Famous Guitarist Has Died

(USNewsBreak.com) – Rock n’ Roll remains one of the most popular music genres with many different interpretations. Many musicians have put their own spin on styles, hoping to leave behind a mark on the industry and a legacy. One guitarist who managed to do just that has now sadly passed away.

Duane Eddy, the man John Fogerty was once dubbed “the first rock and roll guitar god,” passed away on Tuesday, April 30, at a hospital in Franklin, Tennessee. He was 86 years old and died of complications of cancer, according to his wife, Deed Eddy.

Eddy’s musical career was long and fortuitous despite the fact he never learned to read music and relied solely on his ears. Self-taught from the age of 5, fans and critics knew him for his liberal use of the vibrato bar. He once said he enjoyed “exploring different textures on tracks in the studio and different arrangement ideas.” He also became notorious for using “twang” in his music. Many of his albums even included the word in the title.

Duane Eddy, twangy guitar icon of early rock, dead at 86 https://t.co/FvaNqaRzG5

— Fox News (@FoxNews) May 2, 2024

The famous guitarist made his first recordings when he was 16, as part of the musical duo “Jimmy and Duane.” It wasn’t long before he began releasing his own songs, and in 1957, he traveled with Dick Clark’s Caravan of Stars.

Throughout his career, Eddy released several top hits, including “Because They’re Young,” which became a movie track, “Rebel Rouser,” and “The Ballad of Paladin.” He remained strictly an instrumentalist, famously quipping that “not singing” was his most significant contribution to the industry. He sold more than 100 million records and made several collaboration records with Lee Hazelwood.

Eddy’s music inspired musicians, young and old, including some of the top bands to ever grace the industry, Creedence Clearwater Revival, Bruce Springsteen, The Beatles, and Jimi Hendrix. Performers like Fogarty, Randy Bachman of The Who, Nancy Sinatra, and Mick Fleetwood, among many others, posted tributes on X, formerly Twitter, to the legendary guitar man.