Rhythm guitarist Don Wilson, founding member of The Ventures, dead at 88 – Boston 25 News
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TACOMA, Wash. — Don Wilson, founding member of surf rock supergroup The Ventures, died of natural causes at his home in Tacoma, Wash., on Saturday morning, his family confirmed to People magazine. He was 88 years old.
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“Our dad was an amazing rhythm guitarist who touched people all over the world with his band, The Ventures,” his son Tim said in a prepared statement. “He will go down in history forever and was much loved and appreciated. He will be missed.”
Wilson founded the iconic quartet in 1958 with friend Bob Bogle, and their first mainstream single, “Walk, Don’t Run,” catapulted them to international fame two years later, Rolling Stone reported.
“We never wanted to be a surf band,” Wilson told People in 2020. “Honestly, I love playing surf music — it’s great fun and it makes you feel good. But we don’t. we were never really considered a surf band. It was just all of these things coming together – surf culture, electric guitar, Americana – when we arrived in the early 1960s. Kind of a happy accident , I guess you could say.However, we play all kinds of music, including our “Venturization” of everything from classical to disco.
According to Entertainment News magazine, The Ventures had 14 Billboard Hot 100 singles and sold over 100 million records throughout their career and were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2008.
The instrumental group is also known for their tracks ‘Hawaii 5-0’, ‘Wipeout’ and ‘Perfidia’, as well as writing songs featured in films such as ‘Pulp Fiction’, ‘Zoolander’, ‘Kangaroo Jack’. and “Dogtown and Z-Boys,” Rolling Stone reported.
Wilson is survived by his four children and his ex-wife, People reported.
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