Born in Corning, New York
Duane Eddy visits Corning in 2017. Duane is pointing up at himself playing his signature 6120 Gretsch guitar in the window of the mural at the corner of Pulteney and Bridge Streets. Photo by Frank Acomb, his host for the visit. Mural by Brett Steeves.
Corning, NewYork
Birthplace of Rock & Roll Hall of Famer and extraordinary guitar instrumentalist, the late great Duane Eddy
b. April 26, 1938 - d. April 30, 2024
King of "Twang"
"When He Was Young" -- Portrait of Duane Eddy in 1958 when he was 20 and top of the charts.
What was Duane Eddy famous for?
"Duane Eddy was the most successful and influential instrumentalist in Rock and Roll history. He was the man who added a term to the American music dictionary--TWANG-- the sound he created. Using his trademark red Gretsch 6120 guitar, Duane Eddy's music is easily identifiable and uniquely his own." Source: International Duane Eddy Circle
King of "Twang"
Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductee (1994), Grammy award winner (1987), Guitar Player's "Legend" award winner (2004), Nashville's Ryman Auditorium "Titan of Twang" title (2000), Musicians Hall of Fame and Museum inductee (2008), Steuben County Hall of Fame inductee (2020), Nashville Music City Walk of Fame inductee (2023)
Duane Eddy went Top 40 15 times on Billboard’s Hot 100 and sold more than 100 million records worldwide.
If there was a Mount Rushmore for guitar players, then Duane Eddy would be George Washington.---Deke Dickerson, guitar historian & musician
Watch this famous scene from Forrest Gump --the one where the bullies are chasing him in a truck. "Run, Forrest, Run!" That's Duane's song playing in the background: 'Rebel Rouser'
"Rebel Rouser" was the music in the famous scene "Run, Forrest, Run!"
"Duane was a huge influence on my guitar stylings and without Duane there's no this. ”---Bruce Springsteen
Click on his photo to listen to 15 seconds of his twangy sound...
Duane never sang, he made his guitar sing.
Rock & Roll Hall of Fame says: 1994 Inductee Duane Eddy was a rock & roll guitar god who invented twang. He created a distinctive sound and recorded a string of instrumental hits in the late 1950s that proved hugely influential on countless musicians. Eddy’s reverberating, bass-heavy guitar sound came to represent a walk on the wild side — a soundtrack for revved-up hotrods and rebels with or without a cause, and an echo of the Wild West on the frontier of rock and roll. In 1986, the remake of his hit “Peter Gunn,” recorded with Art of Noise, became a Top Ten hit around the world and won a Grammy. Eddy was one of the musicians most responsible for popularizing the electric guitar in America, and his impact on artists like the Beatles, Creedence Clearwater Revival, and Bruce Springsteen is incalculable.
From Country roots, Duane became an early Rock-n-Roll pioneer by bringing the electric guitar to the forefront and writing memorable music. He dabbled in acting in the movies, was a record producer, and a sought-after sessions player, too.
He grew up on country music like Hank Williams Sr., Lefty Frizzell, Chet Atkins, and George Jones, Duane Eddy was the first rock-era instrumentalist to become a star in the late 50's, early 60's. He was the originator of the "twangy" guitar sound that influenced the Shadows and the Ventures, among others. Later, rock legends like The Beatles' George Harrison, Bruce Springsteen and Dire Straits' Mark Knopfler. Mick Fleetwood, John Fogerty, too. Duane Eddy was born in Corning, lived in the area until he was 12, then grew up in Arizona, where he formed a group with a high school buddy and began to perform at age sixteen. In 1955, he and guitarist Al Casey formed the Rebels, he met the legendary Lee Hazlewood and three years later Eddy had his first big hit, "Rebel Rouser." Before 1965, he had 19 more hits, including "Cannonball" (1958), "Forty Miles of Bad Road," "Some Kinda Earthquake" (1959) and "Because They're Young" (1960). Dick Clark promoted his music on his influential show, American Bandstand and The Dick Clark Show, and was his friend. Duane had roles in movies and wrote songs for TV shows. He won a Grammy in 1987 for "Peter Gunn" for the UK's avant garde group The Art of Noise. During the 1990s, Eddy’s music appeared on the soundtracks of such prominent films as Forrest Gump (1994), and Oliver Stone's Natural Born Killers (1994). The blockbuster movie, Forrest Gump features "Rebel Rouser" in the key scene, "Run, Forrest, Run." Duane Eddy has been a sought-after sessions musician with many of the greats. And his last recording was on Mark Knopfler's Guitar Heroes (2024) which was #1 in the U.K.
Surprisingly shy and soft spoken
Warm hearted and friendly.
Duane Eddy made friends whereever he went and stayed in touch with those he met along the way. In recent years, he was known to call and talk for hours about a wide variety of topics. He loved being interviewed and there is quite a lot of material available in his own words, as a result.
"He's not only a legend, he's a great guy." ---Frank Acomb
He never forgot his own roots
"Corning is near and dear to my heart because it was where I was born, and it's one of the first questions people ask me." --- Duane Eddy, 2022, Steuben County Hall of Fame acceptance speech
Duane lived in the area until he was 13. First, in Corning on 2nd Street near Denison Park, then Bath, and then near Penn Yan before moving with his family to Arizona.
He was born in 1938 in the Corning Hospital and passed away earlier this year in Nashville at age 86.
His parents were from nearby Towanda, PA and Waverly, NY. He had family in Elmira, Horseheads, and Burdett. He still has family in Towanda.
What Duane Eddy would always say about his birthplace and where he grew up:
"It's one of the prettiest, sweetest areas I have ever seen. It's really beautiful with all its trees, hills and lakes." -- Duane Eddy, August 1962, interview in the Star-Gazette, when he performed at the Chemung County Fair, age 24
Where is Corning, New York?
Corning is home to Corning Incorporated, one of the world's leading innovators in material science, and the world-reknown Corning Museum of Glass. Niagara Falls is about 3 hours to the north. And the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame is in Cleveland about 4 hours to the west. New York City is about 5 hours south. Our regional airport is ELM about 15 minutes from downtown Corning and it has connections through Detroit and Orlando on Delta and Allegiant.
Map courtesy of Steuben County Conference & Visitors Bureau
What is the Corning Duane Eddy Circle?
Our goal is to build awareness of Duane Eddy being born in Corning, how great he was, and to establish something permanent to recognize him as an important Corningite. And have fun doing it.
Note: We began on April 4, 2024. Duane knew we had started the group and was enthusiastic, but sadly, he passed away not longer after. We chose the name Corning Duane Eddy Circle following in the footsteps of the long-established international Duane Eddy Circle based in the U.K. They have a popular Facebook group, website, publish a newsletter called Twangsville and hold an annual conference in May. Duane preferred the term circle for his fans and music lovers.
Wish list:
Please spread the word that Duane was born in Corning
Stories you may have about Duane
or how his music made a difference to you
Were you at the Chemung County Fair in 1962 and heard him and his band play?
Did you go to school with him in Bath or Penn Yan?
Memorabilia you may have that we could photograph (or possibly display), like album cover or sheet music
A signature Duane Eddy 6120 Gretsch guitar we could photograph (or possibly display)
Support for stickers, signs and other fun things
Ideas for how to permanently recognize Duane as a Corningite. Funding, if that's your thing.
Reach us at info@corningtwang.com
The Corning Duane Eddy Circle Organizers
2017 Duane with Frank Acomb and Rich Negri in Corning Centerway Square---(left to right) Past Corning Mayor Rich Negri, Duane Eddy, Frank Acomb, his host for the visit. Frank interviewed Duane over the years for his radio and TV show "Frankly Speaking" and they became friends. Frank advocated for Duane to be inducted into the Steuben County Hall of Fame, which he received in 2020. "He's not only a legend, he's a great guy." ---Frank Acomb, Corning Duane Eddy Circle
Steuben County Hall of Fame 2020 Watch Duane's acceptance speech here.
Duane with Dick and Marilyn Puccio in Anaheim, California--"We met Duane and his wife at the NAMM (National Association of Music Merchants) trade show a few years ago. He was at the Gretsch booth. When he saw Corning on our badge he gave us a big hug. He and his wife are very gracious people." -- Dick Puccio, Corning Duane Eddy Circle
Marich Music is a blend of their names: Mar-ich for Marilyn and Richard Puccio, retired owners. They opened in July 1974. Marich Music recently celebrated 50 years in business.
Linda Reimer, back in 1985, age 19 -- "I came to appreciate the founders of American rock and blues by a rather circuitous route - I first discovered The Beatles and other British Invasion groups; and in trying to learn all about the Beatles and their music, came across Eric Clapton and then listened to the music he created in the 60's and then, from reading what The Beatles and Clapton had to say about the musicians that influenced them started listening to American rock and blues masters like Chuck Berry, Duane Eddy, Muddy Waters, B. B. King etc. I do remember reading somewhere, sometime in the early 1980s, and I think it was in Guitar Player magazine, that Duane Eddy was born in Corning, and then consulting my trusty Rolling Stone Encyclopedia of Rock n' Roll that confirmed that fact - and thinking, wow, that is cool! I still own the same guitar seen in the photo and even the same guitar strap." -- Linda Reimer, librarian and local history enthusiast, Corning Duane Eddy Circle
Griffin Bates, our new Steuben County Historian--Griffin says that in history circles right now, what's important is a sense of place. --Griffin Bates, Corning Duane Eddy Circle
Ben Borkowski, current owner of Marich Music store on Market Street in Corning, musician and music teacher ---"Guitar is the new piano." -- Ben Borkowski, Corning Duane Eddy Circle
Barbara Blumer, artist and local author of the recent People Wall book ---"Duane Eddy is another great example of the interesting people who have lived, worked or played in the Corning area. Duane's story is fascinating. He was a true change maker in the history of music." --Barbara Blumer, Corning Duane Eddy Circle
A special thank you to the Southeast Steuben County Library in Corning, the Steuben County Historical Society in Bath, the Yates County History Center in Penn Yan, the Avoca Historical Society, the Chemung County Historical Society in Elmira and to the members of the community who shared their knowledge, memorabilia and stories.
For more indepth reading on the website we have these tabs ready for review: Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, Steuben County Hall of Fame, Playlist and Tributes.
Are you looking for a sticker? They come in black or white.
