Duane Eddy – Forty Miles Of Bad Road

I made a playlist of instrumentals and took recommended ones from the 1950s. I think the heyday of instrumentals was the fifties and sixties. Here is one that caught my ear… Forty Miles Of Bad Road

I have a soft spot for that twangy reverb guitar. Eddy played a major role in shaping the surf rock genre and influenced many following guitarists. The song peaked at #11 in the UK, #4 in Canada, and #9 on the Billboard 100 in 1959. This song was written by Duane Eddy and Al Casey. The song was on the compilation album $1,000,000 Worth of Twang. Damn, that is a great name for an album! Not to mention the title of the song as well.

The phrase was apparently inspired by a comment overheard by Duane Eddy and his producer Lee Hazlewood while in line at a movie theater. They heard two guys talking about one of their blind dates. He said she looked like 40 miles of bad road. Of course, they looked at each other and said that has to be the title of our new song.

This (and many of his songs) was recorded in a Phoenix studio which had an echo chamber that was originally a large water tank. A single speaker was placed at one end of the tank, the microphone at the other, and the guitar was piped in there. The title was referenced in a REM song called Crush With Eyeliner…instead of 40 miles…”She’s Three Miles of Bad Road.”

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Author: Badfinger (Max)

Power Pop fan, Baseball, Beatles, Alternative music, old movies, and tv show fan. Also anything to do with pop culture in the 60s and 70s... I'm also a songwriter, bass and guitar player. Not the slightest bit interested in politics at all.

42 thoughts on “Duane Eddy – Forty Miles Of Bad Road”

  3. Pingback: Duane Eddy – Forty Miles Of Bad Road – MobsterTiger

  4. My brother & I were/are ‘B-52’ fans & their late great guitarist based his sound on the Duane Eddy/Surfer guitar sound he’s almost like Les Paul in the fact that so many musicians were influenced by his sound decades after his heyday.

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    1. The B-52’s were fun…they were different. I can’t listen to them an entire day but I like hearing them every once in a while to break things up…like Devo. Now that you mentioned it Carl…I agree…he did mimic that sound. Dude…you should be writing about pop culture as well!

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      1. Lol…you’re so kind Max! I believe in staying in one’s lane & I still believe that one of these days I’ll be covering a beat for a magazine or newspaper in sports. I’m that stubborn. But, January is the last month that I’ll be pursuing that & then I’ll be trying to go in another direction & possibly doing a YouTube show. Keep writing that great content Max!

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      3. Wow that’s a great compliment Max…I’ve dealt with a lot of Managing Editors & Sports Editors since I’ve been angling to get back into the sports media & have been close (got hired by 1 paper as their Sports Editor but couldn’t leave my current situation in time with a positive resolution for our Mother). Again, there are some possibilities…we’ll see. Thanks for the kind words & I will work with ya’ Max when the time is right for me. Thanks man.

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      4. Ok…I’m anxious to help on the youtube stuff…I’ve never done it but I want to learn so we will both benefit…just tell me when you are ready.

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      5. Max! Great stuff man & I have a story about Kirk Gibson’s homer that day when I was still living in Oakland when that classic game 1 happened in ’88. Not appropriate for this forum. Maybe in a private setting one day. This series is on it’s way to becoming a classic. Yankees turn tonight.

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      6. Ok man…looking forward to the story one day. I was in my then fiance’s grandmother’s house and when Gibson came to bat….I was thinking just push it in the outfield…I did NOT expect that.

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      9. Oh ya’…I just put in for a reporter ‘gig’ with the newspaper in Fayetville (Arkansas). My philosophy is since I don’t have the connections that I once did I find one of the editors email address & send them a ‘hello’ email. It has worked for the 2 potentials that I have pending but for the most part they ignore me or appease me with the ‘we are still gathering applicants’ email…lol. Anyway, I can’t wait to watch game 2…Yamamoto vs Rodon. Have a positive day Max.

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    1. I had never heard this before Randy. The title of course drew me in but Eddy’s tone and slinky sound…is just so cool. He was like the cool guy in the back of the class.

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    1. I never heard this before until my break and I was painting (I’m STILL painting) and had to have music. I love these 50s instrumentals.
      I call it a slinky sound….it’s like elastic.

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    2. I love the look of that! It reminded me of something that I own.
      I went to a yardsale and a guy had a new amp he wanted a fortune for and a 1948 Gibson guitar/microphone/harp amp. It looked a lot like what you had…10 bucks…one of the best bargains I’ve had. It sounds great.

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  11. Ah, hometown hero. Yes, Duane Eddy was indeed born in my hometown of Corning, NY. From everything I’ve read he never lived here, but he was born here. Such an influential guy. John Entwisle always listed him as a major influence on his bass sound.

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    1. That took me by surprise as well as far as REM…I would have NEVER connected those two. So many were influenced by him….plus Dave…that title is just awesome.

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    1. I have one coming tomorrow John…another one I never heard of….this time though….sax. Let me dig the playlist up and I’ll publish it tomorrow with the instrumental. It’s on my phone.

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