Duane Eddy: the guitar hero who kept it low and slow

Guitarists rarely become stars on their own – they usually hook up with a singer or group. Not Duane Eddy: he became a rock ‘n’ roll hero in the 1950s on his own and without opening his mouth. He died this week at the age of 86.

You may not have known his name, but you will probably recognize his unmistakable guitar sound straight away, for example on instrumental songs that are still often heard, such as his breakthrough hit Rebel rouser (1958) and Theme from Peter Gunn (1959).

The American guitarist’s heyday ran from 1958, when he was twenty, until about 1963. While later guitar gods sought to go higher up the guitar neck and mainly wanted to impress with their speed, Duane Eddy liked to keep it low and slow. He mainly used the lower strings of his Gretsch guitar, subtly using the vibrato arm. In the studio that sound had a lot of reverberation. The resulting sound became the twang baptized.

He influenced the guitar playing of John Fogerty, among others. But the fact that Duane Eddy is sometimes called the first guitar god was largely due to his movie star appearance. He actually tried his hand as a Hollywood actor in the early 1960s.