Rock'n'roll pioneer Link Wray dead

[Dave]

Sad news. "Rumble" is a must for any rock & roll collection. He's credited as being the godfather of the power chord.


Rock'n'roll pioneer Link Wray dead at 76

Tue Nov 22,12:30 PM ET

COPENHAGEN (AFP) - Link Wray, the legendary US guitarist who was a pioneering if often under-appreciated figure in rock'n'roll, has died aged 76 at his home in Copenhagen, according to his official website.
Wray, who had lived in the city since 1980 after marrying a Danish woman, was once named by Rolling Stone magazine as one of the 100 greatest guitarists of all time.

He died on November 5 and a private funeral was held for him on November 18 at the Christians Kirke in Copenhagen, the website said.

Originally a rockabilly musician, Wray was best known for his early experiments in feedback and distortion, in particular on his major hit, the 1958 instrumental classic "Rumble".

The track was banned by several radio stations after it was perceived as inciting violence -- quite a feat for a song with no lyrics.

Wray was the first musician to experiment with sounds that would pave the way for the birth of rock'n'roll and punk, and was a source of inspiration for many musicians, including Pete Townshend of The Who.

In liner notes for a 1974 Wray album, Townshend is quoted as saying: "He is the king; if it hadn't been for Link Wray and 'Rumble', I would have never picked up a guitar."

Born Frederick Lincoln Wray Jr on May 2, 1929 in Dunn, North Carolina, to Shawnee Native American parents, Wray learned to play the slide guitar aged eight from a black player named Hambone who was travelling with the Barnum and Bailey circus.

With his black leather jacket, Wray developed a tough guy image and became an idol for rebellious American youth.

Wray's hit career was brief, and for decades his music was neglected, although interest was revived when his songs were featured in modern Hollywood films such as "Pulp Fiction" and "Independence Day".

He moved to Denmark in 1980 to live with a then-student, Olive Julie Povlsen. The couple had one child, Oliver Christian Wray, born in 1983.

[waukena]

I actually have a vinyl copy of Rumble on a great 50's compilation from 1960...excellent stuff

Link Wray is probably best known to people as the man who pretty much put Robert Gordon on the rockabilly map in 1977...I saw these two in 78 or 79 and it was tremendous...

<img src="http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y57/waukena/rgordon7.jpg" alt="Image hosted by Photobucket.com">

he was a huge influence and will be missed...

[2Nu]

Seems that musicians of his stature and talent are seldom acknowledged nor fully recognized until they have passed on...[V]

<IMG SRC="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v395/richp62/Icons%20Avatars/inot.gif">

[Ape Module]

In addition to New Wave, I also have a big interest in 60s garage rock, 50s rockinroll and rockabilly, and blues, country and jazz of the 1920s and 1930s.

I think of Link as more rock than 'billy, but I've been a huge fan of his for years. There are 2 great double-CD compilations of his stuff-- "Mr. Guitar" on the great Norton Records label and "Slinky!" which I think is on Epic.

Cool Link facts: he is credited (by some) with the invention of distortion. The story is he wanted a more raw, electric sound so he punctured the speaker cones on his amplifier with a pencil. Some also credit him with the first use of feedback, in live gigs.

The above stories may be apocryphal, or Link might not have been the first to try these things, but he is the only person I know of to have an [i]instrumental[/i] track ("Rumble") banned from the radio for being too racy and sexy.

Cool as hell.

He should be remembered up there with the likes of Elvis, Bo Diddley, Chuck Berry, Little Richard and Jerry Lee Lewis, but we probably won't get that lucky.

R.I.P., Link.

[Ape Module]

Whoops. That's what I get for not reading the complete first post!

Disregard my blabbin'!