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One US band definitely influenced by The Shadows was
The Sandalls, but those guys were Belgians who moved
to SoCal, so they new the Shadows from "the
continent".
As for Japan, I think The Shadows did have a huge
impact there, not as early as the Ventures, who as
noted, basically started the eleki movement. But The
Shadows were adopted there, and at least in terms of
fan clubs, are still very popular.
Ferenc
--- Phil Dirt <> wrote:
> Bill,
>
> I think your observations are right on the money.
> I've
> talked with many US guitarists of the day, and have
> been listening to this music since day one. What it
> looks like to me goes something like this:
>
> The Shadows were virtually unknown in the US in the
> sixties (only one LP release - the mistitled
> "Surfing
> With The Shadows"), but they had a huge influence in
> Britain and Europe. It was a different kind of
> influence as well. Their sound was not just
> influential, it was often copied outright,
> especially
> today. It's hard to talk to an early sixties British
> guitarist that doesn't mention them in their
> influences list. Another difference is that they
> were
> first down that sound path. One little piece of
> evidence that they didn't influence US bands was the
> one Shadows styled LP the Challengers did, a style
> change they quickly dropped to return to surf.
>
> In the US, the Ventures inspired huge numbers of
> players, many of which had a 5 years' earlier
> influences laying ground work, from Link Wray,
> Johnny
> and the Hurricanes, and the Fireballs, and more.
> Unlike the Shadows, the Ventures didn't inspire a
> thousand sound-alikes, but rather a thousand bands,
> each with their own sound. They created an
> environment
> friendly to rock instro evolution.
>
> Secondly, the Ventures' "Play Guitar With" series
> was
> the teacher to a whole lot of beginners.
>
> Third, the Ventures took rock instro to Japan and
> sparked the eleki scene, essentially launching a new
> era in Japanese music and culture. The impact they
> had
> on Japan should not be understated. It was immense.
> Like the Shadows in Europe, many of the eleki bands
> copied the Ventures, but others evolved their own
> unique sound.
>
> Lastly, and by way of observation, the instrumentals
> covered around the world by other than Shadows
> styled
> bands are virtually all of American origin, either
> from the Ventures songbook or surf. "Walk, Don't
> Run,"
> "Pipeline," etc. It may likely be the energy in the
> music that makes the difference. The Shadows played
> extremely polish, often beautiful songs, sometimes
> with lush arrangements. The Ventures, surfbands,
> etc.,
> on the other hand, were rock 'n' roll.
>
> As a final note, I also don't think it's valid to
> try
> to demonstrate which is more important or more
> credible or whatever. They are very different,
> apples
> and oranges so to speak, and both had an influence
> few
> bands can claim.
>
> Phil Dirt
>
> --- supertwangreverb <>
> wrote:
> > Maybe the Shadows had more of an impact in
> Britian,
> > but I doubt that for America, or even Japan. My
> > dad is dead now but by looking through his record
> > collection it's fairly easy to see which band
> > influenced a 16-18 year old guitarsist in 1964.
> > I'm sure his collection is rather similar to
> > the countless other American garage
> > bands of the mid 60s. I'm also willing to bet
> > the Ventures had more of an influence on the
> actual
> > American surf bands at the time as well.
> > Lastly, aren't the Ventures responsible for a
> > cultural change in Japan during 1965?
>
> =====
>
>
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