Song of the Day 5/2: Duane Eddy, “Rebel Rouser”

Duane Eddy, whose deep, twangy guitar instrumentals helped lay the foundations of rock ‘n’ roll, died Tuesday at age 86. His string of hit singles produced by Lee Hazlewood, who discovered the teenage Eddy in Arizona, influenced countless rock guitarists – Dave Davies, George Harrison and John Fogerty, to name just a few.

Eddy’s trademark sound came from his style of playing leads near the bottom of the electric guitar’s range, enhancing the twang with an echo chamber he fashioned from a 2,000-gallon water tank. “Rebel Rouser” was the first to reach the Top 40, in 1958, and 14 more followed through 1963. He got into acting and record production for a while. His last concerts were in 2018 in England, where he was even more popular than he was in the U.S.