By Chris Morris

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Duane Eddy, who became the first stand-alone rock ‘n’ roll guitar star with a string of instrumental hits in the late ‘50s and early ‘60s including the theme to TV series “Peter Gunn” and “Rebel Rouser,” died April 30 in Franklin, Tenn, the Arizona Republic reported. He was 86.

He notched 16 top-40 singles, including three top-10 45s, from 1958-63. In the notes for a 1993 Rhino Records compilation of the musician’s work, historian Dan Forte noted, “Duane Eddy’s first of many, many hits, 1958’s ‘Rebel Rouser,’ almost single-handedly established the institution of the guitar hero.”

“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 thirty 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 & roll.”