Ventures Salute

[gee]

Nice to see a proper Documentary on that classic guitar band The Ventures - one influence on Tony Hicks and the rest - here



sad all four main Ventures members - Howie Johnson too - have left us, while longtime Ventures guitarist Gerry McGee really  deserves more of a mention than he gets here too...!



one thing that does need amending is the idea the two guitars, bass guitar and drums small recording group (minus keyboards or saxophone etc) was 'pioneered' by The Ventures - they formed in 1959, however The Shadows (initially calling themselves The Drifters) had formed a year before in 1958 backing Cliff on his rock & roll hits like 'Move it', 'High Class Baby', 'Mean Streak' etc....and of course on 'Living Doll'


and had made their first records as a group in 1959, doing guitar instrumentals such as 'Jet Black', and 'Driftin'   before The Ventures recorded 'Walk Don't Run' however most  of those featured in this documentary probably do not know that - tho' Jimmy Page certainly would (he played rhythm guitar for ex-Shads Jet Harris & Tony Meehan on 'Diamonds' while his future Led Zeppelin bass player John Paul Jones auditioned for The Shadows in 1963 to replace Brian Locking)

Great to see The Ventures finally getting some belated overdue appreciation...as fellow guitar bands The Shadows, The Spotnicks (from Sweden) , The Outlaws (with a young Ritchie Blackmore) etc all deserve too...

[Stranger]

Just on an *important* point of rock history. I don't think The Shadows played on Move It.

[gee]

The Drifters played on 'Move it'

- session player Ernie Shear played lead guitar on 'Move it' - while original Drifters member Ian Samwell who wrote 'Move it', 'High Class Baby', 'Mean Streak' etc played rhythm guitar with original 'Drifter' Terry Smart on drums and session player Frank Clarke on upright bass

the same team played on Cliff's second hit 'High Class Baby' however Hank Marvin, Bruce Welch and Jet Harris of The Drifters live band appeared with Terry Smart on drums on 14 November 1958 on the recording of 'Livin Lovin' Doll' which was released in January 1959 and made no.20 in the UK

next was a double 'A' side 'Mean Streak' (rec 14 November 1958) which reached no.10 and 'Never Mind' which itself reached no.21 in the UK in May 1959

Cliff asked producer Norrie Paramor to replace session player Ernie Shear with Hank as he felt Shear played virtually 'the same thing' everytime - sounds like shades of Vic Steele and the need for Tony Hicks in The Hollies story  soon after !

Terry Smart was replaced by Tony Meehan and in 1959 when 'Living Doll' (Cliff's first UK number one) was issued in the USA Capitol objected as they had 'THE Drifters' so Jet Harris came up with The Shadows (tho' Bobby Vee had a backing band by that name too !) however no objections came and The Shadows name remained thereafter

Initially they recorded as an Everlys inspired vocal group on their first and third singles ("Feelin' Fine' & "Saturday Dance' both 1959) tho' 'Jet Black' / 'Driftin' their second single was an instrumental
- 'Jet Black' featured Jet Harris bass as the lead instrument

then came 'Apache' - no. 1 for six weeks in 1960 - but USA sales went to Jorgen Ingmann's cover and as The Beatles later initially found (and likewise The Hollies too) there was little interest stateside from record companies like Capitol run by jazz and showbiz  loving older 'established' record execs often in their fifties  in releasing singles by younger group acts...and especially from the UK...

even The Beach Boys were not signed by Capitol at first, instead going to Candex - while Don Wilson's mother had to herself set up a record label to release The Ventures first singles...!



It's probably true to say The Ventures eclipsed The Shadows in the USA, and likewise The Shadows eclipsed The Ventures in the UK and Europe (they were big down under in Australia and in South Africa too)

- tho' Shadows, Ventures, and Sweden's Spotnicks each sounded SO different and all had their strengths and each group had several incarnations in their respective decades long careers 

A) Purely for anyone who may not know much about The Ventures....

The Ventures initially were actually promoted as just Bob and Don being a guitar duo (as on the cover of 'The Colorful Ventures' LP) ....then after a few LPs as a four piece outfit and at first  featured Bob Bogle on lead guitar & Nokie Edwards on bass plus Howie Johnson on drums & Don Wilson rhythm guitar - from 1959 to 1963

however the album 'The Ventures Play Telstar And The Lonely Bull' released under the band's name by Liberty Records in 1963 was NOT played by the group itself...but by session players (much to Don and Bob's anger) as touring commitments left them no time to work...and the record company wanted / demanded an LP

then Nokie and Bob swap over guitars and classic Ventures drummer Mel Taylor joins (the key guitars swap over and new drummer transforming them SO MUCH power wise)- from 1964 to 1968

again 'The Ventures in England' (or 'Live in London') so called live album was not either a live album or recorded in England - cashing in on the 'British Invasion' the record company just took hits and album studio recordings...and overdubbed a tape loop of an 'enthusiastic crowd' with a very upper class 'British' voice announcing the group - who have never toured the UK !

the endlessly recurring same old tape looped cheering quickly gets VERY annoying as it's repeated throughout - such record company moves were an insult to The Ventures band name !

Nokie who left to go solo, was replaced by 'Wrecking Crew' top session guitarist Gerry McGee (the 'Terry Sylvester' latter era notable figure of The Ventures history, who likewise can be wrongly  overlooked in some career retrospectives !) who transformed their lead guitar style on albums such as 'Underground Fire', 'Theme From Shaft' etc - from 1968 to mid seventies

Nokie and Gerry later alternated spells as lead guitarist, keyboardists Dave Carr (ex Fortunes), Johnny Durrill, drummer Joe Barile etc all played roles and latterly Leon Taylor succeded his late father on drums


B) Purely for anyone not familiar with The Shadows - perhaps some USA members and younger forum members or visitors etc....


The Shadows also had notable incarnations - Hank was always present and Bruce almost likewise besides 1968-70 - when keyboardist Alan Hawkshaw (who played piano for The Hollies on 'Put Yourself in My Place' in 1965) took over for 'Live in Japan' (1969) and 'Shades Of Rock' (1970)

Tony Meehan left in 1961 replaced by Brian Bennett thereafter, Jet Harris quit to go solo in 1962 (teaming up with Meehan for three big UK instrumental hits including 'Diamonds' no.1 and 'Scarlett O'Hara' no.2) before a bad car crash sidelined Harris for years

Brian Locking came in for about a year then John Rostill (a strong composer and songwriter) joined on bass up till they first disbanded in late 1968 - tho' toured Japan in 1969 and did a one off studio album in 1970 - John Rostill later played bass guitar for Tom Jones backing band playing on a live album for Tom.

Aussie guitarist/vocalist John Farrar formerly of The Strangers (who had sung their cover single of The Hollies 'Put Yourself in My Place' in 1965) joined the vocal trio 'Marvin Welch & Farrar' in 1971 who cut two very acclaimed albums that sadly went under the radar of many

they reformed The Shadows in 1973, Hank, Bruce, Brian with the notable strong  addition of John Farrar on second lead guitar/keyboards/vocals - plus bass player/keyboardist Alan Tarney (who wrote 'Somethin' Ain't Right' covered by The Hollies in 1981) doing two studio albums 'Rockin' With Curly Leads' (1973), 'Specs Appeal' (1975)  and a 'Live in Paris' album...before Farrar then left in 1976 for the USA to produce, write, play guitar/bass/keyboards  and sing backup vocals for Olivia Newton John

Hank Marvin and John Farrar's twin guitarwork was a standout feature of this seventies Shadows line up

the live 'Paris' album had originally been meant as their swansong before Farrar left...but the success of '20 Golden Greats' in 1978 saw them back in demand to both tour and record again for another successful decade scoring a UK no.1 album 'String of Hits' in 1979 and having a handful of further chart singles - they finally retired in 1990 but later did both a final tour themselves and one with Cliff plus a final reunion album with Cliff

a music 'myth' is The Beatles blew Cliff and The Shadows away...NOT TRUE

Cliff continued to have UK and overseas hits (he's actually also had some 19 USA chart singles admittedly most minor placings but chart hits still) and had a UK no.1 with 'The Minute Your Gone' (recorded in Nashville) in 1965 and several UK chart topping singles later on

The Shadows had a UK no.1 with 'Foot Tapper' in 1963 during 'Beatlemania' and had UK chart singles up to 1967 - George Harrison was impressed with their vocal single 'Don't Make My Baby Blue' which made no.10 in 1965 saying he felt they should cut more vocal songs

they charted in the UK again in 1975 with the Eurovision vocal song; 'Let Me Be The One' which made no.12 before having more chart singles first with their instrumental version of 'Don't Cry For Me Argentina' in 1979 and then in the eighties with 'The Deer Hunter', 'Riders in The Sky', 'Equinox V' etc