Duane Eddy (born April 26, 1938) is a Grammy Award-winning
American guitarist. He
was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
in 1994.[1]
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Born in Corning, New York, in 1938, he began playing the guitar at the age of five. His family moved west to Arizona in 1951.
In early 1954, in Coolidge, Arizona, Eddy met local disc jockey, Lee Hazlewood, who would become his longtime partner, co-writer and producer. They moved to Phoenix. His first album, Have Twangy Guitar Will Travel, contained six hit singles, and remained on the charts for 82 weeks. John Fogerty wrote in Rolling Stone about his style, "His sound is one of those untouchable, unique things...Duane Eddy was the front guy...the first real guitar god in rock & roll."[2] Eddy's song "Some Kind-a Earthquake" was the shortest song to ever break into the Top 40, clocking in at 1:17. His band, The Rebels, featured Steve Douglas and Jim Horn, pianist Larry Knechtel, and guitarist Al Casey.
On January 9, 1959, Eddy’s debut album, Have Twangy Guitar Will Travel, was released, reaching #5, and remaining on the album charts for 82 weeks. In 1960, the UK's "New Musical Express" voted him World's Number One Musical Personality, ousting Elvis Presley. That same year, he appeared in and recorded the theme for the movie Because They're Young. The song became Eddy's biggest success, peaking at #4. "Rebel 'Rouser" peaked at #6, and "Forty Miles Of Bad Road" peaked at #9 in 1958 and 1959, respectively. He recorded an album of completely acoustic music, Songs Of Our Heritage.
During the 1960s Eddy launched an acting career, appearing in such films as A Thunder of Drums, The Wild Westerners, Kona Coast, The Savage Seven, and two appearances on the television series Have Gun — Will Travel. In the 1970s, he produced album projects for Phil Everly and Waylon Jennings. In 1975, a collaboration with hit songwriter Tony Macaulay and former founding member of The Seekers, Keith Potger, led to a worldwide top ten record, "Play Me Like You Play Your Guitar". The single, "You Are My Sunshine", featuring Willie Nelson and Waylon Jennings, hit the country charts in 1977.
In 1986, Eddy recorded with Art of Noise, remaking his 1960 version of Henry Mancini's Peter Gunn. The song was a Top Ten hit around the world, ranking #1 on Rolling Stone Magazine's dance chart for six weeks that summer. "Peter Gunn" won The Grammy for Best Rock Instrumental of 1986. It also gave Eddy the distinction of being the only instrumentalist to have had Top 10 hit singles in four different decades in Great Britain.
The following year, a new album, the self-titled, Duane Eddy, was released on Capitol. Several of the tracks were produced by Paul McCartney, Jeff Lynne, Ry Cooder, and Art of Noise. Guest artists and musicians included John Fogerty, George Harrison, Paul McCartney, Ry Cooder, James Burton, David Lindley, Steve Cropper, and original Rebels, Larry Knechtel and Jim Horn.
In the spring of 1994, Eddy was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Eddy's was featured that same year in Forrest Gump. Oliver Stone's Natural Born Killers used "The Trembler", a track written by Eddy and Ravi Shankar. In 1996, Eddy joined Hans Zimmer on the soundtrack of Broken Arrow.
In 2004, Eddy was presented with the Guitar Player Magazine "Legend Award". Eddy was the second recipient of the award, the first having been presented to Les Paul. Among those who openly acknowledge his influence are George Harrison, Dave Davies (The Kinks), Hank Marvin (The Shadows), The Ventures,[3] John Entwistle (The Who),[3] Bruce Springsteen, Adrian Belew, Bill Nelson (Bebop Deluxe), and Mark Knopfler.
The Gretsch "Chet Atkins 6120" model has long been associated with Eddy.[3]
| Year | Single | Chart position |
|---|---|---|
| 1958 | "Movin' N' Groovin" | 72 |
| "Rebel Rouser" | 6 | |
| "Ramrod" | 27 | |
| "Cannonball" | 15 | |
| 1959 | "The Lonely One" | 23 |
| "Yep!" | 30 | |
| "Forty Miles Of Bad Road" | 9 | |
| "The Quiet Three" | 46 | |
| "Some Kind-A Earthquake" | 37 | |
| "First Love, First Tears" | 59 | |
| 1960 | "Bonnie Came Back" | 26 |
| "Shazam!" | 45 | |
| "Because They're Young" | 4 | |
| "Kommotion" | 78 | |
| "Peter Gunn" | 27 | |
| 1961 | "Pepe" | 18 |
| "Theme From Dixie" | 39 | |
| "Ring Of Fire" | 84 | |
| "Drivin' Home" | 87 | |
| "My Blue Heaven" | 50 | |
| 1962 | "Deep In The Heart Of Texas" | 78 |
| "The Ballad Of Paladin" | 33 | |
| "Dance With The Guitar Man" | 12 | |
| 1963 | "Boss Guitar" | 28 |
| "Lonely Boy, Lonely Guitar" | 82 | |
| "Your Baby's Gone Surfin" | 93 | |
| 1964 | "The Son Of Rebel Rouser" | 97 |
| 1977 | "You Are My Sunshine" | 50 |
| 1986 | "Peter Gunn" (with The Art of Noise) | 50 |
Duane Eddy (born April 26, 1938) was Grammy Award-winning American rock guitarist. Many people enjoyed his music and tried to play the same way as he did. He is best known for the music that he played without singing words. Few years after his Rebel Rouser hit, he was one of the first rock artists to sell whole albums instead of only single songs.
   | Rolling Stone - John Fogerty : Rolling Stone |
| | 2005 Duane Eddy Interview - King of Twang: An Interview with Duane Eddy |
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