DUANE EDDY, "CRAZY ARMS"

John Lennon once said that if you wanted to give rock and roll another name, you could just call it "Chuck Berry." I'll make a similarly uncontroversial statement-- Duane Eddy is synonymous with "twang," as well as "melody."

I picked this clip because it has good coverage of Duane's picking hand, but virtually any Eddy cut will illustrate his basic philosophy of how to make a guitar instrumental "memorable" (his word). Play the melody!

I'll confess to rarely following Duane's sage advice. I've been spending the last few years feverishly trying to get my chops up (a phrase I first heard from Tom Heyman years ago), but of late I've started wondering if maybe I should be focusing more on melody playing. Maybe it's the tiny sideman voice in my head, saying things like, "Maybe you should play the melody more." I have found this statement cryptic in the past, but hearing Duane play, I feel that the mists are dissipating in front of my eyes.

Get ready for the upcoming box set, "The Birth of a Guitar Legend - The Jamie Singles Sessions 1957-1962". Along with his early singles, the set includes alternate takes, unissued material and session chat. Here's a link to an online debate about echo, reverb, stereo, mono, etc.
I'm torn, because I care about sound when I hear it, but sometimes these kinds of debates strike me as pedantic. You be the judge. Regardless of my feelings about this, I thank online fanatics for making information available-- they are providing a valuable service.

bsnpubs.websitetoolbox.com/post?id=4905396&trail=

If I haven't dropped enough guitarist names already, here's the substance of a conversation I had a while back with my friend and colleague Alex McCullough, following a Duane recording session Alex was lucky enough to be part of.

"How did Duane Eddy get his sound in the studio?"

"He plugged his Gretsch into a Fender amp and played the melody."

Alex, please correct me if there's anything substantively wrong with this transcription of our discussion.