Interview - Duane Eddy: On a roll – rock legend still in full flow

IT'S been said that rock 'n' roll changed the world.

Sadly, the list of musicians who breathed new life into a mordant culture more than half a century ago is notable for the fact that many are no longer with us.

Thankfully, though, not all of them have joined the great gig in the sky and among the trailblazers still plying their trade is Duane Eddy.

The American-born guitarist, whose hits include Rebel Rouser, Because They're Young and Forty Miles of Bad Road, was among the first wave of rock and rollers in the '50s, and this month he's performing in the UK for the first time in 20 years.

As well as doing a brief tour which includes a gig at the Grand Opera House in York, he's here to record an album with Richard Hawley. The pair met at an awards ceremony earlier this year where they bonded over their mutual love of country music and rock 'n' roll.

"Richard is a lovely guy who makes great records and I'm really looking forward to working with him," says Eddy.

The admiration is reciprocated by Hawley.

"It's Duane Eddy – the name says all you'll ever need to know. I never thought I'd even meet him, let alone have the opportunity and honour to work with him."

Eddy, now 72, began his musical career as a teenager. "I grew up listening to country music, people like Hank Williams and George Jones and so forth, and then I started playing with country bands when I was 15."

Within four years, he had released his first record in 1958.

"I had no idea if it was any good, but it reached 72 in the charts which was quite encouraging and then Rebel Rouser became my first big hit."

It very nearly didn't. "I had two songs and the record company and my producer thought Stalking was the hit. So that was played for a few weeks but it wasn't getting any reaction," he says.

Eddy pleaded with his producer to get the radio stations to play Rebel Rouser. "I said, 'can you please get them to turn the record over?' And he wasn't sure, but finally they did and the song took off."

As one of its pioneers, Eddy was perfectly placed to observe the rock 'n' roll phenomenon.

"It was new and fresh. We'd had people like Sinatra and Bing Crosby who were great artists, but they were mellow compared to our rock music."

And there was one man, in particular, who was the undisputed king of the hill.

"When Elvis hit the scene he changed everything," says Eddy. "It's hard to explain the impact he had, but to us kids in the country it was incredible."

After the success of Rebel Rouser, Eddy enjoyed a string of hits and in 1960 was voted the number-one music personality in the world by the New Musical Express, knocking Elvis Presley off the top spot. It is one of many career highlights, although he claims it was down to good fortune more than anything else.

"It was an anomaly, it was the first time I'd been to England and we re-created the songs on stage exactly as they sounded on the record, and not many people did that at the time; it created quite a sensation."

The pitfalls of fame have been well documented over the years, but Eddy was a pop star in more innocent times. "It was a lot of fun, although it wasn't like the '60s, there weren't any drugs and groupies. We had fans and that was it, we had to set an example back in those days."

But being a pop star meant he got to hang out with his heroes. "I got to know Elvis when he was with Priscilla, and he was just everything I wanted him to be.

"His manners were immaculate, he was just a normal guy who happened to be Elvis Presley. He did everything with such grace and he always treated me as his equal, even though I certainly didn't feel I was,"

he says.

"Johnny Cash was another great guy. I met him and June and they were both lovely. But what a lot of people don't always realise is that

a lot of the big stars are actually very shy when they're off stage."

Over the years, Eddy has worked with the likes of Paul McCartney, George Harrison, Willie Nelson and now Richard Hawley.

He has also seen the music business change, although not always for

the better.

"One of the biggest problems is the reliance on technology. There has become an over-reliance on digital recording, but to my old ears, it doesn't have the same, warm sound that analogue has."

But while the music industry has changed, the buzz he gets from playing certainly hasn't.

"I still feel a great charge whenever I'm doing a concert and I kind of regard audiences as being like old friends you've not seen in a while."

Duane Eddy plays York Opera House on October 13. Information and tickets: 01904 678700.

DUANE EDDY

His debut album, Have Twangy Guitar Will Travel, reached number five in the charts in 1959.

The following year, The New Musical Express voted him the world's number one musical personality, ousting Elvis Presley.

His version of Henry Mancini's song, Peter Gunn, won a Grammy for Best Rock Instrumental in 1986.

In 1994, Eddy was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.