Bob Bogle, Co-Founder of the Ventures (1934-2009)

Bob Bogle, the lead guitarist and co-founder of the instrumental group The Ventures, passed away on Sunday at the age of 75. He had been fighting non-Hodgkin lymphoma for a number of ills and had taken become gravely ill over the weekend.

Bogle and Don Wilson formed the group the Impacts in Tacoma, Washingington in the late-50's. They shopped various promos around, but it wasn't until they added bassist Nokie Edwards and drummer Skip Moore that their instrumental based sound came together.

The quartet went into the studio and cut a Chet Atkins song, Walk Don't Run, to put out on their own label. The song became a regional hit and was picked up by Dolton Records for national distribution. Walk Don't Run went to number 2 in the U.S. and started a string of hits for the group.

While they managed six top 40 hits over the next nine years, the Ventures found their biggest popularity in their albums. Normally, the LPs were built around a theme that was reflected in the album title and contained instrumental versions of a number of hits of the day. They also covered a wide variety of styles, making them one of the most versatile of all the rock instrumental groups.

The lineup of the band changed numerous times over the years, with Bogle switching from lead guitar to bass when Nokie Edwards took over lead duties. When their popularity in the U.S. wained in the early-70's, the took the act overseas and became huge in Japan where they have sold over 40 million albums.

The group was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2008.

A statement on the group's website said:

It is with profound sadness and grief that we must inform Ventures' fans all over the world that Bob Bogle passed away on Sunday, June 14. Our thoughts and prayers are with Bob's family at this terrible time, especially his beloved wife, Yumi, who has been the light of his life for so many years. The Ventures' members are completely devasted, and share the pain of this loss with all our friends and fans. As more information becomes available, it will be posted here, and we hope to set up a section on this site for messages from those who wish to post them.

The music world has lost a true original and an innovator - may all our wonderful memories console us.

Major hits by the Ventures:

• Walk Don't Run (1960/#2 Pop/#13 R&B)
• Perfidia (1960/#15 Pop)
• Walk Don't Run '64 (1964/#8 Pop)
• Hawaii Five-O (1969/#4 Pop)
• Superstar Revue (1975/#3 Disco/#12 Club Play)
• Temptation, Temptation/Sunrise Serenade (1976/#9 Club Play)

Major Albums by the Ventures (all chart positions are on the Pop chart):

• Walk Don't Run (1961/#11)
• Twist With the Ventures (1962/#24)
• The Ventures Play Telstar, The Lonely Bull (1963/#8)
• Walk Don't Run Volume 2 (1964/#17)
• The Ventures a Go-Go (1965/#16)
• The Ventures Christmas Album (1965/#9)
• Hawaii Five-O (1969/#11)