" Thank you Nokie Edwards for creating a legion of electric guitar enthusiasts with his fingering and his magnificent technique in playing the songs.
It will be forever in our minds and in our hearts.
Rest in Peace. "
March 12, 2018
RV
Nole Floyd "Nokie" Edwards, who died Monday (March 12, 2018) at age 82 following an infection he'd been fighting since undergoing hip surgery in December 2017.
Below the message of Don Wilson posted on the M&I Company website:
http://www.mandicompany.co.jp/TheVentures.html
"Nokie Edwards has left us now. I have lost a dear friend and companion.
Never to hear his laughter or conversation again.
His guitar is silenced forever, accept for the great legacy he has left us.
His guitar playing was incomparable.
No one could truly copy his style. It was his and his alone.
I had never heard him say a bad word about anyone.That's the kind of person he was.
The world of music has lost a wonderful person and an outstanding musician.
He has touched so many people's heart with his music and personality.
He was like a brother to me. More after all these many years together, on stage and off.
I will miss you my partner, my pal, and wonderful buddy.
God bless you and may you rest in peace.
I have tears in my eyes as I say goodbye forever.
I love you my dearest friend."
Don Wilson
Nokie Edwards play "Vincent"
YouTube (Surf on Guitar)
Message of Bob Spalding posted on the Facebook page:
Bob Spalding
March 13, 2018
"Nokie Edwards was a unique individual, He was a gifted musician with a gentle soul, His playing could charm anyone, as it did throughout his life.
I had the good fortune to work with Nokie on many occasions with The Ventures and through other recording projects. We did several winter tours of Japan together, as well as many tours across the US and Canada. It was always a joyful experience to watch fans that adored him as they experienced his unique style of playing in person. To stand on stage with him, and see it all first hand, night after night, was truly an honor. Not to mention a dream come true.
We guitar players wanted to emulate him as much as we could, but in the end we just couldn't. There was and forever will be only one Nokie Edwards. However much we try, and will keep on trying, we will always fall short. I know that Nokie would be proud of us for trying.
Nokie is now playing with his friends Chet and Les in another place. His singular style will live on forever. Not only in the many recordings he made over the years, but in the hearts and memories of every person he touched with his inimitable style and quiet charm.
Nokie, we love you and thank you for your priceless contribution to the world of music and to our lives.
We will miss you always."
Bob Spalding
The Ventures
ooo0O0ooo
Below some articles that have been posted on websites:
The Ventures Official Website
Posted on March 12, 2018
...[ Nokie has been part of the Ventures' history for almost 6 decades and helped to shape the early Ventures' sound and the success of their career. He was an innovator and one of greats on guitar, so much so that he influenced many young players over the course of his career.]...
http://theventures.com/rip-nokie-edwards-may-9-1935-march-12-2018/Los Angeles Times
By Randy Lewis
Mar 12, 2018 7:15PM
...[ For any kid who picked up an electric guitar in the 1960s, it never took long before they'd take a stab at trying to play "Walk Don't Run", the genre-defining surf-rock hit from 1960 popularized by the Ventures, which used that reverb-soaked recording as a launch pad to become the most successful instrumental group in rock history.]...
The Washington Post
By Terence McArdie
March 13
...[ "I believe in simplicity", Mr. Edwards once told the San Antonio Express-News. "If you have a melodic line, people will like it. If you can have a hit." ]...
https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/obituaries/nokie-edwards-influential-lead-guitarist-of-the-ventures-dies-at-82/2018/03/13/00cd3cae-26c8-11e8-b79d-f3d931db7f68_story.html?utm_term=.bc035d74e351
Billboard
By Lars Brandle
3/13/2018
...[ Born into a musical family on May 9, 1935 in Lahoma, Oklahoma, Edwards was playing stringed instruments at age 5. The band got its start in Tacoma, Washington in 1958 when core members Bob Bogle (initially on lead guitar) and Don Wilson (rhythm) came together with Edwards and drummer Howie Johnson. Early on, Edwards played bass before switching to lead with the new group, which was known as the impacts and then Versatones, before they agreed on the Ventures.]...
https://www.billboard.com/articles/news/obituary/8241255/nokie-edwards-lead-guitarist-the-ventures-obitRollingStone
By Elias Leight
3/13/2018
...[ Edward's guitar work influenced a generation of players, including John Fogerty of Creedence Clearwater Revival, who inducted the group into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. "It is my honor to introduce the Ventures," Fogerty said in 2008, "and every guitar player on this planet knows what I'm talking about." ]...
https://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/nokie-edwards-the-ventures-lead-guitarist-dead-at-82-w517837
Guitar Player
By Damian Fanelli
Mar 13, 2018
...[ Although surf rock had its moment in the early Sixties (prior to the arrival of the Beatles in the U.S.), the Ventures were able to hang on and adapt to most of rock's frequent mood swings, releasing more than three dozen albums in the Sixties and Seventies. Although Edwards left the band in 1968, he returned in 1973 and stuck around till 1984. Regardless, he often appeared (and toured) with the Ventures for the next three decades; he even toured Japan with the band in 2012. ]...
https://www.guitarplayer.com/players/nokie-edwards-influential-ventures-guitarist-dies-at-82
Premier Guitar Magazine
By Jol Dantzig
March 13, 2018
...[ It was the power and tone of Edwards' guitar, slightly distorced and dripping with lush reverb, that gave the bands its signature sound and driving appeal. ]...
...[ Although musicologists might argue that Edwards' country-fueled and steel-guitar influenced licks owed more to country than pop or rock, there is no deying that Edwards' twangy tone, wang-bar glides, and staccato riffing paved the way for the California surf bands of the 1960s. The Beach Boys often cited the Ventures as an influence. ]...
https://www.premierguitar.com/articles/27116-nokie-edwards-19352018
The Vintage Guitar Magazine
Newswire
By Deke Dickerson
March, 2018
...[ Tracks like "Journey To The Stars", "Diamond Head", "Slaughter On 10th Avenue", "Walk Don't Run'64", "Driving Guitars", "Bumble Bee Twist", "The 2.000 Pound Bee", "Ginza Lights", "House Of Rising Sun", "Caravan" and "Surf Rider" (the latter an Edwards composition that decades later was featured on the Pulp Fiction soundtrack) set the bar hight, and secured Edwards' legacy as one of the greatest expoents of guitar instrumental music. The Ventures' Play Guitar With... series of instructional albums also proved highly influential to thousands of kids in the '60s. ]...
https://www.vintageguitar.com/30188/nokie-edwards-ventures-guitarist-bassist-passes/
The Indian Country Today
By Vincent Schilling
March 14, 2018
...[ Nole Floyd 'Nokie' Edwards, Cherokee, the lead guitarist for over six decades for the iconic and wildly successful instrumental 'surf-style' rock and roll group 'The Ventures', which known for such musical hits... ]...
https://indiancountrymedianetwork.com/history/people/cherokee-rock-roll-hall-famer-ventures-guitarist-nokie-edwards-died-82/
Native American Music Association & Awards
News
March, 2018
...[ Nokie won Best Instrumental Recording at the 12th Annual Native American Music Awards for his solo instrumental effort, Hitchin' A Ride. He was also honored with a Hall of Fame Induction by the Native American Music Association at the 13th Annual Awards ceremony in 2011 and performed. ]...
https://www.nativeamericanmusicawards.com/news
The New York Times
By Richard Sandomir
March 16, 2018
...[ Mr. Edwards's seemingly effortless picking produced a palpitating sound that captured the vibe of the ocean a few years before the Beach Boys began singing about California girls.
The Ventures were inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2008.
"Although musicologists might ague that Edwards's country-fueled and steel-guitar-influenced licks owe more to country than pop or rock," the guitar designer Jol Dantzig wrote in an appreciation of Mr. Edwards on the Premier Guitar website, "there is no denying that Edwards's twangy tone, wang-bar glides and staccato riffing paved the way for the California surf bands of the 1960s." ]...
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/03/16/obituaries/nokie-edwards-whose-guitar-drove-the-ventures-is-dead-at-82.html
G1 - Globo.com (Brazil)
Por France Presse
13/03/2018 - 19h26
[ Banda instrumental faz parte do Hall da Fama do Rock e foi uma das mais influentes da música pop pré-Beatles. ]...
https://g1.globo.com/pop-arte/noticia/nokie-edwards-guitarrista-da-banda-de-surf-rock-the-ventures-morre-aos-82-anos.ghtml
Nokie Edwards & Gary Crook - "Quando, Quando, Quando"
"Victoria Station" - Nokie Edwards & The WI band
Nokie Edwards play "Bulldog" - The Ventures (1965)
Nokie Edwards Style - The Ventures "Bulldog" (2003) (Hitchhiker Guitar)
Nokie Edwards & VenturesMania! "Surf Rider" (Redondo Beach Pier - Aug. 11, 2012)
