Ventures

The Ventures were formed by Don Wilson and Bob Bogle, who met on a construction job in Seattle. They started playing clubs, rehearsing and still holding their day jobs, then began recording - and their first release was "Walk Don't Run". Local Seattle radio stations started to play the record, and it attracted the attention of Dolton Records, a subsidiary of Liberty. The group was signed, and the song climbed the clarts - The Ventures were named "Most Promising Instrumental Group", and "Walk Don't Run" was cited as the "Favorite Single Instrumental Record" of the year. This early popularity has continued and grown around the world ever since!

The Ventures are somewhat of a rarity in today's ever-changing record market - they have proven "staying power". To quote a Reader's Digest article, "Loud the Twang of the Guitar", not only have The Ventures sold millions of LP's of contemporary guitar music, but have also marketed millions of albums teaching other people to play the instrument. (In fact, their "Play Guitar with The Ventures" series are the only instruction albums ever to appear on the national Billboard charts.