This is not intended to compare one band against the other, but to note their parallels. Each has its own, sometimes rabid (!), following.
The Ventures recorded their great hit Walk Don’t Run” on March 22, 1960, while The Shadows recorded Apache only a few months after on June 17, 1960. Both pieces inspired many thousands to pick up guitars and form bands. They were played simply and made non-guitarists think “I can play that!”
In his carefully researched book Walk Don’t Run, Del Halterman set out the history of the American band. (It is a good read and has much, very interesting information. I recommend it highly.) Del Halterman writes, and I quote:
“While The Ventures enjoyed the chart status of Walk-Don't Run, a band in the UK was experiencing an uncanny parallel. The Shadows, … backers for pop crooner Cliff Richard, had … become an instrumental quartet. Like The Ventures [whose first single was unnoticed], The Shadows had bombed in 1959 with their first recording. Likewise again, they now enjoyed the fruits of their second attempt, as Apache Columbia DB 4484] became a huge hit on their home turf. The coincidence goes even further. While Walk-Don't Run climbed several foreign charts, it stopped at Number 8 in the UK when the John Barry Seven covered of the tune. Although Barry's version only made Number 11, it seemed to have significantly dampened The Ventures' UK sales. When Danish guitar stylist, Jorgen Ingmann's version of Apache [Atco 6184] was released in America, it soared to number two while The Shadows version was totally ignored. The Shadows never did gain a foothold in America. By the same token, in nearly fifty years of world touring, The Ventures never performed on British soil, a fact sadly lamented by many dedicated Ventures fans in the UK. Considering this, Bob Bogle surmised; ‘I'm certain it was John Barry's recording of Walk-Don't Run that prevented the mass popularity we experienced everywhere else from reaching the United Kingdom. There have always been a number of loyal Ventures fans there, but never enough to support a tour. The Shadows may have been a factor, but there were good guitar bands in most other countries, and that didn't seem to affect us.’
The Ventures also lost their bass guitarist Nokie Edwards very early on. Although he later returned, on and off, Nokie wanted to play his own music. Both bands also lost their drummers in the early 1960s.
Both bands began with Fender guitars, although the Ventures used Fender (and maybe Gibson) amps and The Shadows Vox. But as 1964 began, The Ventures and The Shadows almost on cue shifted to guitars made for them by small manufacturers, Mosrite and Burns respectively. This has invited speculation in both camps as to which tracks recorded in the cusp were played on which guitar.
In the early 1960s, local combos played the hots of both bands, mixing them up in their repertoires, and not bothering to switch guitars or amps. A particular sound was not a quest then, it seems.
From my perspective as a non-musician and as most teenagers then, my interest in both bands waned by 1964. The British invasion had begun, and we shifted our attention to the Beatles and company.
In my case, I would not renew my interest in either band until almost 40 years later. “If I can learn to play Walk Don’t Run and Apache, I would be happy,” I told myself.
Andy