It was posted Saturday morning on the message board that Link Wray passed away sometime last week at the age of 76 in Copenhagen, Denmark, where he had been living for the past two decades. Link is one of rock’n'roll’s all-time greatest guitarists, having been credited with inventing the power chord and influencing countless musicians to pick up and play the guitar. The instrumental bandwagon that dominated rock’n'roll in the late ’50s and early ’60s was led by Duane Eddy and Link Wray. The two were almost opposite ends of the rock guitar spectrum—Duane becoming the only matinee idol of the instrumental era, launching a new hit onto the charts every other month up through late 1963; Link representing the lunatic fringe that churches and PTAs warned parents about. In 1958, his song “Rumble” was banned in several radio markets for being suggestive and promoting juvenile delinquency, which is a pretty impressive feat for an instrumental record. Despite this, the song reached #16 on the charts that year and was his biggest hit ever. Rolling Stone and Guitar World magazines included Wray in their lists of the 100 greatest guitarists of all time, yet he still has not been inducted into the so-called Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (the only two instrumental acts that have been are Duane Eddy and Booker T. and The MG’s). He is, however, a proud member of the Rockabilly Hall of Fame.

According to his official website, Link died on Saturday November 5th of heart failure. He was buried on Friday the 17th.

I will be spinning two solid hours of Link Wray tonight on the 10th Anniversary Episode of The Wayback Machine. I invite you all to tune in live on the Web by going to KDHX.org at 8pm Central Time. In the meantime, please enjoy these MP3s and raise your glass to Frederick Lincoln Wray, Jr.

Link Wray – Rumble (MP3)
Link Wray – Jack the Ripper (MP3)
Link Wray – Ain’t That Lovin’ You Baby (MP3)

More Link Links:
Link Wray – The legend’s official website
Wray’s Shack – Fan site with an online petition to get Link elected into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
Link Wray at the Rockabilly Hall of Fame – They know what’s goin’ on.
Link Wray at Wikipedia.org

Posted by kopper in GaragePunk.com News | 3 Comments »