The Ventures

The Ventures were a surf rock band active in the 1960s through the 1970s who achieved a few years of fame in the United States and somewhat greater long-term acclaim in Japan. A few of their more famous tunes are "Walk, Don't Run" (1960), "Perfidia" and "Lullaby of the Leaves" (1961), "Apache" (1962), "Slaughter On Tenth Avenue" (1964) and the "Theme from Hawaii Five-O" (1969).

The Ventures pioneered the use of guitar special effects on such songs as "2000 Pound Bee" (1963), in which guitarist Nokie Edwards employed a fuzz box, and on the Ventures in Space album (1965), which included the hit single "Penetration". Their commercial fortunes declined after 1965 in the USA due to changing musical trends. They enjoyed a minor comeback in America as a live attraction in the 1980s, with the resurgence of interest in surf music.