The Ventures

The Ventures with (from left to right) Don Wilson, Nokie Edwards, Mel Taylor and Bob Bogle. In 1960 Nokie Edwards had joined the Ventures and initially started playing bass guitar there. After some time, Nokie suggested to play lead guitar while one of the guitarists (Bogle) would take care of the bass. This turned out to be a good move. Unfortunately, Nokie passed away on March 12, 2018 from complications after hip surgery.

Until about 1963, Edwards was mainly seen with Telecasters and Jazzmasters. Then he switched to "Mosrite" guitars. The photo below shows a 1965 Fender Jazzmaster signed by Nokie Edwards (from my collection). This sunburst Jazzmaster was used during a European tour in 2002 with Nokie Edwards where the Dutch formation AdVenture formed the backing band. Through the previous owners (known to me) I ended up with the guitarist who played along during the tour and who eventually had this Jazzmaster signed by Nokie. Actually now a "Fender Jazzmaster Nokie Edwards Signature".