Duane Eddy was an American rock and roll guitarist. In the late 1950s and early 1960s, he had a string of hit records produced by Lee Hazlewood which were noted for their characteristically "twangy" guitar sound, including "Rebel-'Rouser", "Peter Gunn", and "Because They're Young". He had sold 12 million records by 1963. His guitar style influenced the Ventures, the Shadows, the Beatles, Bruce Springsteen, Steve Earle, and Marty Stuart.
The Rivingtons were a 1960s doo-wop band, known for their 1962 novelty hit "Papa-Oom-Mow-Mow". The members were lead vocalist Carl White, tenor Al Frazier, baritone Sonny Harris and bassist Turner "Rocky" Wilson Jr. Frazier was replaced by Madero White for a period in the late 1970s.
Barton Lee Hazlewood was an American country and pop singer, songwriter, and record producer, most widely known for his work with guitarist Duane Eddy during the late 1950s and singer Nancy Sinatra in the 1960s and 1970s. His collaborations with Sinatra as well as his solo output in the late 1960s and early 1970s have been praised as an essential contribution to a sound often described as "cowboy psychedelia" or "saccharine underground". Rolling Stone ranked Lee Hazlewood & Nancy Sinatra No. 9 on its list of the 20 Greatest Duos of All Time.
Alvie Self is an American singer and guitar player from the Verde Valley in Arizona. His contributions to rock and roll are recognized by the Rockabilly Hall of Fame. He has also been inducted into the Greater Arizona Country Music Association Hall of Fame and the Western Swing Music Association Hall of Fame.
Edward Ray Sharpe is an American singer, guitarist, and songwriter. His best-known single was "Linda Lu". Sharpe was described by one record producer as "the greatest white-sounding black dude ever".
A ramrod is a device used with early firearms to push the projectile up against the propellant.
"Raunchy" is an instrumental by American rock and roll artist Bill Justis, co-written with Sidney Manker and produced by Sam Phillips. The tune, from the album Cloud 9, was released as a single on the record label Phillips International Records, a sub-label of Sun Records, on September 23, 1957.
Jamie Records is a record label founded in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in 1956 by Harold Lipsius (1913–2007) and Allan Sussel (1924–2003). Their first 45rpm single, "It's Great to Fall in Love"/"Truly" by Marian Caruso, was issued in 1956. The label was named after Allan Sussel's eldest daughter, Jamie Sussel Turner.
Alvin Wayne Casey was an American guitarist. He was mainly known for his work as a session musician, but also released his own records and scored three Billboard Hot 100 hits in the United States. His contribution to the rockabilly genre has been recognized by the Rockabilly Hall of Fame.
Sanford Clark was an American country-rockabilly singer and guitarist, best known for his 1956 hit "The Fool".
Frank Fafara was a teen rocker in the late 1950s and early 1960s in Phoenix, Arizona where he achieved regional fame. As an adult he changed his last name to "Fara" and toured across North America with his Country music road show, The Frank Fara Show featuring Patty Parker. After touring for five years, he and Parker married and founded Comstock Records, an independent American record label.
Have 'Twangy' Guitar Will Travel is the debut album by the guitarist Duane Eddy. It was released in 1958 on Jamie Records, as JLP-3000. There were five charting singles and a B-side of an additional charting single taken from this album.
"Cannonball" is a song written by Duane Eddy and Lee Hazlewood and performed by Eddy. It reached #15 on the Billboard Hot 100, #22 on the R&B chart, #2 on the UK Singles Chart, #7 in Canada in 1958, and appeared on his 1958 album, Have 'Twangy' Guitar Will Travel.
"Ramrod" is a song written by Al Casey and originally released as the A-side of a single released by the obscure Ford record label in Los Angeles in 1957, backed on its B-side by the Duke Ellington/Juan Tizol/Irving Mills song "Caravan". Al Casey actually plays lead guitar on both sides of this release, but the record was credited to "Duane Eddy and the Rock-A-Billies". The original recording of "Ramrod" was overdubbed on July 28, 1958 with Plas Johnson's saxophone and "rebel yells" were also added by the Sharps for the song's second release on Jamie Records in August 1958, now with the song "The Walker" on its B-side and this release reached #17 on the R&B chart, #27 on the Billboard Hot 100, and #7 in Canada in 1958. The song later also appeared on Duane Eddy's 1958 album, Have 'Twangy' Guitar Will Travel.
"(Dance with the) Guitar Man" is a song written by Duane Eddy and Lee Hazlewood and performed by Eddy, featuring vocals by The Blossoms. The song was produced by Lee Hazlewood. It was arranged by Anita Kerr. The song appeared on his 1963 album, Dance with the Guitar Man . It was recorded at the RCA Nashville Sound Studio in Nashville, Tennessee.
Gil Bernal was an American singer and session musician. His saxophone can be heard on recordings such as "Searchin'" by The Coasters. In the 1950s he played on Duane Eddy's 1958 album Have 'Twangy' Guitar Will Travel. In later years, he played on Warren Zevon's 2003 album The Wind and the Chávez Ravine album by Ry Cooder.
Mid-Century Sounds: Deep Cuts From The Desert is a two volume compilation album released in 2017 by independent record label Fervor Records in collaboration with Marmoset. Several songs on this LP charted in Billboard Magazine including "Plaything" by Ted Newman in 1957 and "Cookin" by the Al Casey Combo in 1962. Since the album's release, multiple songs have been featured in popular TV shows and films including Lionsgate Films The Glass Castle, the Netflix Original Series Orange is the New Black, and short film, Made Back East, released December 2020.
Donnie Owens was an American singer, guitarist, producer, and composer. His hit song “Need You” peaked at #25 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in 1958. Owens worked extensively with artist/songwriter/producer Lee Hazlewood and worked as an executive producer for LHI Records. He was a session musician and played the rhythm guitar for Duane Eddy, Nancy Sinatra, Elvis Presley and many others. In 1994, Owens was accidentally shot to death by his girlfriend.
$1,000,000 Worth of Twang is a compilation album by guitarist Duane Eddy.
The "Twangs" the "Thang" is a studio album by guitarist Duane Eddy. It was released in 1959 on Jamie Records. It entered Billboard magazine's pop album chart on January 25, 1960, peaked at No. 18, and remained on the chart for 13 weeks. It was one of only three Duane Eddy albums to enter the Top 20. It fared better in the UK, reaching No 2 in the album charts and staying in the top 10 for 12 weeks. AllMusic gave the album a rating of two stars.
