American “rock and roll guitar god”, and pioneer of the famous “twang” musical sound, Duane Eddy, has died after a battle with cancer. He was 86.
During a career spanning some six decades, Eddy had more than 30 pop hits and was at one stage voted by fans as bigger than Elvis Presley.
WATCH THE VIDEO ABOVE: Duane Eddy performs Rebel Rouser.
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With hit songs including Rebel Rouser, Cannonball and Peter Gunn, he also became a musical influence to the likes of Bruce Springsteen, George Harrison and Bill Nelson.
Eddy was also an actor, appearing in 1960s films including A Thunder of Drums and The Savage Seven.
But he was best known for creating a sound on his guitar’s bass strings that sounded low, and reverberant. It was later known as a “twangy” sound.
Eddy’s wife Deed Abbate said her husband had died from cancer, surrounded by family at Williamson Health Hospital near his home in Franklin, in the US state of Tennessee.
“Duane inspired a generation of guitarists the world over with his unmistakable signature ‘Twang’ sound,” Abbate told the Associated Press.
“He was the first rock and roll guitar god, a truly humble and incredible human being.
“He will be sorely missed.”
A tribute by Kyle Young, chief executive of the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum, acknowledged Eddy’s influence on music.
“Instrumentalists don’t usually become famous. But Duane Eddy’s electric guitar was a voice all its own,” he told Variety.
“His sound was muscular and masculine, twangy and tough. Duane scored more than 30 hits on the pop charts.
“But more importantly, his style inspired thousands of hillbilly cats and downtown rockers — the Ventures, George Harrison, Steve Earle, Bruce Springsteen, Marty Stuart, to name a few — to learn how to rumble and move people to their core.
“The Duane Eddy sound will forever be stitched into the fabric of country and rock & roll.”
Despite hailing from the US, the guitarist became immensely popular with fans in the UK.
Readers of the then-magazine NME voted him in 1960 World’s Number One Musical Personality, beating Elvis Presley.
In April 2000, the mayor of Nashville bestowed the title of “Titan of Twang” upon Eddy.
Eddy was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1994 and the Musicians Hall of Fame and Museum in 2008.
He recorded more than 50 albums throughout his lifetime, ending with his final album, Road Trip, in 2011.
The acclaimed musician leaves behind his wife Abbate and his four children.
