THE VENTURES - Walk Don't Run

In 1954 the song Walk Don't Run was originally written and recorded by jazz guitarist Johnny Smith. In 1960 the song was famously covered by west coast instrumental rock band The Ventures. it was one of the first surf songs to chart on Billboard's Hot 100. This was the second single the band recorded, and since they did not have a regular drummer at the time, they hired a session drummer for the recording. They offered him a choice of $25 for the session or 25% of the money that Walk Don't Run made. Drummer Skip Moore took the $25. - it was his only recording with the band. The song hit number two on the charts, and it instantly made stars out of the Washington state based band. In 1964 The Ventures re-recorded the song, it was the first time a band ever had a top 10 Hit with a new version of a song they had already hit the top 10 with. This 1960 video is from Dick Clark's Saturday Night Beech-Nut Hour.