Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Guitar Innovator Dead at 86

Duane Eddy, the American musician whose twangy guitar sound from the '50 and '60s, continues to be influential to this day, died Tuesday (Apri 30) at his home in Franklin, Tenn. He was 86.

He died in the hospital from complications of cancer, according to his wife Deed Eddy, The New York Times reported.

Eddy rose to prominence in the late '50s, thanks to his collaborations with songwriter/producer Lee Hazelwood on such instrumental classics as "Rebel-Rouser," which reached No. 6 on Billboard's Hot 100 and went on to sell more than a million copies.

As Billboard notes, Eddy was the last surviving artist in the top 10 of the first Hot 100 chart, published on Aug. 4, 1958. Ricky Nelson, Perez Prado, Bobby Darin, Elvis Presley, Kalin Twins, The Coasters, Jack Scott, The Johnny Otis Show and Peggy Lee were the other artists in the top 10 that week.

The guitarist scored numerous hits in the '50s and '60s, including his cover of the Henry Mancini classic "Peter Gunn," which reached No. 27 in 1960.

Proof of his lasting influence and impact came 26 years later, when he was featured on The Art of Noise's 1986 cover of the song, which once again charted in the U.S. and reached No. 8 on the U.K. charts. He also won a Best Rock Instrumental Grammy for that recording.

Born on April 26, 1938, in Coming, N.Y., Eddy started playing guitar when he was just five. When he was still in his teens, his family relocated to Coolidge, Ariz. where he formed his first musical project, the duo Jimmy and Duane, with James Delbridge, who later found success as a recording artist under the name Jimmy Dell.

Eddy, who was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1994, has influenced numerous guitarists throughout the history of rock 'n' roll, including George Harrison, Bruce Springsteen, the Kinks' Dave Davies, Dire Straits' Mark Knopfler, Dan Auerbach of The Black Keys, and others.

Among those paying tribute to Eddy as news of his death spread was Mick Fleetwood. "For Duane Eddy...yesterday in my studio I said this riff needs to sound like Duane Eddy! As I picked up my Gretsch white falcon guitar! Saddened of the passing of this understated man who had talents more than most knew. Grateful for learning to play drums listening to his music," he posted on X, formerly Twitter, along with a photo featuring Eddy.