Nokie Edwards
Encyclopedia
Nokie Edwards is an American
musician
and member of The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. He is primarily a guitarist
, best known for his work with The Ventures
. Edwards is also an actor
, who appeared briefly on Deadwood
, an American
Western
drama
television series.
Cherokee
. Edwards came from a family of accomplished musicians, so that by age five he began playing a variety of string instruments including the steel guitar
, banjo
, mandolin
, violin
, and bass
. His family relocated from Oklahoma to Puyallup, Washington
.
During Edward's late teen years he joined the Army Reserves. After traveling to Texas
and California
for training, he returned home and began playing regularly for pay in numerous country
bands
in the area.
relocated from California to Tacoma, Washington
as owner of KAYE radio station. Prior to the formation of The Buckaroos with Don Rich, Edwards played guitar with Owens with the new band he formed in the area and also in the house band on KTNT television station in the same building. In 1960 Edwards recorded a single Night Run b/w Scratch on Blue Horizon Records with a band called The Marksmen.
are an instrumental
musical quartet founded in Tacoma, Washington
in 1958. Original members included Don Wilson on rhythm guitar, Bob Bogle
on lead guitar, he later became the bass player, and drummer Howie Johnson, later replaced by Mel Taylor
. Edwards met Wilson and Bob Bogle when they performed on KTNT. Edwards originally played bass for The Ventures, but he took over the lead guitar
position from Bogle. The Ventures released a series of best-selling album
s through 1968, at which time Edwards left the band.
Edwards continues to tour Japan annually with The Ventures
, primarily in winter.
career and released several albums through 1972. His solo attempt was unsuccessful in America, and he returned to The Ventures as lead guitarist in 1973. Edwards performed with the band until 1984 when he left again to pursue a music career in Nashville
, Tennessee
. Edwards played lead guitar for Lefty Frizzell, on what would become Frizzell's final recording sessions. In the late 1980s Edwards re-joined The Ventures once more for another short stint of recording and touring before returning to Nashville. Throughout the 1990s he was involved with numerous country-influenced recording projects.
Edwards also performs occasionally in the United States as both a soloist and member of various bands, including AdVenture, Art Greenhaw
, and Texas Western swing outfit The Light Crust Doughboys
. The fruitful and critically acclaimed collaboration of Edwards and artist-producer Greenhaw has resulted in a number of albums in several music genres including Edwards' two nominations for "Grammy Award for Best Southern, Country or Bluegrass Gospel Album
of the Year", album titles 20th Century Gospel (2005) and Southern Meets Soul (2006) .
In July 2010, Deke Dickerson
announced on his Facebook page that he is currently working on a new studio album with Nokie Edwards. Dickerson and his band have backed Edwards for several shows, including Deke's yearly Guitar Geek Festival held in Anaheim, California.
. The band performed their biggest hits, "Walk Don't Run" and "Hawaii Five-0", augmented on the latter by Rock and Roll Hall Of Fame musical director Paul Shaffer
and his band.
, an American Western
drama television series. Edwards played the mysterious friend of Wild Bill Hickok
and a local citizen, who serves as a bridge between the villains and heroes of the show. During production, Edwards temporarily relocated to Santa Clarita, California and lived on the set's location with his wife Judy.
Edwards designed the Nokie Edwards Custom Signature model Telecaster for Fender Guitars, which features a Brazilian rosewood fingerboard, sloped-back tilt headstock, zero fret, sealed tuners and Seymour Duncan humbucker pickups with split coils.
Telecaster and Mosrite
guitars. The HitchHiker features a sloped-back tilt headstock, neck through body with swamp ash and quilted maple, zero fret, gold control plates, eymour Duncan] Humbuckers with split coils, and an ebony fingerboard. Its bridge works on a slide scale invented by Edwards. The HitchHiker can simulate an acoustic guitar, and provides 15 different sound selections. The body design is essentially the original Mosrite body, which Edwards preferred.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
musician
Musician
A musician is an artist who plays a musical instrument. It may or may not be the person's profession. Musicians can be classified by their roles in performing music and writing music.Also....* A person who makes music a profession....
and member of The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. He is primarily a guitarist
Guitarist
A guitarist is a musician who plays the guitar. Guitarists may play a variety of instruments such as classical guitars, acoustic guitars, electric guitars, and bass guitars. Some guitarists accompany themselves on the guitar while singing.- Versatility :The guitarist controls an extremely...
, best known for his work with The Ventures
The Ventures
The Ventures is an American instrumental rock band formed in 1958 in Tacoma, Washington. Founded by Don Wilson and Bob Bogle, the group in its various incarnations has had an enduring impact on the development of music worldwide. With over 100 million records sold, the group is the best-selling...
. Edwards is also an actor
Actor
An actor is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...
, who appeared briefly on Deadwood
Deadwood (TV series)
Deadwood is an American Western drama television series created, produced and largely written by David Milch. The series aired on the premium cable network HBO from March 21, 2004, to August 27, 2006, spanning three 12-episode seasons. The show is set in the 1870s in Deadwood, South Dakota, before...
, an American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
Western
Western (genre)
The Western is a genre of various visual arts, such as film, television, radio, literature, painting and others. Westerns are devoted to telling stories set primarily in the latter half of the 19th century in the American Old West, hence the name. Some Westerns are set as early as the Battle of...
drama
Drama
Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance. The term comes from a Greek word meaning "action" , which is derived from "to do","to act" . The enactment of drama in theatre, performed by actors on a stage before an audience, presupposes collaborative modes of production and a...
television series.
Early life
Edwards is the son of Elbert and Nannie, a Native AmericanNative Americans in the United States
Native Americans in the United States are the indigenous peoples in North America within the boundaries of the present-day continental United States, parts of Alaska, and the island state of Hawaii. They are composed of numerous, distinct tribes, states, and ethnic groups, many of which survive as...
Cherokee
Cherokee
The Cherokee are a Native American people historically settled in the Southeastern United States . Linguistically, they are part of the Iroquoian language family...
. Edwards came from a family of accomplished musicians, so that by age five he began playing a variety of string instruments including the steel guitar
Steel guitar
Steel guitar is a type of guitar or the method of playing the instrument. Developed in Hawaii in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, a steel guitar is usually positioned horizontally; strings are plucked with one hand, while the other hand changes the pitch of one or more strings with the use...
, banjo
Banjo
In the 1830s Sweeney became the first white man to play the banjo on stage. His version of the instrument replaced the gourd with a drum-like sound box and included four full-length strings alongside a short fifth-string. There is no proof, however, that Sweeney invented either innovation. This new...
, mandolin
Mandolin
A mandolin is a musical instrument in the lute family . It descends from the mandore, a soprano member of the lute family. The mandolin soundboard comes in many shapes—but generally round or teardrop-shaped, sometimes with scrolls or other projections. A mandolin may have f-holes, or a single...
, violin
Violin
The violin is a string instrument, usually with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is the smallest, highest-pitched member of the violin family of string instruments, which includes the viola and cello....
, and bass
Double bass
The double bass, also called the string bass, upright bass, standup bass or contrabass, is the largest and lowest-pitched bowed string instrument in the modern symphony orchestra, with strings usually tuned to E1, A1, D2 and G2...
. His family relocated from Oklahoma to Puyallup, Washington
Puyallup, Washington
Puyallup, Washington is a city in Pierce County, Washington about five miles east of Tacoma. The population was 37,022 at the 2010 Census. Named after the Puyallup Tribe of Native Americans, Puyallup means "the generous people."-History:...
.
During Edward's late teen years he joined the Army Reserves. After traveling to Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
and California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
for training, he returned home and began playing regularly for pay in numerous country
Country music
Country music is a popular American musical style that began in the rural Southern United States in the 1920s. It takes its roots from Western cowboy and folk music...
bands
Musical ensemble
A musical ensemble is a group of people who perform instrumental or vocal music. In classical music, trios or quartets either blend the sounds of musical instrument families or group together instruments from the same instrument family, such as string ensembles or wind ensembles...
in the area.
Music career
In January 1958, country songwriter and guitarist Buck OwensBuck Owens
Alvis Edgar Owens, Jr. , better known as Buck Owens, was an American singer and guitarist who had 21 No. 1 hits on the Billboard country music charts with his band, the Buckaroos...
relocated from California to Tacoma, Washington
Tacoma, Washington
Tacoma is a mid-sized urban port city and the county seat of Pierce County, Washington, United States. The city is on Washington's Puget Sound, southwest of Seattle, northeast of the state capital, Olympia, and northwest of Mount Rainier National Park. The population was 198,397, according to...
as owner of KAYE radio station. Prior to the formation of The Buckaroos with Don Rich, Edwards played guitar with Owens with the new band he formed in the area and also in the house band on KTNT television station in the same building. In 1960 Edwards recorded a single Night Run b/w Scratch on Blue Horizon Records with a band called The Marksmen.
The Ventures
The VenturesThe Ventures
The Ventures is an American instrumental rock band formed in 1958 in Tacoma, Washington. Founded by Don Wilson and Bob Bogle, the group in its various incarnations has had an enduring impact on the development of music worldwide. With over 100 million records sold, the group is the best-selling...
are an instrumental
Instrumental
An instrumental is a musical composition or recording without lyrics or singing, although it might include some non-articulate vocal input; the music is primarily or exclusively produced by musical instruments....
musical quartet founded in Tacoma, Washington
Tacoma, Washington
Tacoma is a mid-sized urban port city and the county seat of Pierce County, Washington, United States. The city is on Washington's Puget Sound, southwest of Seattle, northeast of the state capital, Olympia, and northwest of Mount Rainier National Park. The population was 198,397, according to...
in 1958. Original members included Don Wilson on rhythm guitar, Bob Bogle
Bob Bogle
Robert Lenard "Bob" Bogle was a founding member of the legendary instrumental combo group The Ventures. He and Don Wilson founded the group in 1958. Bogle was the lead guitarist and later bassist of the group...
on lead guitar, he later became the bass player, and drummer Howie Johnson, later replaced by Mel Taylor
Mel Taylor
Mel Taylor , was the longtime drummer for The Ventures from 1962-1996. He was the older brother of Canned Heat bassist Larry Taylor.-Tenure with The Ventures:...
. Edwards met Wilson and Bob Bogle when they performed on KTNT. Edwards originally played bass for The Ventures, but he took over the lead guitar
Lead guitar
Lead guitar is a guitar part which plays melody lines, instrumental fill passages, guitar solos, and occasionally, some riffs within a song structure...
position from Bogle. The Ventures released a series of best-selling album
Album
An album is a collection of recordings, released as a single package on gramophone record, cassette, compact disc, or via digital distribution. The word derives from the Latin word for list .Vinyl LP records have two sides, each comprising one half of the album...
s through 1968, at which time Edwards left the band.
Edwards continues to tour Japan annually with The Ventures
The Ventures
The Ventures is an American instrumental rock band formed in 1958 in Tacoma, Washington. Founded by Don Wilson and Bob Bogle, the group in its various incarnations has had an enduring impact on the development of music worldwide. With over 100 million records sold, the group is the best-selling...
, primarily in winter.
Other work
In 1969 Edwards began a soloSolo (music)
In music, a solo is a piece or a section of a piece played or sung by a single performer...
career and released several albums through 1972. His solo attempt was unsuccessful in America, and he returned to The Ventures as lead guitarist in 1973. Edwards performed with the band until 1984 when he left again to pursue a music career in Nashville
Nashville, Tennessee
Nashville is the capital of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat of Davidson County. It is located on the Cumberland River in Davidson County, in the north-central part of the state. The city is a center for the health care, publishing, banking and transportation industries, and is home...
, Tennessee
Tennessee
Tennessee is a U.S. state located in the Southeastern United States. It has a population of 6,346,105, making it the nation's 17th-largest state by population, and covers , making it the 36th-largest by total land area...
. Edwards played lead guitar for Lefty Frizzell, on what would become Frizzell's final recording sessions. In the late 1980s Edwards re-joined The Ventures once more for another short stint of recording and touring before returning to Nashville. Throughout the 1990s he was involved with numerous country-influenced recording projects.
Edwards also performs occasionally in the United States as both a soloist and member of various bands, including AdVenture, Art Greenhaw
Art Greenhaw
Art Greenhaw is a Grammy Award-Winning recording artist, producer and mixing engineer, having won the Grammy Award in 2003 in New York City for "Best Southern, Country or Bluegrass Gospel Album of the Year" for the album WE CALLED HIM MR. GOSPEL MUSIC: THE JAMES BLACKWOOD TRIBUTE ALBUM...
, and Texas Western swing outfit The Light Crust Doughboys
Light Crust Doughboys
The Light Crust Doughboys is a quintessential American Western swing band from Texas organized in 1931 by the Burrus Mill and Elevator Company in Saginaw, Texas. The band achieved its peak popularity in the few years leading up to World War II...
. The fruitful and critically acclaimed collaboration of Edwards and artist-producer Greenhaw has resulted in a number of albums in several music genres including Edwards' two nominations for "Grammy Award for Best Southern, Country or Bluegrass Gospel Album
Grammy Award for Best Southern, Country or Bluegrass Gospel Album
The Grammy Award for Best Southern, Country or Bluegrass Gospel Album was awarded from 1991 to 2011. Originally the award was for southern gospel only, but the criteria were expanded in 1994...
of the Year", album titles 20th Century Gospel (2005) and Southern Meets Soul (2006) .
In July 2010, Deke Dickerson
Deke Dickerson
Deke Dickerson is an American singer, songwriter, and guitarist.After playing in several local rockabilly bands, Deke formed The Untamed Youth at age 17 in his hometown of Columbia, Missouri...
announced on his Facebook page that he is currently working on a new studio album with Nokie Edwards. Dickerson and his band have backed Edwards for several shows, including Deke's yearly Guitar Geek Festival held in Anaheim, California.
Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame
In 2008, Edwards was inducted into The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame along with The Ventures. The award was presented by John FogertyJohn Fogerty
John Cameron Fogerty is an American rock singer, songwriter, and guitarist, best known for his time with the swamp rock/roots rock band Creedence Clearwater Revival and as a #1 solo recording artist. Fogerty has a rare distinction of being named on Rolling Stone magazine's list of 100 Greatest...
. The band performed their biggest hits, "Walk Don't Run" and "Hawaii Five-0", augmented on the latter by Rock and Roll Hall Of Fame musical director Paul Shaffer
Paul Shaffer
Paul Allen Wood Shaffer, CM is a Canadian musician, actor, voice actor, author, comedian, and composer who has been David Letterman's sidekick since 1982.-Early years:...
and his band.
Acting career
After accepting an offer to pursue an acting career, Edwards landed a role on DeadwoodDeadwood (TV series)
Deadwood is an American Western drama television series created, produced and largely written by David Milch. The series aired on the premium cable network HBO from March 21, 2004, to August 27, 2006, spanning three 12-episode seasons. The show is set in the 1870s in Deadwood, South Dakota, before...
, an American Western
Western (genre)
The Western is a genre of various visual arts, such as film, television, radio, literature, painting and others. Westerns are devoted to telling stories set primarily in the latter half of the 19th century in the American Old West, hence the name. Some Westerns are set as early as the Battle of...
drama television series. Edwards played the mysterious friend of Wild Bill Hickok
Wild Bill Hickok
James Butler Hickok , better known as Wild Bill Hickok, was a folk hero of the American Old West. His skills as a gunfighter and scout, along with his reputation as a lawman, provided the basis for his fame, although some of his exploits are fictionalized.Hickok came to the West as a stagecoach...
and a local citizen, who serves as a bridge between the villains and heroes of the show. During production, Edwards temporarily relocated to Santa Clarita, California and lived on the set's location with his wife Judy.
Fender Signature Model Telecaster
Edwards played Fender Telecasters during the 1950s and early 1960s, before briefly switching to Mosrite guitars in The Ventures. For solo projects and in The Ventures, he also toured and recorded with Telecasters during the 1980s and 1990s.Edwards designed the Nokie Edwards Custom Signature model Telecaster for Fender Guitars, which features a Brazilian rosewood fingerboard, sloped-back tilt headstock, zero fret, sealed tuners and Seymour Duncan humbucker pickups with split coils.
HitchHiker Guitars
Edwards designed and currently sells his own custom guitar, the HitchHiker, a hybrid of the best elements of the FenderFender
Fender Musical Instruments Corporation, commonly referred to as simply Fender, of Scottsdale, Arizona is a manufacturer of stringed instruments and amplifiers, such as solid-body electric guitars, including the Stratocaster and the Telecaster...
Telecaster and Mosrite
Mosrite
Mosrite is an American guitar manufacturing company, based in Bakersfield, California, from the late 1950s to the early 1990s. Founded by Semie Moseley, Mosrite guitars were played by many rock and roll and country artists....
guitars. The HitchHiker features a sloped-back tilt headstock, neck through body with swamp ash and quilted maple, zero fret, gold control plates, eymour Duncan] Humbuckers with split coils, and an ebony fingerboard. Its bridge works on a slide scale invented by Edwards. The HitchHiker can simulate an acoustic guitar, and provides 15 different sound selections. The body design is essentially the original Mosrite body, which Edwards preferred.