I learned a few days ago that Don Wilson, rhythm guitarist for the surf instrumental group The Ventures, passed away January 22 at the age of 88. Other than some coverage in newspapers where he lived in Tacoma, Washington, the news went virtually unnoticed for days. I only learned about it a few days ago while surfing YouTube, and a video came up of John Fogerty paying tribute to Don. I texted my buddy who follows dozens of music chat groups, and he had not heard about Don’s death either.
A true shame. The Ventures were the best known guitar instrumental group ever. The band’s first big hit, “Walk, Don’t Run,” is still a staple for surf band copycats, as well as oldies bands and kids learning to play electric guitar. They also had a hit with the theme to the television show Hawaii Five-O. They had 14 singles in the Billboard Top 100. They put out over 250 albums, and were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2008 by Fogerty.
What I loved about the band was, not only their ability to continually put out great instrumental albums, but also in the late 1960s, they put out a number of instructional albums called Play Guitar With The Ventures. There was also on called Play Bass With The Ventures. I have three of the original ones, and I have seen them reissued as CDs on eBay. These were vinyl records with four songs that the band recorded, with separate rhythm, lead, and bass guitar tracks from which to learn. It also included a handy booklet. These are collector items now, and I am always on the lookout for any of these, even copies of the ones that I already have. I also value my copy of The Ventures Christmas Album, in which they took some Christmas standard songs and implemented their guitar hits. In all of the albums, you can hear and feel Don’s strong rhythm guitar approach, as he played extremely hard on the guitar because when the band was beginning, they did not have a drummer.
I was fortunate enough to get to see the band back in the late 1980s. They played a small bar in Detroit called Alvin’s, and the lineup included Wilson, Bob Bogle, Gerry McGee, and Mel Taylor on drums. The place was packed, and with all kinds of fans, old and young. In fact, most of the fans were punks and new wavers – those that appreciated the roots of the rock and roll music. It was a great show, and all of the guys in the band were generally pleased with the crowd enthusiasm. My one disappointment was that I was wearing a Batman logo T-shirt (before they become popular), and the band’s road manager said that if I sent him one, he would send me back an autographed Ventures T-shirt. Well, I sent him the Batman shirt, but I am still waiting for the Ventures shirt over 30 years later.
Don will be missed, especially by those that picked up a guitar and learned “Walk, Don’t Run” or “Tequila” as their first songs. Dare to tell me this isn’t a kickass song!
Yes, it’s February and there’s about a foot of snow on the ground here in the Detroit area. All the more to think about what I will be doing this summer as far as music is concerned. I am sure to hit one or two festivals, especially the Milan, Michigan five-day bluegrass festival and perhaps the Michigan Old-Time Fiddle Convention in Hillsdale (if it isn’t cancelled again this year). However, one trek that I would like to make is to hit a songwriter camp, particularly one that is geared toward bluegrass or Americana songwriting. I have always wanted to attend the retreat at Donna Ulisse’s home in Tennessee. Of course, these have been cancelled over the past few years due to COVID, but she has done workshops at festivals and other camps such as Steve Kaufman’s Acoustic Kamp in Tennessee and The Strawberry Jam Camp in Iowa. I do believe that I need some fire under my butt to get back into songwriting more, so perhaps a workshop like this will help. I know that there are other songwriting camps around, but I don’t feel that they could halp me with the type of music that I write. So we will be checking a few out over the next month or two.
Chew on it and comment.
Luegra 