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He can make all of his riffs sound like open strings. His low-E string makes grand pianos envious. He made rock guitar instrumentals popular...with girls! He is the most interesting guitar man in the world. Recipient of the 2004 GP Legend Award, Duane Eddy stands as the rarest breed of guitarist-one whose name has become synonymous with his sound. Those who fell under the spell of Duane Eddy's million-dollar twang include George Harrison, Dave Davies, Hank Marvin and the Shadows, the Ventures, Bruce Springsteen, John Entwistle, Adrian Belew, Steve Howe, Richard Thompson, Roger McGuinn, Phil Manzanera, Bill Nelson, Mark Knopfler, and even film composer Ennio Morricone. There is obviously something extraordinary going on here.
Eddy's backstory is one of hard work and good timing. His first musical heroes were singers Hank Williams, Gene Autry, and Roy Rogers-which may account for his simple, direct approach to melody-and he was later inspired by guitarists Chet Atkins, Les Paul, and Billy Byrd. After years on the Arizona circuit, the Corning, New York, native had the good fortune in 1956 to team up with producer/songwriter Lee Hazelwood-then working in Phoenix as a disc jockey-who recognized something unique in Eddy's style. Together, the pair married the idea of Eddy playing his melodies on the bass strings- which was exactly the opposite of what his contemporaries Chuck Berry and Scotty Moore and their disciples were doing-to Hazelwood's adventurous production techniques. And consciously or not, Eddy and Hazelwood may have also benefited from the popularity of low-toned, easy-listening piano artists of the day, such as Ferrante and Teicher. Regardless, Eddy soon infiltrated the public ear-male and female alike- creating a sensation with hits like "Rebel Rouser" (1958), "Peter Gunn" (1959), and "Because They're Young" (1960), and the rest is history.
Essential listening from this period includes Have "Twangy" Guitar Will Travel (1958), Especially for You (1959), The "Twangs" the "Thang," and $1,000,000.00 Worth of Twang (both 1960), but Rhino's Twang Thang: The Duane Eddy Anthology (1993), which includes Dan Forte's excellent liner notes, still stands as Eddy's most definitive compilation. Eddy later chalked up credits as a movie and TV actor (A Thunder of Drums, Kona Coast, The Savage Seven, and Have Gun-Will Travel), and as a record producer (Phil Everly and...
