Because he did almost exclusively instrumentals many people don’t view him the way they might a Clapton et al but Edwads was possibly more influential....so many players learned to play along to Ventures records since the entire song was, in a manner of speaking, a guitar solo with no vocals to sit through. Not to mention he was a virtuoso.
The Ventures were a smash in Japan prior to the British invasion because anyone could “understand” the songs. Launched a whole industry of bands.
Nokie would play around the US on his own (and Ventures would play separate shows/tours) but whenever they played Japan, they all had to be there.
They even released several albums just for the Japanese market.