In 1954 self-taught guitarist Johnny Smith recorded his composition of "Walk, Don't Run".

"Walk, Don't Run" was the debut album for The Ventures (Don Wilson, Bob Bogle, Nokie Edwrads and Skip Moore) and the cover hit came in 1960 peaking at number two. The Ventures first heard "Walk, Don't Run" as a Chet Atkins recording from the album "Hi-Fi in Focus". Around this time George Babbitt Jr dropped out of the group because of his young age. George went on to become a four-star general in the U.S. Air Force. Even though I'm a Duane Eddy fan one cannot deny The Ventures influence on pop music.