Bob Bogle of the Ventures Dead at 75

Wagoner-born Bob Bogle of The Ventures died on Sunday after a long battle with non-Hodgkin lymphoma. He was 75.

“His doctors gave him 10 years to live, and he lived 12. The last two years were really tough. At least he lived to know the Ventures had been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.” - Don Wilson, Ventures co-founder

Bogle founded the Ventures with Don Wilson in 1958 after meeting at a car dealership. Bogle’s use of the whammy bar helped create the distinctive guitar sound on early hits like “Walk, Don’t Run” and “Perfidia”. That sound made the band influential in the surf music genre - one of their biggest hits was the theme from popular television series ‘Hawaii Five-O’.

The Ventures went on to become the best-selling instrumental rock band of all time, selling more than 100 million albums and charting 38 albums between 1960 and 1972. “The Band that Launched a Thousand Bands” was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in March 2008.

“Even though you know it’s gonna happen, when it does it’s like a bomb dropping on you. Boy, I tell you, he’s the brother I never had. And he is much more than any brother could be. He and I were partners for, like, 52 years. And to tell you the honest truth, we had never, ever had an argument in all that time – never.” - Don Wilson, Ventures co-founder

“He was a very creative, talented person. He looked like he was so relaxed in everything he did. He could accomplish a whole lot just by looking like he was not accomplishing it. And he was a great guy, just one of the nicest guys you’ll ever want to meet.” - Buck Orsmby of the Fabulous Wailers

Funeral arrangements have yet to be announced.