Duane Eddy, an American self-taught guitarist who broke new ground in pop music in the 1950s with his twangy style of guitar playing, passed away on Thursday due to complications of cancer. His wife, Deed (Abbate) Eddy, confirmed the death news.
Eddy was born on 26 April 1938 in Corning, New York, a small town in the state’s south-central part. He began playing guitar at the age of 5.
Since his debut in 1958, Eddy had witnessed a tremendous success as a strictly instrumental recording artist, selling millions of records worldwide.
As a self-taught guitarist, Eddy played a major role in establishing the electric guitar as the predominant musical instrument in rock and roll. He influenced a generation of musicians, including Jimi Hendrix, George Harrison, and Bruce Springsteen.
John Fogerty, an American singer-songwriter and guitarist, even named Eddy rock’s first guitar god. Eddy never learned to play the guitar but had a strong ear for pop idioms, including rhythm, jazz, country, and blues.
He also used to do some experimentation in his studio. For example, once, he placed a 2000-gallon water tank on a speaker to stimulate the effects of an echo chamber. Eddy has numerous achievements throughout his career, including being inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 1994 and into the Musicians Hall of Fame in Nashville in 2008.
As the world mourns the loss of a true pioneer, Duane Eddy’s legacy will continue reverberating through generations of musicians and music lovers.
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