Rebel-'Rouser
Duane Eddy, 1958, from Have 'Twangy' Guitar – Will Travel. Solo by Duane Eddy.
Eddy's twangy low-string melody, drenched in echo, made the guitar itself the star of a Top 10 single.
Rebel-'Rouser is less a solo than a whole record built around one guitar voice. Duane Eddy plays a simple, almost nursery-rhyme melody down on the bass strings of his Gretsch 6120, and the heavy echo turns every plucked note into a deep, booming twang. The tune repeats, climbing through key changes while handclaps, saxophone and whoops push the energy up around him. What matters is the idea: tone and attack could carry a hit single without any flash at all, a lesson surf players and countless twang merchants took to heart. Listen for how Eddy lets each low note ring into the echo before the next one arrives, so the space between notes becomes part of the hook.
Rebel-'Rouser by Duane Eddy is featured in our Rock & Roll (#25) list. The solo is played by Duane Eddy and the song was released in 1958.
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Who played the guitar solo on Rebel-'Rouser?
Duane Eddy played the solo on Duane Eddy's Rebel-'Rouser (1958).
What guitar was used on the Rebel-'Rouser solo?
A gretsch 6120, according to widely reported accounts.