The Steel Guitar Forum

The Ventures definitely adapted the tune from a jazz tune to a surf-style rock and roll tune, but I never felt they threw the baby out with the bath water at all. The only thing that bothers me is that starting Amaj, which I just can't bring myself to play. But they end on the Amaj, which I think works fine.

I agree that Chet's version is pretty much in between the two. They're all cool in their own way. I'll bet Johnny Smith hasn't minded the mailbox money for the covers either. He is absolutely one of my favorite guitarists. But I honestly doubt it would have ever been a big hit without the surf-rock treatment. The forms can coexist, IMHO.

I agree that even the Ventures version is a bit of a pick twister on E9. I guess I'm just gonna have to get this down - I've played it for a long, long time on guitar. Joe, just ask Ken Kubala (and say hi for me), who I played with about 15 years ago in a rockabilly band. We did this song most every gig.

The Ventures also buthered "Lullabye Of the Leaves". Using the very same approach. It's actually kind of humorous. Don D.

Jussi Huhtakangas wrote:Johnny Smith recorded it twice, the second version is on his late 60's Kaleidoscope album. It has an intro that I can assure you doesn't lay out simply on a six string, especially when you consider that he used a dropped D as a sixth string.

A flatwound 6th string at that, to sound more like a bass.

The Ventures simplified the chords, to emphasis the driving rhythm. Some people get upset over that. Some people get upset when I inject some jazz harmonies into country songs. Different strokes for different folks. I like every version of WDR that I've heard. That just shows what a great tune it is.

Richard Damron wrote:The fact that Johnny Smith's "Walk, Don't Run" was butchered by the Ventures has nagged at me for 50 years. A cursory listen to their "rendition" leads one to the inescapable fact that they were locked into the rock-and-roll 1-6-2-5 chord changes and thus deviated from Smith's original composition. Could be that they couldn't play anything BUT those changes. I shudder whenever I hear their abortive attempt in my mind's ear. It was - and is - a disservice to a wonderful guitarist.

I'll bet Johnny Smith wasn't cryin about it.

Johnny used the dropped D because he felt it expanded the range of the guitar considerably, like a piano, not really like a bass. And indeed, it opens up a whole new world but you need to re-arrange your fingerings too.
The Ventures picked up the song from Chet, they had never heard Smith's original which was recorded two years before Chet's. JS didn't even think much of the song, it was just a filler on his album and he didn't even have a name for it. Teddy Reid of Roost Records named it.
Sorry Joe to drift away from your original topic

P Gleespen wrote:Shows you what I know. I never knew it wasn't a Ventures original.

Here's Johnny Smith's version:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0HwQxdrmwY8

Don't feel bad, I didn't either and I would guess that most folks don't.

I clicked on the link and listened to Smiths version, well not all of it, there are some guitarists that I just can't take and Johnny is one of them. Nothing against Johnny Smith as an artist! It is just not for me. It is way more work for me to listen to that type of music than its worth.

I am sure there are some that would say the same about some of my favorite musicians.

I was around when the Ventures did that song and I'll bet they stayed up there with it a lot longer than Smith did. I remember that tune hanging on the charts for what seemed like forever. I still hear it from time to time, but today Is the first time I ever even had knowledge of Smith doing it, let alone that he wrote it. I always assumed that Nokie and them wrote it!

I don't remember the ventures ever "butchering" anything! I'm looking back on them as a fairly successful group!

They should have named that tune the "New and Improved Walk Don't Run" LMAO! I think they did Smith a favor, and I'll bet he looks at it that way too!

I guess a couple of you guys here didn't much care for Jr. Browns "Surf Medley" either! His version of WDR on the Guit Steel is one of the best I've heard.

A guy traded a synth guitar in at my shop back in the 90's, can't recall just when, but to make a long story short, I made a track for Walk Don't Run using just that guitar, turned out ok. I have been playing it ever since. I like to use a lot of delays on that, sounds so cool when you are doing that run from A down to E. I don't think my track is exactly like the song, but then most of my playing is just my style [if you could call it a style]. I also enjoy doing it on standard electric guitar as well.

Ernie Pollock
http://www.hereintown.net/~shobud75/stock.htm

After many frustrating hours of trying to play WDR on pedal steel and on every non-pedal tuning I know, I finally decided to try standard guitar tuning on my steel and it works pretty well! Just a couple of small changes in the melody.

----> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yY31JUeSo6U

It is funny how some songs never get popular in there original form and then some one takes it to another gender and becomes popular.
Walk Softly On This Hear of Mine, Hit for Kentucky Head Hunters, Originally was a Bluegrass song by Bill Monroe.
Charley Daniels, The Devil Went Down to Georgia. The basic melody was called Lonesome Fiddle Blues written by Vassar Clemens.
A lot people don't realize there was another earlier base melody before the song became popular.

Mark Wayne wrote:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D85l0v268HY

Mark,

Good job on "Walk, Don't Run"!
(Even though your audience didn't seem to notice how you deftly switched from C6 to E9 and back again.)

- Dave

Ha, thank you Dave.

Very cool, Mark! I enjoyed that.

Thank you Doug. Your videos are great! You do it the right way .

Mark, that was awesome! I’ve always switched to the Tele for this but now you’ve got me thinking about playing both necks and letting it rip. Enjoyed it!

Tom

Thank you Tom. At first it seems kind of difficult to attempt it, but if you can play steel guitar rag, you can play this. It does lay well over C6. The extended Am part I stole from Russ Hicks.

Great.

Mike Auldrich did a fine job in my estimation in open G tuning on the dobro... please someone post his version just to expand the conversation Peter

Here ya go, Peter
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=yENQPws-qDc

I forgot that I had this album, but I will never forget the first time hearing Mr. Auldridge’s version of this tune.

Joe Goldmark’s original comment on this topic was in regard to how squirrely the song lays out on E9 pedal steel. I think we can all agree on that. It actually feels easier to play on G dobro, although my clunky attempts at both are totally unworthy.

I just meant it to emphasize that certain open chords made it a little easier, I bet Paul Franklin could cut it up really well

Love it Mark !

Thank you Tony. That means alot.

I would be fun to try it on a G major tuning with a Dobro.