He was a progenitor of what we call today fusion world music. Of course, no music sounding remotely like his was ever played or heard in the Wild West, but at the same time his mix of surf and beat sounds, bluegrass, gypsy jazz, Mex folklore and European classicism has overwritten our collective memory storage of what we believe "Western" music to be. Not bad as a lasting imprint.
Quentin Tarantino will no doubt raise a glass.
And I always thought that Ritchie B and Jon L owed more than a little (just listen to the drum sound and the choir) to Ennio M on this 1969 track here, which became a radio staple in Deutschland ...
And it's not like he wasn't active in his later years, this song he did with Morrissey was beautiful:
