Duane Eddy, rock 'n' roll guitarist, dies aged 86

A rep told Variety: "Duane inspired a generation of guitarists the world over with his unmistakeable signature 'Twang' sound. He was the first rock 'n' roll guitar god, a truly humble and incredible human being. He will be sorely missed."

Born in Corning, New York in 1938, Eddy started playing guitar at the age of five.

He went on to achieve 16 top-40 singles, including three top-10 45s, from 1958 to 1963.

"Instrumentalists don’t usually become famous. But Duane Eddy’s electric guitar was a voice all its own," said Kyle Young, CEO of the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum, in a statement.

"His sound was muscular and masculine, twangy and tough. Duane scored more than 30 hits on the pop charts. But more importantly, his style inspired thousands of hillbilly cats and downtown rockers — the Ventures, George Harrison, Steve Earle, Bruce Springsteen, Marty Stuart, to name a few — to learn how to rumble and move people to their core. The Duane Eddy sound will forever be stitched into the fabric of country and rock 'n' roll."

The guitarist's unmistakable 'twang' sound defined his music, from his first album Have Twangy Guitar Will Travel, to his 1993 box set, Twang Thang: The Duane Eddy Anthology.

In 1995, Eddy described his distinctive sound in an interview by saying: "Oh well, it’s a rock 'n' roll sound. I don’t know. I guess twangy is as good as anything. I don’t know how you’d do it in one word."

He continued: "There’s times it does get twangy, other times it gets smooth and dragging and menacing. Then I can turn around and do a pretty song, a ballad or something, with a gentle warmth.”

Eddy's distinctive guitar sound led to him being inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1994.

He was also nominated for two Grammys and bagged his first one at the 29th annual Grammy Awards in 1987.