FORTY MILES OF DEAD ROAD
If Jerry Lee Lewis was the last surviving star of 50s rock n roll, guitarist Duane Eddy was the biggest stander of its remaining practitioners. Eddy disliked his singing voice, but with his echoey twang nevertheless gave each of his instrumentals an Eddy trademark. The rowdy “Rebel-‘Rouser”, replete with claps and yelps, was his first major success, and he kept up the pace with other rockers like “Cannonball” and “Forty Miles of Bad Road”. His take on “Peter Gunn” was the UK charts’ most successful version of the coolly dangerous Mancini detective theme (the US honour belongs to continued WTF still alive Ray Anthony), while “Because They’re Young” sounds like the Jeopardy! theme.
The Titan of Twang didn’t survive the chart’s shift away from instrumentals, but his influence reverberated with induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and greats from Harrison to Springsteen citing him as an inspiration. His stature proved enough for him to make several chart comebacks, with his last crack at the Top 10 alongside Art of Noise on a “Peter Gunn” remake. He was 86 and picked by two teams, probably because he’s old.
Duane Eddy
26 April 1938 – 30 April 2024, aged 86
2 TEAMS (💀💀💀💀💀💀 6 POINTS)