There’s an obit in the New York Times today for Johnny Smith, the guitarist who wrote the song “Walk, Don’t Run.” Smith’s recording of the song didn’t hit, but a few years later Chet Atkins covered it and that led to the Ventures version in 1959, which became a massive hit. Here’s Smith’s version:
The Venture’s version was so big, however, that Robert Stone used the sound of it wafting down New Orleans alleyways as a unifying thread through his great hallucinatory first novel, A Hall of Mirrors. Here is the Venture’s version:
funny, as a kid i liked the Ventures version a lot, but now, as a technical adult, i like smith’s jazz-based approach so much more.
Always a huge fan of this tune, I never knew there was an original. We used to play it all punked up in The Sinatras and I am searching for a recording of it.