RIP: Bob Bogle of The Ventures
By Kamla Bhatt • Jun 17th, 2009Category: Books, Movies, Music, Televison, Americas, India, People, Video, YouTube Videos
Bob Bogle (75), co-founder of The Ventures, the famous music group, passed away today. Bogle along with Don Wilson formed The Ventures in the late 1950s. Their brand of music gave rise to what came to be labelled as “surf music,” and I suspect their number “Wipeout,” is a favorite song of many non-surfers. I know it is mine.While many of us might not be familiar with Bogle’s name, I am sure most of us are familiar with his music. Not only was The Ventures music popular in the US, but also in the rest of the world, including India. Growing up in Madras I remember how our mood would perk up the minute we heard a Ventures tune. Typically, we heard their music in the foyer of cinema houses like Safire, Blue Diamond (which don’t exist anymore), Odeon, Devi and I suspect that is how many of us might have first become familiar with their music. As a kid two of my most precious albums (yes, before CD’s and tapes) were by The Ventures and I would play them over and over again, completely unaware that this was “cool music” out here in the USA. Many years later when I came to the US to study I remember how my Californian classmate was utterly flummoxed that among my favorite numbers were Wipeout and Tequila. She could not believe that the West Coast surf music was popular out in India. Who knew then that it was called surf music?While Indian film music directors from the 1960s and 1970s might not have publicly payed their homage to The Ventures, the group had a visible impact on Indian film industry. The Ventures genre music also found its way into Hindi or Bollywood cinema, as well as various regional films. Think action or car chase in Indian films and you will detect a little bit of surf music.Here are a few memorable numbers from YouTube that are my favorite numbers: Walk, Don’t Run, Tequila, Perfidia, and Caravan. Thank you Mr. Bogle for creating and sharing some wonderful music. Your music has created many, many happy memories for millions of people around the world.