Tributes paid to rock’n’roll legend and “king of twang” Duane Eddy, who has died age 86
nme.comBBC, Eddy’s widow Deed Abbate revealed that the legendary musician had succumbed to cancer on April 30, and that he was surrounding by his family.“Duane inspired a generation of guitarists the world over with his unmistakeable signature ‘Twang’ sound.
He was the first rock and roll guitar god, a truly humble and incredible human being. He will be sorely missed,” a rep said in a statement to Variety.Duane Eddy, who had enjoyed a career spanning over six decades, is best known for hits such as ‘Rebel Rouser’, the titular theme song for the hit TV series Peter Gunn, ‘Forty Miles of Bad Road’ and ‘Because They’re Young’ among various others.Eddy began learning guitar on his own at the age of five after moving to Phoenix, Arizona.
As a teen, he met producer Lee Hazlewood who co-wrote and produced some of the guitarist’s early hits, like 1957’s ‘Moovin and Groovin’ and 1958’s ‘Rebel Rouser’.Over the course of his career, Eddy had become known for the “twang” sound that he pioneered on the guitar.
In a 1986 interview with The Associated Press, he said of the “twang”: “I had a distinctive sound that people could recognize and I stuck pretty much with that.
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