Link Wray Is Awesome

One of my favorite things about following the doings of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame is that each year when the nominees are revealed, I try and listen to and learn about any nominee that I am not all that familiar with. Each year there is at least one whom I investigate and then become a fan of their work. This year it is Link Wray. With Wray, as with most of these artists I am talking about, I am generally familiar with who they are and I’ve probably heard some hits. But I don’t really know their music well.

Link Wray was an interesting dude. He is one of the few really important pre-late 60’s guitar heroes who still needs to be inducted (Dick Dale is another). He was way out there, using his native American heritage to add a bit of mystery to his persona. He may or may not have invented it, but Wray is widely credited with unleashing the power chord upon the world. For this alone he was a pioneer in the field. If you have ever played rock on a guitar, you owe a debt to Link Wray, as power chords are part of the basic vocabulary of rock guitar playing. His most lasting influence lies with his string of raw instrumental hits from the late 50’s and early 60’s. Listen to his stuff, and it is absolutely primal. His biggest song, 1958’s “Rumble,” was banned in many parts of the country for awhile. Now, that is not that unusual for that era, but I think what makes this situation wholly unique is the fact that “Rumble” is a freakin’ instrumental! Most banned songs are banned or censored due to lyrical content. But Wray’s guitar sound was so menacing that some radio stations felt that it alone could corrupt the youth.


ABOVE: "Rumble." Apparently this song is so sinister that if the youth of America hears it they will become instantly corrupted.


ABOVE: Here is "Deuces Wild," one of his tunes that has a killer rhythm to it.

Perhaps this is a sign that I am getting old and my memory is fading. I was searching on iTunes for a good Link Wray compilation to download, and when I found what looked like the best one, I noticed that the album cover looked familiar. So before I hit “purchase,” I went down to my CD collection (now mostly in storage under the stairs) and dug through and found the disc. I had apparently bought it a couple of years back. Obviously it hadn’t made much of an impression on me. I loaded it all onto my iPod and have not been able to stop listening to it. It is so great, so primal, so kickass. Track after track of mesmerizing rhythms from his Wraymen and killer grooves and riffs and solos from Link himself. I cannot recommend it strongly enough, it is an essential building block in rock and roll’s foundation.

ABOVE: Go get Rumble! The Best of Link Wray ***** right now.

Link had an interesting career detour in the early 70’s when he decided to go all Americana/Band/JJ Cale on us and recorded some highly regarded but hard to find records. The best of the lot is Link Wray from 1971. I highly recommend this as well, although it is miles away from “Rumble” or “Jack the Ripper.” He converted a chicken coop into a primitive three track recording studio and found an earthy sound that would make the likes of Jack White or The Black Keys salivate. It is such a great record (the best way to get it is to download it from Amazon for about $10).

ABOVE: Link Wray (1971) **** is worth the search.

I may have to revise my Rockhall wishlist for this class, because I probably need to make room for Link. With the large amount of older guitar players that are inductees and voters, he’s probably got more of a shot that I originally gave him as well.

Taking the Rockhall’s criteria:

Influence: 8/10…He was one of those touchstone early guitarists who was a big influence on the late 60’s generation of guitarists. Pete Townshend once said that he first picked up a guitar because of “Rumble.”

Innovation: 9/10…Anytime an artist introduces a key musical component to the basic rock vocabulary, that is going to earn high innovation marks. The power chord for rock guitar is one of the most basic and essential.

Quality of work: 8/10…This stuff still sounds awesome and rocks hard (I was playing it in my class the other day while the students were working on an assignment, and you could see the heads bobbing and feet tapping). Add his fantastic early 70’s work that is completely different, and you’ve got an impressive and eclectic body of work indeed.

Rockhall credentials: 8/10 (averaging Influence, Innovation, Quality). He should be in.