 2.30
02. John Travolta + Samuel L. Jackson: No Artist Royale With Cheese (dialogue) (Tarantino) 1.45
03. Kool & The Gang: Jungle Boogie (Smith/Thomas/Boyce/Brown/Westfield/Robert Bell/Mickens/Ronald Bell) 3.07
04. Al Green: Let’s Stay Together (Mitchell/Green/Jackson Jr.) 3.17
05. The Tornadoes: Bustin’ Surfboards (G.Sanders/JSanders/Delaney/N.Sanders) 2.29
06. Ricky Nelson: Lonesome Town (Knight) 2.15
07. Dusty Springfield: Son Of A Preacher Man (Hurley/Wilkins) 2.28
08.1. Bruce Willis + Marie De Medeiros: Zed’s Dead, Baby (dialogue) (Tarantino)
08.2. The Centurians: Bullwinkle Part II  (Rose/Furrow) 2.31
09.1. Rabbit Slims: Twist Contest (dialogue) (Tarantino)
09.2. Chuck Berry: You Never Can Tell (Berry) 3.14
10. Urge Overkill: Girl, You’ll Be A Woman Soon (Diamond) 3.10
11. Maria McKee: If Love Is A Red Dress (Hang Me In Rags) (McKee) 4.57
12.1. Duane Whitaker + Peter Greene: Bring Out The Gimp (dialogue) (Tarantino)
12.2. The Revels: Comanche (Hafner) 2.12
13. The Statler Brothers: Flowers On The Wall (DeWitt) 2.25
14. John Travolta + Samuel L. Jackson: Personality Goes A Long Way (dialogue) (Tarantino) 1.03
15. The Lively Ones: Surf Rider (Wilson/Edwards/Bogle) 3.20
16. Samuel L. Jackson: Ezekiel 25 – 17 (dialogue) (Tarantino) 0.52

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Beach Boys – Little Deuce Coupe (1963)

Little Deuce Coupe is the fourth album by American rock band the Beach Boys, and their third album release in 1963. It reached number four in the United States during a 46-week chart stay, and was eventually certified platinum by the RIAA. It is considered to be one of the earliest examples of a rock concept album.

The album was released three weeks after Surfer Girl. Four of the tracks from Little Deuce Coupe (“Shut Down”, “409”, “Our Car Club” and “Little Deuce Coupe”) had already appeared on previous albums, and discounting an alternate recording of “Be True to Your School”, no tracks from the album were issued as an A-sided single.

In the summer of 1963, Capitol Records compiled a “hot rod” compilation album called Shut Down, including the Beach Boys’ song of the same name and “409”—without their approval or involvement. Brian Wilson promptly readied several songs he had already been working on (mainly with radio DJ Roger Christian) and the band hastily went through recording sessions to put Little Deuce Coupe on the record shop racks, remarkably, one month after Surfer Girl had come out. Eight of the tracks were new, while “Little Deuce Coupe”, “Our Car Club”, “Shut Down” and “409” had all come out on one of their previous three albums.

Although Nick Venet was listed as producer for “Shut Down” and Murry Wilson for “409”, the official producer’s credit for the entire Little Deuce Coupe album cites only Brian Wilson. Despite the rushed nature of the album’s sessions, Brian Wilson’s song arrangements were notably becoming more complex, specifically songs like “No-Go Showboat” and “Custom Machine”. After its recording, Brian Wilson re-recorded “Be True to Your School” for single release, resulting in another top 10 hit. An original Christmas-themed composition, “Little Saint Nick” was also recorded, produced and issued as a Christmas single.[citation needed]

This was the last Beach Boys album to officially include rhythm guitarist David Marks until 2012’s That’s Why God Made the Radio. Original member Al Jardine made his permanent return preceding this album’s sessions, and Marks departed shortly thereafter.[citation needed]

As with the preceding Surfer Girl album, the date assigned for recording all eight of the new tracks (September 2, 1963) is highly doubtful. However, as no AFM contracts from these sessions are known to exist, the actual dates are currently unknown.

A Deuce Coupe is a 1932 Ford Coupe (deuce being for the year). This was considered by many to be the definitive “hot rod”. The Model B had four cylinders and the Model 18 featured the Ford flathead V8 engine when the car was introduced. A pink slip (mentioned in the lyrics) was the title to the car, named for the color of the paper then used in California

The picture featured on the front cover of the album was supplied by Hot Rod magazine, and features the body (with his head cropped in the photo) of hod-rod owner Clarence ‘Chili’ Catallo and his own customized three-window 1932 Ford Coupe – known to hot rod enthusiasts as “the lil’ deuce coupe”. (by wikipedia)

Little Deuce Coupe was a concept album of sorts, in that most of the songs had something to do with cars and hot rod culture. That’s a pretty thin train of thought to sustain for most of a record. What’s worse, by the Beach Boys’ own standards of hot rod tunes, most of the tracks are pretty trite and unimaginative, rating among their worst early material. Not only that, the three best cuts — “Little Deuce Coupe,” “409,” and “Shut Down” — had already been issued on LP. The most noteworthy of the other tracks was the Top Ten hit “Be True to Your School,” whose fine tune and arrangement are marred by sappy lyrics of faith and loyalty to one’s high school. (The album version, oddly, is different from the superior single, which had the Honeys adding female cheerleader chants.) “Spirit of America” and “A Young Man Is Gone” (a James Dean tribute with Four Freshmen-style vocals) are moderately interesting numbers, but on the whole this is probably the worst early Beach Boys album, with the possible exception of Surfin’ Safari (and their 1964 Christmas LP, which doesn’t really count). (by Richie Unterberger)

Personnel:
Al Jardine (bass, background vocals)
Mike Love (vocals; saxophone)
David Marks (guitar, background vocals)
Brian Wilson (vocals, piano, bass)
Carl Wilson (guitar, background vocals)
Dennis Wilson (drums, background vocals)

Tracklist:
01. I Get Around (Single 1964) (B.Wilson/Love) 2.16
02. Little Deuce Coupe (B.Wilson/Christian) 1.42
03. Shut Down (B.Wilson/Christian) 1.52
04. Ballad Of Ole’ Betsy (B.Wilson/Christian) 2.17
05. Be True To Your School (B. Wilson/Love) 2.10
06. Car Crazy Cutie (B.Wilson/Christian) 2.51
07. Cherry, Cherry Coupe (B.Wilson/Christian) 1.52
08. 409 (B. Wilson/Usher/Love) 2.00
09. Spirit Of America (B.Wilson/Christian) 2.25
10. No-Go Showboat (B.Wilson/Christian) 1.57
11. A Young Man Is Gone (Troup) group 2.18
12. Custom Machine (B. Wilson/Love) 1.42
13. Our Car Club (B. Wilson/Love) Love with B. Wilson 2.23

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Various Artists – Surfbeat Behind The Iron Curtain (Planetary Pebbles, Vol. 3) (1999)

Part one of this series got a little flak because about half the tracks were recorded by bands that were not from behind the Iron Curtain. No such problem with the follow-up; all 24 cuts were done by groups from East Germany, Russia, Hungary, Romania, Czechoslovakia, and Poland between 1963-1967. Many of them are instrumental, and despite the “Surfbeat” in the album title, it’s striking how much they’re influenced not by surf music or the Ventures, but by the Shadows. Those galloping rhythms, the tremolo-laden sound with hints of country and Hawaiian music — it’s beyond a doubt that the Shadows, through radio broadcasts or clandestine means, were getting heard in Eastern Europe. Of course the recording conditions and execution were more primitive in these socialist lands, which puts on a layer of spookiness that gives it a certain charm.

There are also some vocal numbers that show the more expected British Invasion influence, like the Olympics (from Czechoslovakia) singing in very clumsy English on “Story of the Girl with the Bass Guitar”; the East German Team 4, who sound like a credible American folk-rock garage band; and Romania’s Mondial, who do a song that quite resembles Paul Revere & the Raiders’ “Just Like Me.” Oddly, the T. Schumann Combo (from East Germany) do a pretty faithful and competent cover of Booker T. & the MG’s “Hip Hug-Her.” (by Richie Unterberger)

In other words: This album means fun, fun and much more fun !

Tracklist:
01. Singing Guitars: Torpedo 1.48
02. Singing Guitars: Perfida 2.19
03. Hungarian Ensemble: Konzerta marson 2.45
04. Satelliten; Scary night 1.51
05. Karel Duba & Guitarmen: Winnetou 2.28
06. Sputniks: So much love 1.36
07. Mefistos: I Am Coming Home Baby 2.57
08. Taifuns: The West Wind 2.33
09. Olympics: Story Of The Girl With The Bass Guitar 1.56
10. Spuzniks: Spanish Gypsy Dance 1.52
11. Karel Duba & His Big Band: Steps In The Sand 2.50
12. Theo Schumann Combo: Puszta Beat 2.21
13. Cornel Fugaru & Sincron: The Jodler From Gorj 2.32
14. Studio 6: Party Time 2.44
15. Illes: Oh mondd 2.23
16. Hungarian Ensemble: Rollin Rollin 2.23
17. Team 4: Ich hab ihr ins Gesicht gesehn 3.40
18. Sincron: Play With The Maiden 2.56
19. Olympics: Mary Mary 2.18
20. Theo Schumann Combo: Hackepeter 2.48
21. Amigos: Komm gib mir deine Hand 2.21
22. George & Beathovens: Lez blaznihevo basnika 2.35
23. Mondial: Omule 3.00
24. Mondial: Orbul 3.27

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The Ventures – A Go-Go (1965)

The Ventures are an American instrumental rock band formed in 1958 in Tacoma, Washington. Founded by Don Wilson and Bob Bogle, the group in its various incarnations has had an enduring impact on the development of music worldwide. With over 100 million records sold,[1] the group is the best-selling instrumental band of all time. In 2008, the Ventures were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

Their instrumental 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”. While their popularity in the United States waned in the 1970s, the group remains revered in Japan, where they tour regularly to this day.

he Ventures a Go-Go is the seventeenth studio album by the band The Ventures; released in 1965 on Dolton Records BST 8037 (stereo) and BLP 2037 (monaural). It consists mostly of instrumental covers of popular tunes from the late 50’s and early 60’s, with a few original compositions. It was on the charts for 35 weeks and it peaked at # 16 on the Billboard 200. This album was the fourth highest charting album that The Ventures released. (by wikipedia)

Personnel:
Bob Bogle (bass , guitar)
Nokie Edwards (guitar)
Mel Taylor (drums)
Don Wilson (guitar)
+
Evelyn Freeman (keyboards)

Tracklist:
01. (I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction (Jagger/Richards) 2.27
02. Go-Go Slow (Bogle/Edwards/Taylor/Wilson) 2.16
03. Louie Louie (Berry) 2.38
04. Night Stick (Bogle/Edwards/Taylor/Wilson) 2.07
05. La Bamba (Traditional) 2.29
06. The “In” Crowd (Page) 2.22
07. Wooly Bully (Samudio) 2.31
08. A Go-Go Guitar (Bogle/Edwards/Taylor/Wilson) 2.18
09. A Go-Go Dancer (Bogle/Edwards/Taylor/Wilson) 2.15
10. The Swingin’ Creeper (Bogle/Edwards/Taylor/Wilson) 2.45
11. Whittier Blvd. (Espinoza/Garcia) 2.34
12. I Like It Like That (Kenner) 2.26
+
13. Gemini (single B-side) (Blanchard/Fenner) 2.18
14. Indian Summer (single A-side) (Bogle/Edwards/Taylor/Wilson) 2.30
15. Tarantella (single B-side) (Bogle/Edwards/Taylor/Wilson) 2.10

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Beach Boys – Surfin´Safari (1962)

Surfin’ Safari is the debut album by American rock band the Beach Boys, released on October 1, 1962 on Capitol Records. The official production credit went to Nick Venet, though it was Brian Wilson with his father Murry who contributed substantially to the album’s production; Brian also wrote or co-wrote nine of its 12 tracks. The album peaked at No. 32 in its 37-week run on the US charts.

The album was preceded by two singles: “Surfin'” and “Surfin’ Safari”, which charted at Nos. 75 and 14, respectively. The success of “Surfin’ Safari” helped secure a full album for the group while an additional single, “Ten Little Indians”, was issued, charting at No. 49.

The group is mainly comprised of people from Hawthorne, California, named Wilson … there’s Brian, Dennis, Carl, and their Dad, Murry Wilson, a long-time songwriter who acts as manager for the outfit. Then there’s the boys’ talented cousin, Mike Love … who sings both the lead tenor and deep bass parts in their unusual vocal arrangements. … [and] young David Marks, a neighbor of the Wilsons who plays a driving rhythm guitar. Brian, the oldest of the Wilson boys, is the group’s leader and vocal arranger. Carl is the very accomplished lead guitarist, while brother Dennis sings and plays the drums. None of them, incidentally, had any formal training, but they all grew up in an atmosphere where music was a regular part of their lives. (excerpt taken from the album’s original liner notes)

In the autumn of 1961, cousins Brian Wilson and Mike Love composed a song on surfing, titled “Surfin'” at the behest of Brian’s younger sibling, Dennis Wilson. They quickly formed a band, bringing in the youngest Wilson brother Carl on lead guitar and Brian’s high school friend Al Jardine on rhythm guitar. Brian took up bass, Dennis the drums and Mike would be the frontman, while they all would harmonize vocals arranged by Brian. Released that December, produced by Hite Morgan, and backed by “Luau”, “Surfin'” made No. 75 in the US Top 100 in early 1962.

Father Murry Wilson became the band’s manager. He submitted a professionally recorded demo tape to Capitol Records that spring. The Beach Boys were signed and “Surfin’ Safari” b/w “409” (from the April 1962 demo tape) was released as a single that June. Al Jardine left the band after the recording of the song “Surfin'” but before the demo session and album session, replaced by Wilson-family friend David Marks— Jardine would rejoin to form a six-member band in the fall of 1963, appearing on the third studio album. With both “Surfin’ Safari” and “409” becoming hits (the former reaching US No. 14), Capitol Records approved a full album. Brian Wilson, who regularly collaborated with Mike Love and Gary Usher, contributed the songs that made up the bulk of the LP.

The second single, “Ten Little Indians”, was less successful, reaching only No. 49, with Brian feeling that “Chug-A-Lug” would have made a better follow-up. Though Mike and Brian are the most prominent singers, Dennis makes his first vocal appearance on “Little Girl (You’re My Miss America)” (shown as “Little Miss America” on the album cover). (by wikipedia

The Beach Boys’ debut album, recorded in an era in which little was expected of rock groups in the way of strong LP-length statements, is mostly thin and awkward in both the songwriting and production departments. The title track, their first true smash, is great, as is its flip side (“409”), which was not only a hit in its own right, but was the first vocal hot rod classic. “Surfin’,” their debut single (and small national hit), is also good, and one of the few Beach Boys tracks that could be said to have a garage-like quality. Unfortunately, most of the other cuts (most of which are group originals) are substandard ditties, as Brian Wilson had a way to go before honing his compositional genius. It does, however, afford a glimpse of the group as they sounded when they were a true band in the studio, before most of their parts were played by session musicians. Two of the better cuts, “The Shift” and the instrumental “Moon Dawg,” have a grittier-than-usual surf rock base that would flower on 1963 hits like “Surfin’ U.S.A.”  (by Richie Unterberger )

Personnel:
Mike Love (vocals)
David Marks (guitar, vocals)
Brian Wilson (bass vocals, organ; snare drum on 07.)
Carl Wilson (guitar, vocals, drums on 11.)
Dennis Wilson (drums, background vocals)
+
Al Jardine (bass, background vocals on 07.) 
Nick Venet (guitar, background vocals)

Tracklist:
01. Surfin’ Safari (B.Wilson/Love) 2.08
02. County Fair (B.Wilson/Usher) 2.17
03. Ten Little Indians (Wilson/Usher) 1.29
04. Chug-A-Lug (Wilson/Usher/Love) 2.02
05. Little Girl (You’re My Miss America) (Alpert/Catalano) 2.07
06. 409 (Wilson/Usher) 2.02
07. Surfin’ (Wilson/Love) 2.13
08. Heads You Win–Tails I Lose (Wilson/Usher/Love) 2:17
09. Summertime Blues (Cochran/Capehart) 2.11
10. Cuckoo Clock (Wilson/Usher) 2.12
11. Moon Dawg (Weaver) 2.03
12. The Shift (Wilson/Love) 1.55*
**

The Ventures – Live At The Country Club (1981)

For those who enjoy ’60s guitar pop, there could be no finer instrumental group than The Ventures though there seemed to be some friendly rivalry among fans, especially those who preferred The Shadows.

The Ventures may have got a head start with Walk Don’t Run in 1960 but it was probably the hits-filled The Ventures Play Telstar And The Lonely Bull (1963) that made them famous in Asia. And if no one had heard of The Ventures, their 1969 cover of the Hawaii 5-O theme song of the hit TV show would have changed all that. [If memory serves, the song was also used as the theme song for Coke’s Cool And Swinging Show on Malaysian radio in the ’60s.

Good Ventures soundboards might be hard to come by and this mono soundboard, even if it was from the ’80s, is certainly a nice collection for any fan. A bonus is the group doing a vocal version of Runaway. Thanks to mvernon54 for taping and sharing the tracks on Dime.

mvernon54 noted: “My girlfriend Barbette worked at this club in the San Fernando valley for a while. If I remember right the master deck was a Nakamichi Dragon… This is a tape I have always been afraid would end up with the dreaded bootlegers. Kept it out of circulation (with a few exceptions) for all of these years. It is no good keeping it hidden forever so here you are.”

Nokie Edwards, whose guitar playing in the Ventures helped define surf rock and earned the group a place in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, died on March 12, 2018. He was 82 years old. “Nokie Edwards passed away today after several months battling an infection after hip surgery this past December,” says a statement on the band’s website. “The Ventures family feels this loss very deeply: Nokie has been part of the Ventures’ history for almost six decades and helped to shape the early Ventures’ sound and the success of their career.” The Ventures hit Number Two in 1960 with the propulsive classic, “Walk Don’t Run.” Even though the single was an instrumental, it was so successful that the band recorded a new version in 1964 that also became a top 10 hit. The band scored another major hit four years later when their brassy theme for the police procedural Hawaii Five-O reached Number Four. The Ventures released three gold-certified albums – The Ventures Play Telstar and the Lonely Bull, Golden Greats and Hawaii Five-O – and, at one point, they had five albums in the top 100 simultaneously. (by Billboard)

Recorded live at the Country Club, Reseda, CA; May 29, 1981
Very good mono soundboard

Personnel:
Bob Bogle (bass)
Nokie Edwards (lead guitar)
Mel Taylor (drums)
Don Wilson (rhythm guitar)

Tracklist:
01. Introduction 0.10
02. Runaway (Shannon/Crook) 2.32
03. Showdown At Newport (Dan) 2.20
04. Walk Don’t Run (Smith) 2.30
05. Goldfinger (Barry) 2.30
06. Let’s Go (L.Duncan/R.Duncan) 2.25
07. (Flight Of The) Bumblebee (Bogle) 2.45
08. Wipeout (Berryhill/Connolly/Fuller/Wilson) 4.42
09. Pipeline (Carman/Spickard) 3.13
10. Hawaii 5-O (Stevens) 2.36
11. Walk Don’t Run ‘64 (Smith) 2.07
12. Bulldog (Tomsco) 2.08
13. Secret Agent Man (Sloan/Barri) 2.15
14. Whittier Blvd. (Wilson/Reisdorff) 3.27
15. Telstar (Meek) 2.59
16. Surfin’ And Spyin’ (Caffey) 2.41
17. Perfidia (Dominguez/Leeds) 2.04

Long time ago …

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