|
Donald's Encyclopedia of Popular MusicA B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y ZWRAY, Link(b Frederick Lincoln Wray Jr, 2 May 1927, Dunn NC; d 5 November 2005, Copenhagen, Denmark) Guitarist, composer, badleader. According to obituaries he was three-quarters Shawnee Indian. He served in Korea; played with brothers Vernon and Doug as Lucky Wray and the Palomino Ranch Hands. TB caused him to lose a lung '55, but he continued in music, recording as Lucky Wray for Starday in 1956. On disc jockey Milt Grant's TV show he was asked to play an instrumental and came up with 'Rumble', one of the most influential of rock'n'roll records. He later said that he was too slow to be a guitar wizard, and that he was looking for his own sound. Recording ‘Rumble' he punched a hole in an amplifier speaker with a pencil, inventing fuzz-tone; he was also credited with inventing the power chord, playing fifths (two notes five notes apart), with the lower note often played an octave above. The slow, menacing ‘Rumble' (by Link Wray and his Ray Men) reached the top 20 on Cadence in 1958 and was banned from NYC radio because of gang warfare connotations. On the flip side 'The Swag' was another gloriously simple rock riff, at a faster tempo; both list Grant and Wray as co-writers, as does 'Raw-Hide', a top 25 hit on Epic the next year (he switched labels because Cadence boss Archie Bleyer wanted him to go country, emulating Bleyer's biggest act, the Everly Brothers). A minor hit 'Jack The Ripper' appeared on Swan in 1963. He played in bars and recorded for pleasure at home; home-made tapes were released in 1971 as Link Wray, while guitarists including Jeff Beck, Pete Townshend, Marc Bolan, Bob Dylan, Dave Davies etc. named him as an influence. There were compilations on Ace and Rhino; There's Good Rockin' Tonight on Red Lightnin' and Rock'n'Roll Rumble on Charly UK were the same LP; Link Wray And The Raymen on Legacy has Epic tracks. Growling Guitar has '60s tracks from the Vermillion label, combined with Live In '85 (made at Scandinavian concerts) on Big Beat UK, Chiswick USA. Later LPs included Beans And Fatback '73, Bullshot '79 on Charisma, Live At The Paradiso '80 (once on Magnum Force in UK). Compilation Guitar Preacher on Polydor included guests David Bromberg, Jerry Garcia and Commander Cody; Shadowman '97 on Ace was a new album. Like so many American musicians, he was appreciated more overseas than at home; he moved to Denmark in the late 1970s. |