Duane Eddy, the pioneering guitarist who debuted in the 1950s, has died. The cheerful guitarist was 86 years old.
Eddie died of cancer Tuesday at Williamson Health Hospital in Franklin, Tennessee, said his wife, Dido Abbate.
Eddie paved the way for a new generation of guitarists by focusing on the bass rather than the treble of the guitar. Duane sold over 100 million records during his career and was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1994.
Legendary guitarist Duane Eddy passed away on Tuesday. He was 86 years old. (Getty Images)
“I had a unique sound that people recognized, and I pretty much stuck with it. I’m by no means one of the best technical players. I just sell the best,” said Eddie. told the Associated Press in a 1986 interview. “A lot of people are better at guitar than I am. Many of them are beyond my head. But some of them aren’t what I want to hear from a guitar.”
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Eddie’s debut album “Have Twangy Guitar Will Travel” was released in 1958. At this time, Eddie created a unique “twang”. This sound was heard throughout his career and would later influence George his Harrison and Bruce his Springsteen..
Duane Eddy photographed in the 1960s. (GAB Archive/Red Ferns)
Eddie’s musical style was also featured in the 1993 box set “Twan Tan: The Duane Eddie Anthology.”
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“It’s a ridiculous name for something ridiculous, but it’s stuck with me for 35 years, so at least it has some kind of sentimental value,” Eddie told The Associated Press at the time of its release.
In a 1993 interview with the same outlet, he explained that after releasing his 1970 hit “Freight Train,” he took it as a sign to slow down.
Duane Eddy pioneered the way guitarists incorporated “twang” into their musical styles. (Fraser Harrison/Getty Images, Stagecoach)
“It was an easy-to-listen hit,” he told the magazine. “Six or seven years ago, I was on the cutting edge.”
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After the 1980s, Eddie didn’t work as much. “He lives off royalties,” he told the Associated Press in 1986.
Eddie moved to Nashville, Tennessee in 1985 after living a semi-retired life in Lake Tahoe, California.
Guitarist Duane Eddy passed away from cancer on April 30th. (Jim Steinfeld/Michael Ochs Archive/Getty Images)
Eddie was born in Corning, New York, raised in Phoenix, and began playing guitar at the age of five. He spent his teenage years in Arizona dreaming of singing at the Grand He All He Opry, and eventually he signed with Jamie Records in Philadelphia in 1958. — “Rebel Rouser” quickly followed.
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“It had a good title and it had the most rockin’ rock ‘n’ roll sound. It was different then,” Eddie told The Associated Press of his hit song.
Eddie never thought of himself as a singer. He told the outlet in 1986, “One of my greatest contributions to the music industry is not singing.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
