FRANKLIN, TN (CelebrityAccess) — Duane Eddy, an early rock pioneer whose distinctive guitar twang helped to define the sounds of rockabilly and surf rock, has died. He was 86.
His wife, Deed Eddy, told the New York Times that he passed in a hospital in Franklin, Tennessee on Tuesday from complications of cancer.
With a career that spanned seven decades, Eddy was known for iconic instrumental guitar hits such as “Rebel Rouser,” “Because They’re Young” and “Forty Miles of Bad Road” helping to cement the role of guitar as a key component of rock & roll.
Born in Corning, New York, in 1938, Eddy began to learn guitar while he was still in grammar school and formed his first duo, Jimmy & Duane with Jimmy Delbridge when he was just 16.
He released his first recording, “I Want Some Lovin'” in 1955, but didn’t find his way onto the charts until 1958 when he released the Lee Hazelwood-produced “Have ‘Twangy’ Guitar Will Travel” which featured hits such as “Rebel Rouser,” “Ramrod,” and “The Lonely One.”
Eddy had a succession of hit records through the late 1950s and early 1960s, working with a roster of artists such as Steve Douglas and Jim Horn, and keyboard player Larry Knechtel, who went on to become part of Phil Specter’s famed studio session group, The Wrecking Crew.
During the 1960s, Eddy successfully launched an acting career, appearing in films such as Because They’re Young, Kona Coast, and The Wild Westerners, as well as television roles on shows such as the Richard Boone western Have Gun – Will Travel.
Eddy was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of fame in 1994 and into the Musicians Hall of Fame in 2008.
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