Oklahoma Museum Of Pop Culture Acquires 1965 Guitar From The Ventures

A piece of rock and roll history has an Oklahoma connection.

A guitar played by Nokie Edwards is being preserved in a vault at the Oklahoma Museum of Pop Culture (OKPOP). Edwards born in Lahoma, Oklahoma was a member of the legendary rock band The Ventures.

"This is a band that sold north of 100 million albums," said OKPOP Music Historian Mark Dempsey. "They popularized the electric guitar around the world and were the inspiration for thousands and thousands of young musicians to decide they wanted to play the guitar in the 1960s."

The rock band gave us hits like "Walk Don't Run" and the theme song for the TV show "Hawaii Five-O."

During the height of The Ventures' popularity, Edwards introduced the band to another Oklahoman. Semie Moseley was born in Durant and co-founded Mosrite Guitars.

"Based on his relationship with Nokie, he decided that they were going to produce a Ventures Model guitar," Dempsey continued saying, "The band promoted and exclusively played that instrument for a number of years."

The OKPOP Museum has Edwards's 1965 candy-apple red Mosrite Ventures II model guitar along with its original case and a custom-made guitar strap signed by Edwards.

"We really feel a lot of responsibility to protect the image of all of these artists, many of which people are familiar with or don't even know," said Dempsey.

OKPOP Museum is still in its fundraising phase, but once the Musical Journeys exhibit is complete, the items will go on display there.

Dempsey said the goal is to make sure people know Edwards' sound and his story. "I think any history is lost if somebody does not take the time to protect it, try to move it forward, and make future generations aware of it."