Guitarist Duane Eddy could really twang his guitar in an arousing, YAHOO! style. His biggest hit, one of the hits of the generation of the 50s teens, was "Rebel Rouser." No idea what kind of rebel he had in mind, maybe just a trouble-making teen protesting against something. I always associated the word "rebel" with the Confederacy, but it didn't necessarily have a Southern feel to it. It was the kind of tune that if it was played at a dance, it attracted everyone to the dance floor, even the wall-flowers would jump in. It was a song that jiggled the emotion to jump right in.
Why wasn't Eddy more popular? Strongly-twanging guitars were popular in the late 50s and going into the early 60s. The Ventures really had several hits. To me, they were the rock musicians of my freshman year at WAZZU. Ventures songs were played in the Student Union building.
As I look back on the music of that era, electric guitars seemed to take over. The basic box string guitars, used by the Kingston Trio and folk musicians, faded away. It came back with the Beatles, which I enjoy listening to still. It just seems more natural to have a natural guitar music instead of electronic vibes. Natural music is better.