Duane Eddy 1938 – 2024
Rock and roll pioneer Duane Eddy died from cancer on April 30 at his home in Franklin, Tennessee. He was 86. Eddy, most recognized for the twangy sound he introduced to popular music, was a major influence to a wide range of players including George Harrison, Jeff Beck, John Fogerty, and Bruce Springsteen. Some of Eddy’s instrumental singles were groundbreaking, none more so than “Rebel Rouser,” his 1958 vibrato-wavering hit which paved the way for others like “Forty Miles of Bad Road” and the 1960 classic “Peter Gunn,” which was the theme for a TV detective series.
Born in Corning, New York, Eddy started playing guitar before he entered primary school, and took to the instrument like an alligator to a swamp. When he was 13, his parents moved to Arizona. Soon after, Eddy met a local DJ named Lee Hazelwood, with whom he collaborated on “Rebel Rouser,” an upbeat duel between guitar and saxophone. The song hit the top ten, and established Eddy as a serious force of energetic instrumental music. Armed with a red Gretsch guitar, Eddy released numerous twang-rock albums through the ‘60s, as well as a record of Bob Dylan covers and bluegrass-tinged Songs of Our Heritage, which included “In the Pines,” a long later covered by Nirvana and renamed “Where Did You Sleep Last Night?” In the late ‘60s, Eddy switched from artist to producer, working with various artists including Waylon Jennings. Eddy enjoyed a career resurgence in 1986 when Art of Noise worked with him on an electronic pop version of “Peter Gunn.” Soon after, Eddy collaborated with Paul McCartney, Harrison, Fogerty, Jeff Lynne, Ry Cooder, and David Lindley on songs for the album, Duane Eddy and the Rebels. Eddy was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1994, by Mick Jones, who will enter the sacred institution this year with his hard rock band Foreigner.
“LP cover – Duane Eddy – Have ‘Twangy’ Guitar, Will Travel” by ruffin_ready is licensed under CC BY 2.0.
