[3] Edwards came from a family of accomplished musicians, so that by age five he began playing a variety of string instruments, including the steel guitar, banjo, mandolin, violin, and bass.

After traveling to Texas and California for training, he returned home and began playing regularly for pay in numerous country bands in the area.

In January 1958, country songwriter and guitarist Buck Owens relocated from California to Tacoma, Washington, as the owner of radio station KAYE.

Edwards performed occasionally in the United States as both a soloist and member of various bands, including AdVenture, Art Greenhaw, and Texas Western swing outfit The Light Crust Doughboys.

[5] AllMusic noted about the 20th Century Gospel album that the "former Ventures member Nokie Edwards guests on several tracks ("Ode to Joy," "The Great Speckled Bird") and his sound has never been twangier".

Dickerson and his band backed Edwards for several shows, including Deke's yearly Guitar Geek Festival held in Anaheim, California.

After accepting an offer to pursue an acting career, Edwards landed a role on Deadwood, an American Western drama television series.

Edwards played the mysterious friend of Wild Bill Hickok and a local citizen,[7] who serves as a bridge between the villains and heroes of the show.

Several notable features of the Ventures Model include hot single-pole pickups, a light-touch tremolo, zero fret, a sloped-back tilt headstock, and a German carve body.

The limited-edition guitar featured gold hardware, an ebony fingerboard, sloped-back tilted headstock, a zero fret, sealed tuners, and Seymour Duncan humbucker pickups with split coils.

The HitchHiker features a sloped-back tilt headstock, a neck-through-body with swamp ash and quilted maple, zero fret, gold control plates, Seymour Duncan humbuckers with split coils, and an ebony fingerboard.