The Ventures – In Japan Vol.1 (1965)

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 a large number of 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. (wikipedia)

Originally released in Japan in 1965, this live set was unavailable in the U.S. until 1995. So cleanly recorded (the drums are especially crisp) that one is tempted to believe these tracks might have actually been laid down in the studios, it has a speedy, frenetic, well-executed edge that makes this worth checking out by Ventures fans. Seventy minutes of material, including most of their big ’60s hits, covers of then-contemporary surf and British Invasion tunes, and surprises like a 10-minute version of Duke Ellington’s “Caravan.” (Ritchie Unterberger)

If you want to know where the Dead Kennedy’s got the inspiration for their surf rock on steroids sound, look no further. This is the blueprint for fast and furious high energy rock and roll that 12 years later became known as punk rock. It’s astonishing this is from 1965! At the time the only drummer that might have given drummer Mel Taylor a challenge in the energy department was maybe Keith Moon. Maybe. (Darryl Dardenne)

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

Tracklist:
01. Introduction / Walk Don’t Run (Smith) / Perfidia (Dominguez/Leeds) 3.30
02. Lullaby Of The Leaves (Petkere) 1.56
03. Driving Guitars (Wilson/Bogle/Edwards) 1.56
04. Bulldog (Tomsco) 4.25
05. Pipeline (Spickard/Carman) 3.09
06. Apache (Lordan) 2.59
07. Slaughter On 10th Avenue (Rodgers) 2.24
08. Walk Don’t Run ’64 (Smith) 2.25
09. Bumble Bee Twist (Traditional) 2.42
10. Wipe Out (Berryhill/Connolly/Wilson/Fuller) 4.30
11. Caravan (Ellington/Mills/Tizol) 7.52

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More from The Ventures in this blog (use the search function):

The official website:

The Ventures – Super Psychedelics (1967)

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 a large number of 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. (wikipedia)

By the time Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band came out, it seemed no pop act was immune to the paisley ways of the high ’60s. Even Sinatra and the like were looking to stay hip with at least one or two Beatles covers. Informed by their own early surf and psychedelia sound, the Ventures’ Super Psychedelics brings the West Coast instrumental style to bear on the Fab Four’s “Strawberry Fields Forever” and the Turtles’ “Happy Together.” Without much in the way of overtly trippy sonic accents, the band especially impress with a slew of originals like “Endless Dream,” “Vibrations,” “Psychedelic Venture.” Throughout, the Ventures’ classic surf sound gets nicely augmented with the occasional sitar mimicking guitar line, some harpsichord phrases, and extra amounts of reverb and echo. Maybe not an essential Ventures release, Super Psychedelics will no doubt please kitsch-friendly fans of surf music. (by Stephen Cook)

Personnel:
Robert Bogle (bass)
Nokie Edwards (lead guitar)
Mel Taylor (drums)
Don Wilson (guitar)
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unknown organ & harpsichord player

Tracklist:
01. Strawberry Fields Forever (Lennon/McCartney) 3.19
02. Psychedelic Venture (Wilson/Taylor/Edwards/Bogle) 2.06
03. Western Union (Durrill/Rabon/Ezell) 2.20
04. Guitar Psychedelics (Wilson/Taylor/Edwards/Bogle) 2.24
05. Kandy Koncoction (Hamilton) 2.26
06. Reflections (Wilson/Taylor/Edwards/Bogle) 2.21
07. A Little Bit Me, A Little Bit You (Diamond) 2.27
08. Endless Dream (Wilson/Taylor/Edwards/Bogle) 2.11
09. Vibrations (Wilson/Taylor/Edwards/Bogle) 3.05
10. Psyched-Out (Wilson/Taylor/Edwards/Bogle) 2.14
11. 1999 A.D. (Wilson/Taylor/Edwards/Bogle) 2.07
12. Happy Together (Gordon/Bonner) 2.39

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More from The Ventures:

The official website:

The Ventures – Play The Country Classics (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. (wikipedia)

And here´s their 13th studio album:

Freed from the constraints inherent in Top 40 music or perhaps invigorated by the strong country vocal melodies, Ventures guitarist Nokie Edwards tears through The Ventures Play the Country Classics, sounding like Jimmy Bryant, albeit one slightly less speed conscious. Following Ray Charles’ success with Modern Sounds in Country and Western Music, it’s no surprise that the Ventures tackle “Born to Lose” and “I Can’t Stop Loving You,” though the other Don Gibson cover, “Oh, Lonesome Me,” is more inspired. Lest anyone be worried, they also rip through standard country & western instrumentals, including “Sugarfoot Rag” and “Steel Guitar Rag.” The Ventures Play the Country Classics is a bit of an oddity in the Ventures’ catalog, but one worth searching out. (by Kurt Edwards)

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

Tracklist:
01. Panhandle Rag (McAuliffe) 2.12
02. Wabash Canonball (Traditional) 2-46
03. San Antonio Rose (Wills) 2.23
04. I Walk The Line (Cash) 2.25
05. Wildwood Flower (Traditional) 2.04
06. I Can’t Stop Loving You (Gibson) 2.53
07. Lovesick Blues (Filene/Mills) 2.19
08. Steel Guitar Rag (McAuliffe) 2.09
09. You Are My Sunshine (Davis/Mitchell) 2.28
10. Oh Lonesome Me (Gibson) 2.35
11. Sugarfoot Rag (Garland) 1.51
12. Born To Lose (Brown) 2.26

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More from The Ventures:

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:

The Ventures – The Latin Album (1979)

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.[8] 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 a large number of 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.

Their commercial fortunes in the US declined sharply in the early 1970s due to changing musical trends. In the late 1970s and into the 1980s, a resurgence of interest in surf music led to some in the punk/new wave audience rediscovering the band. The Go-Go’s wrote “Surfin’ And Spyin'” and dedicated it to the Ventures. The Ventures recorded their own version and continue occasionally to perform the song. Their career again rejuvenated by Quentin Tarantino’s use of the Lively Ones’ version of Nokie Edwards’ “Surf Rider” and several other classic surf songs in the soundtrack of the hit movie Pulp Fiction. The Ventures became one of the most popular groups worldwide thanks in large part to their instrumental approach—there were no language barriers to overcome. The Ventures are still the most popular American rock group in Japan, the world’s second largest record market. One oft-quoted statistic is that the Ventures outsold the Beatles 2-to-1 in Japan. They produced dozens of albums exclusively for the Japanese and European markets, and have regularly toured Japan from the 1960s through to the present. According to a January 1966 Billboard Magazine article, the Ventures had five of 1965’s top 10 singles in Japan. (by wikipedia)

And here´s a recorded, produced for Japan only with lots of Latin songs … and of course you will hear the legendary Ventures sound !

Personnel:
Joe Barile (drums)
Bob Bogle (bass)
Nokie Edwards (guitar)
DonWilson (guitar)

Tracklist:
01. The Breeze and I (Lecuona/Stillman) 2.50
02. Yours (Quiereme Mucho) (Rodriguez/Roig/Sherr) 5.07
03. Begin the Beguine (Porter) 4.01
04. Peanut Vendor (Gamse) 2.55
05. Spanish Eyes (Noble) 3.24
06. Brazil (Barroso/Russell) 3.07
07. It’s Impossible (Manzanero/Wayne) 3.02
08. Poinciana (Bernier/Simon) 3.26
09. Green Eyes (Menendez/Rivera/Utrera/Woods) 3.46
10. El Condor Pasa (Traditional) 2.59
11. Delicado (Azevedo) 3.09
12. Guantanamera (Traditional) 3.21
13. Cuando Calienta el Sol (C.Rigual/M.Rigual) 2.24

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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
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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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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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Various Artists – Jingle Bell Rock (1987)

And here´s a nice sampler withRok N Roll and Soul songs about Christmas, publish  by Time Life. And this sampler was a part of the “The Rock N Roll Era”.

Time-Life’s Rock ‘N’ Roll Era: Jingle Bell Rock collects 25 classic tracks of the holiday genre including “Run, Rudolph, Run” (Chuck Berry), “I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus” (the Jackson 5), “Jingle Bell Rock” (Bobby Helms), “Sleigh Ride” (the Ventures) and “Step into Christmas” (Elton John). Many of these artists will appeal to a broad range of ages, making it perfect for family gatherings. (by Al Campbell)

in 1987, I guess I was bitten by the same CD buying bug that many were: I bought into the Time-Life “Rock ‘n’ Roll Era” series of CDs. Thankfully I found that the musical selection on these were fine for my purposes, although the sound often suffered a bit. It did enable me to amass a good collection of “oldies” that I otherwise never would have bought. One surprising favorite came my way during the holidays–the compilation Jingle Bell Rock. A couple of the Motown tracks need to be skipped (the Temptations’ “Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer” is narcoleptic at best), but for the most part it is a very enjoyable and crowd-pleasing collection of holiday favorites.

On here are tracks by Jan and Dean (“Frosty the Snowman”, rescued from obscurity), The Ventures (“Sleigh Ride”), Jack Scott (“There’s Trouble Brewin’”), The O’Jays (“Christmas Ain’t Christmas Without The One You Love”) and Dodie Stevens (“Merry, Merry Christmas Baby”). The usual suspects are here also (“JIngle Bell Rock”, “Run, Rudolph Run” and “Rockin’ Around The Christmas Tree”) and Elton John’s “Step into Christmas” finishes out the disc with the most recent song in the collection. (by rudyscorner.com)

Tracklist:
01. Bobby Helms: Jingle Bell Rock (Boothe/Beal) 2.08
02. Chuck Berry: Run, Rudolph, Run (Berry) 2.43
03. Otis Redding: Merry Christmas Baby (Moore/Baxter) 2.29
04. Smokey Robinson And The Miracles: Go Tell It On The Mountain (Traditional) 3.40
05. The Supremes: My Favorite Things (Hammerstein/Rodgers) 2.45
06. The Drifters: White Christmas (Berlin) 2.35
07. The Beach Boys: The Man With All The Toys (Wilson) 1.30
08. Booker T. And The MG’s: Jingle Bells (Pierpont) 2.27
09. The Temptations: Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer (Marks) 2.55
10. Carla Thomas: Gee Whiz, It’s Christmas (Thomas/Cropper) 2.38
11. The Jackson 5: Someday At Christmas (Wells/Mills) 2.38
12. Jan And Dean: Frosty The Snow Man (Rollins/Nelson) 2.04
13. King Curtis: The Christmas Song (Tormé/Wells) 2.55
14. Brenda Lee: Rockin’ Around The Christmas Tree (Marks) 2.03
15. Smokey Robinson And The Miracles: Medley: Deck The Halls / Bring A Torch (Traditional) 3.55
16. Marvin & Johnny: It’s Christmas (Josea/Phillips) 2.14
17. The Temptations: My Christmas Tree (Webb) 3.05
18. The Ventures: Sleigh Ride (Anderson) 2.20
19. The O’Jays: Christmas Ain’t Christmas Without The One You Love (Gamble/Huff) 2.12
20. The Jackson 5: I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus (Connor) 2.59
21. Jack Scott: There’s Trouble Brewin’ (Veronica) 2.22
22. Dodie Stevens: Merry, Merry Christmas Baby (Lopez/Sylvia) 2.11
23. Aretha Franklin: Winter Wonderland (Smith/Bernard) 2.09
24. Donny Hathaway: This Christmas (Hathaway/McKinnor) 3.26
25. Elton John: Step Into Christmas (John/Taupin) 4.22

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