Skip Moore

Igor, still recovering from a prior clash with a Swedish heavy metal outfit, found himself drawn back to the workbench by one irresistible assignment: determining which album would show the heaviest groove wear on a randomly selected pressing. Early findings pointed overwhelmingly to any release by the Ventures, whose listeners routinely returned from the beach with sand embedded in their clothing, thereby accelerating wear on already heavily played sides. Igor noted on a scrap of paper that older Ventures pressings would naturally exhibit the most pronounced damage. This observation directed attention straight to the 1959 debut single “Walk Don’t Run,” when surfers insisted on keeping the disc within reach at all times, even hauling it into the surf. Igor further observed that the drummer credit read Skip Moore, a detail that struck him as unlikely to be accidental and that escaped many devoted collectors.

Once the track became a nationwide success, the Tacoma-based trio expanded its itinerary to national and international stages. Audiences watching Howie Johnson deliver the surf beat assumed he had performed on the original recording, yet the lineup at the session had consisted of Don Wilson, Bob Bogle, and Nokie Edwards augmented by local drummer Skip Moore. This Skip Moore represents one of two musicians sharing nearly identical names that appear in recording credits and continue to puzzle vinyl enthusiasts; the second, billed as Skip Morr, was an alias used by jazz trombonist Charles Coolidge, who maintained no connection to surf music. Certain scholars have speculated that the Tacoma Skip Moore was itself a pseudonym adopted by Howie Johnson before he reverted to his given name upon the group’s rise to prominence.

At the time of the initial session, confidence in the track’s prospects remained low, with no one foreseeing its eventual status as one of the biggest instrumental hits ever. The actual Skip Moore, however, declined the offer to travel with the band once touring became inevitable. He also chose the flat $25 payment over a 25-percent royalty share for the session. Had attention not been diverted toward pleasing Igor, greater scrutiny might have been given to these career choices. Drumming historians nevertheless credit Moore with originating the group’s signature drum sound and style, thereby shaping a substantial portion of instrumental rock. Johnson was subsequently instructed to replicate Moore’s approach, and Mel Taylor, who joined in 1962, in turn modeled his playing on Johnson’s recreation of that style.