Nokie Edwards The Ventures

Billy Easton · Post by **Billy Easton** » 12 Mar 2018 8:32 am

I heard that Nokie Edwards of the Ventures passed this morning. A wonderful guitarist, and a friend that I was honoured to work with in the Yuma AZ area. Rest In Peace Nokia.

Billy Easton · Post by **Billy Easton** » 12 Mar 2018 11:21 am

Further information. Apparently Nokie had fallen and suffered a fractured hip a few months ago and developed an infection that took his life today. Another one of the good guys gone on to his reward. RIP Nokie.

Dennis Manuel · Post by **Dennis Manuel** » 12 Mar 2018 11:27 am

Another great gone. Loved the unique styling of the Ventures.

Stu Schulman · Post by **Stu Schulman** » 13 Mar 2018 12:11 am

This just breaks my heart,A few years ago I was hired to play guitar along with Nokie Edwards at the Alaska state fair in Palmer Alaska,Nokie had just played in Japan and sent about 20 songs to learn on a CD,So at the first rehearsal me and the drummer and keyboard player were the only ones who had done their homework,He was so nice to me he had just got through a heart attack,I was coming back from a stroke few days later when we got to the fair the venue was packed,a few people brought guitars for Nokie to sign.I knew then that I was in the presence of Royalty.after the last ovation Nokie told the band that he would play the last song by himself "Tears in Heaven"So I still had my guitar setup and backed him up ,Nokie looked at me and smiled,What an honor to have friended my first guitar idol,Condolences to His wife Judy,and his Family.

Steven Cummings · Post by **Steven Cummings** » 13 Mar 2018 1:51 am

So sad to hear. I learned to play the Ventures way. RIP

LJ Eiffert · Post by **LJ Eiffert** » 13 Mar 2018 6:54 am

My greatest memory moment with Nokie Edwards was playing drums with (Nokie) him sitting in on our gig with us and my late dear friend Mr.Al Bruno,Jack Scott at the Iron Masks in north Long Beach.... Al & Nokie was going head to head on licks for licks and I have to say,that night, Nokie WON..... R.I.P. My Musician Brother friends

Michael Johnstone · Post by **Michael Johnstone** » 13 Mar 2018 7:00 pm

R.I.P Nole "Nokie" Edwards
He used to hang out on the set of Deadwood so they finally dressed him up as an undertaker and put him in a couple episodes. Great guy and a great picker. The first gigging band I was ever in was basically a Ventures cover band way back in 1963-64 and I learned his licks note for note. Over the years I saw him play a number of times with the Ventures, by himself and sitting around picking with Thom Bresh a couple times. I got to know him reasonably well and was finally able to sit down one day on set and tell Nokie how much he changed my life and I'm glad I did.

Chris Boyd · Post by **Chris Boyd** » 14 Mar 2018 4:33 am

Walk Don't Run was the 1st song I learned on guitar..taught to me when I was a drummer in our 8th grade band in 1966...The Ventures were a big influence for most of us older guys..Thank you Nokie and may you rest comfortably in peace and serenity...

Godfrey Arthur · Post by **Godfrey Arthur** » 14 Mar 2018 5:26 am

Godspeed Nokie!

What a long trail of influence you left for the planet!

I met him in San Diego doing sound for a Ventures show at the Bacchanal on Clairemont Mesa Boulevard.

It was the original Ventures, with the Mel Taylor era, Don Wilson and Bob Bogle.

Don Wilson (front) Bob Bogle (behind Don). These two started the Ventures. Mel Taylor. Nokie played bass at first, Bob Bogle played guitar then they switched. The Fender era.

The Mosrite era.

A local Filipino musician, Ramon Jacinto, owner of the RJ Music store chain, DZRJ radio station and a steel manufacturer, who through the 1960's to the present was a staunch fan of the Ventures, brought Nokie to the Philippines to his studio and recorded all of Nokie's songs for posterity.

Nokie with one of his custom Mosrites.

Larry Hamilton · Post by **Larry Hamilton** » 14 Mar 2018 7:04 am

One of my earliest guitar heroes right along with Chet Atkins and Roy Clark. Loved the Ventures. R.I.P. Nokie

Tony Prior · Post by **Tony Prior** » 15 Mar 2018 1:17 am

RIP Nokie, thanks for a lifetime of guitar lessons and influence that will never end.

Larry Dering · Post by **Larry Dering** » 18 Mar 2018 5:50 pm

One of my main influences and favorites. R.I.P. Nokie.

Dave Harmonson · Post by **Dave Harmonson** » 19 Mar 2018 8:11 am

One of the great things about being from Tacoma WA when I started playing guitar was getting to learn from Nokie Edwards. He loved to play more than any player I ever knew. He came around and jammed with all of the bands. Of course his work with The Ventures was great but he was so much more. To me he was like Chet Atkins, Jerry Reed, and James Burton rolled into one. He was also a real gentleman and one of the nicest musicians you could be around.
RIP Nokie Gonna miss you a ton.

Jerry Hayes · Post by **Jerry Hayes** » 20 Mar 2018 3:10 pm

In the seventies I was working part time at Nash's Music in Inglewood, Calif doing repairs and setups. Our guitar instructor was Al Bruno... One day Al came to work and had Nokie with him. Nokie had liked the Bigsby Palm Pedal setup on Al's Gibson and wanted a set put on a Telecaster of his but he wanted a pulling lever on four strings instead of two.. Unfortunately we only had one set of the standard BPP solid body units and another would have to be disassembled to move the extra two levers over. He stayed at the store with us and he, Al and I jammed some and we both gave Al a hard time (in fun) for using a flat pick......

The next day I brought a BPP to the store that I'd bought for use on one of my guitars and sold it back to the store for Nokie's use. I took the two levers off and cut them both an inch or so shorter and installed them on either side of the standard two levers so he'd be able to bend the first four strings a whole tone each... It worked pretty well but I didn't like the fact that we'd installed them on a vintage Tele he had... After the installation Al and I both showed Nokie some of our favorite bender licks and he picked up everything very quickly.. All in all he was a wonderful guitarist and a very nice person.. It was a pleasure to have known him for a couple of days...RIP Nokie....JH in Va.

PS.. For anyone who doesn't know what a Bigsby Palm Pedal is, here's a shot of one of mine.......JH

Post by **Dave Mudgett** » 18 Apr 2018 11:37 am

Just getting my head enough above water to respond. There's no way to overestimate how much Nokie and the Ventures influenced me musically when I was young. My first "rock and roll" attempt was drums on Walk, Don't Run, Ventures-style. After I got an electric guitar, the Ventures song book was my ticket to learning how to play guitar. No matter what else I was into, I've always played instrumental guitar and surf music ever since. RIP, Nokie.

Rich Peterson · Post by **Rich Peterson** » 12 May 2018 8:06 am

The Ventures were my "gateway drug" to a life of playing guitar. From November 1959 to the present, The Ventures were the background music to my life. I experienced them live three times, twice with Nokie. Got to shake his hand once. I tried to learn every lick he played, bought every albam as soon as it came out.

Worst part of getting old is saying, "Good bye." RIP[/b]

Michael Hillman · Post by **Michael Hillman** » 3 Jul 2018 11:31 am

First saw him on tour while he still played bass with The Ventures, in Blackfoot, Idaho in 1960. They were brought to town by KUPI Radio, Bobby Vee and the Checkers from Seattle area were part of that show. Two years later The Ventures came to town again, with Bobby Vee, and by then Nokie was playing some lead. My lead guitarist and I went backstage, and Nokie was so kind as to show my pal exactly how he played a few licks we’d struggled with on our favorite Ventures tunes. Later my wife and I moved to Boise, and our neighbor Norm Edwards turned out to be Nokie’s first cousin. Nokie and Judy kept in touch with Norm and his family, and always sent them the latest Nokie CDs and news of his latest touring and recording projects, and occasionally visited. The Ventures were our greatest inspiration during those early days of learning to play guitar and bass. Most of us in the late 50s and early 60s truly did learn to play guitar with The Ventures.

Peter Freiberger · Post by **Peter Freiberger** » 3 Jul 2018 5:38 pm

Nokie was a class act and a great guy. In 1975 I did eight months on a club gig with Johnny Meeks. One night Johnny says his pal Nokie Edwards is coming to sit in. I had no idea what to expect, only knowing his work with the Ventures. Nokie sat in all night and played Tele like James Burton, but with a lot of great chord substitutions. He came back and played the next two nights too. A big thrill!

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Nokie Edwards The Ventures

Nokie Edwards The Ventures

Nokie was a real gentleman - and an unequalled player...RIP