RIP Bob Bogle

[furrbear]

A devastating loss to the guitar world:

Ventures lead guitarist Bob Bogle, whose fretwork on such instrumental hits such as "Walk -- Don't Run" and "Hawaii Five-O" influenced countless bands, died Sunday in Vancouver, Washington.

He was 75.

The cause was non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, according to Don Wilson, who co-founded the Ventures with Bogle in the 1950s.

"He had a special sound that nobody could ever re-create. He was totally unique as a guitar player," Wilson told CNNRadio.

Surf-rock, the genre perfected by the Ventures, is written off by the foolish as a kind of novelty style, but when done right the blend of jazz rhythms, twangy rock and roll guitar and subtle latin flavor is one of the few rock-based genres to ever take off in earnest without a lead singer steering the ship. The Ventures (the best selling instrumental band of all time) are the style's finest. Bob Bogle may be gone, but he's in every whammy bar shake on a Stratocaster for some time to come.

Comments

[sunbeam-bears.livejournal.com]

Good music, sad to hear of his passing.

[grizzlyzone.livejournal.com]

I was reading the obit yesterday and in digging around a bit on history, I saw where "Walk, Don't Run" was originally a Chet Atkins tune. So, I bought the recording from iTunes.

And, while looking for the Chet Atkins recording, I saw where Count Basie had done a cover of "Walk, Don't Run", so, I bought that version, too.

Gary Hoey, Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass, the Duo-Tones, and Mike Auldridge, also did covers of "Walk, Don't Run".

[teddyb.livejournal.com]

I'm really saddened to read this, but glad to have an opportunity to re-appreciate Mr. Bogle and what he and his colleagues did with guitar technique.

I absolutely loved the surf guitar sound when I was growing up, and I still love hearing that twangy sound.

Thanks for posting that clip and the sad news, bud.