Fred Lincoln "Link" Wray Jr. (May 2, 1929 – November 5, 2005) was an American guitarist, songwriter, and vocalist who became popular in the late 1950s. His 1958 instrumental single "Rumble", reached the top 20 in the United States; and was one of the earliest songs in rock music to utilize distortion and tremolo.
Link Wray | |
|---|---|
 Wray performing in July 2005 | |
| Background information | |
| Birth name | Fred Lincoln Wray Jr. |
| Born | May 2, 1929 Dunn, North Carolina, U.S. |
| Origin | Portsmouth, Virginia, U.S. |
| Died | November 5, 2005 (aged 76) Copenhagen, Denmark |
| Genres | |
| Occupations |
|
| Instruments |
|
| Years active | 1955–2005 |
| Website | www |
Rolling Stone ranked Wray at No. 45 on its list of the 100 greatest guitarists of all time.[1] He received two nominations for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, prior to being inducted in the Musical Influence category in 2023.[2][3]
Early life
editWray was born on May 2, 1929, in Dunn, North Carolina, to Fred Lincoln Wray Sr. and Lillian Mae (née Coats), whom her son identified as being of Shawnee descent.[4][5][6] He recalled living in very harsh conditions during childhood, in mud huts, without electricity or heating, going to school barefoot, barely clothed.[7] He recounted that his family experienced discrimination, including times when they had to hide from the Ku Klux Klan.[8][9] Wray later said: "The cops, the sheriff, the drugstore owner—they were all Ku Klux Klan. They put the masks on and, if you did something wrong, they'd tie you to a tree and whip you or kill you."[8] His family listed themselves as White on census records. Three songs Wray performed during his career were named for Indigenous peoples: "Shawnee", "Apache", and "Comanche".
Wray lived with his family in Portsmouth, Virginia from 1942 until 1955. He and his brothers Ray and Doug (born July 4, 1933 – died April 29, 1984) drove cabs during the day while working at night clubs in the Portsmouth and Norfolk, Virginia area. Wray's first bands, The Lucky Wray Band and The Palomino Ranch Gang, formed in Portsmouth and included brothers Ray, Doug, and Vernon (born January 7, 1924 – died March 26, 1979) and two other musicians, Dixie Neal and Shorty Horton.[10][11]
Wray served in the U.S. Army during the Korean War (1950–53). He contracted tuberculosis, which hospitalized him for a year. His stay concluded with the removal of a lung, which doctors predicted would mean he would never be able to sing again.[12]
Career
editBuilding on the distorted electric guitar sound of early records, Wray's first hit was the 1958 instrumental "Rumble". The record was first released on Cadence Records (catalog number 1347) as by "Link Wray & His Ray Men". "Rumble" was banned in New York and Boston for fear that it would incite teenage gang violence, "rumble" being slang for a gang fight.[13]
Before, during, and after his stints with major labels Epic and Swan, Wray released 45s under many names. Tiring of the corporate music machine, he began recording albums using a three-track studio he converted from an outbuilding on his brother's property that his father used to raise chickens, in Accokeek, Maryland. He wrote and recorded the LP Link Wray (1971), on which he wrote about his frustrations. The Neville Brothers have recorded two tracks from it, "Fallin' Rain" and "Fire and Brimstone".[12]
While living in the San Francisco Bay Area in the early 1970s, Wray was introduced to Quicksilver Messenger Service guitarist John Cipollina by bassist James "Hutch" Hutchinson.[14] He subsequently formed a band initially featuring special guest Cipollina along with the rhythm section from Cipollina's band Copperhead, bassist Hutch Hutchinson, and drummer David Weber. They opened for the band Lighthouse at the Whisky a Go Go in Los Angeles from May 15–19, 1974.[15] He later did numerous concerts and radio broadcasts in the Bay Area, including at KSAN and at promoter Bill Graham's Winterland Ballroom venue, with Les Lizama later replacing Hutchinson on bass.[16] He toured and recorded two albums with retro-rockabilly artist Robert Gordon in the late 1970s.[17] The 1980s to the present day saw a large number of reissues as well as new material. One member of his band in the 1980s, session drummer Anton Fig, later became drummer in the CBS Orchestra on the Late Show with David Letterman. In 1994, he played on four songs of the album Chatterton by French rocker Alain Bashung.[18] He went on to release two albums of new music: Shadowman (1997) and Barbed Wire (2000).
In November 2017, Easy Eye Records announced the future release of two recently discovered recordings, "Son of Rumble", presumably a follow-up to 1958's "Rumble", and "Whole Lotta Talking", recorded in 1970. The recordings were issued as a 45rpm single in April 2018.[19][20] Easy Eye released another 45rpm single of newly discovered/unreleased material for RSD 2019, "Vernon's Diamond" b/w "My Brother, My Son". "Vernon's Diamond" was recorded circa 1958-59 and is an early version of "Ace of Spades", and "My Brother, My Son" was recorded at the same sessions as "Whole Lotta Talking" in 1970. [citation needed]
Personal life and death
edit
Wray's first three marriages, to Elizabeth Canady Wray, Ethel Tidwell Wray, and Sharon Cole Wray, produced eight children. In the early 1980s, Wray relocated to Denmark and married Olive Poulsen, who became his manager.[21]
Wray died of heart failure at his home in Copenhagen, on November 5, 2005, at the age of 76.[22] He was survived by his nine children, 24 grandchildren, and two great-grandchildren.[21] Wray was cremated, and his ashes were buried in the crypt of the Christian's Church, Copenhagen.[23]
Musical style and influence
editLink Wray's 1950s recordings "straddled country and rockabilly".[24] He later performed surf influenced garage rock in the 1960s, swamp rock and country rock in the early 1970s and hard rock in the late 1970s and onward.[25]
Wray is credited with inventing the power chord.[24] According to AllMusic's Cub Koda, Wray's instrumental recordings starting with "Rumble" through his Swan singles in the early 1960s laid the blueprints for "heavy metal, thrash, you name it."[24] "Rumble" facilitated the emergence of "punk and heavy rock", according to Jeremy Simmonds.[26]
Wray has influenced a wide range of artists. Jimmy Page described Link Wray as having a "real rebel attitude" and credited Wray in the documentary It Might Get Loud as a major influence in his early career. According to Rolling Stone, Pete Townshend of The Who once said, "If it hadn't been for Link Wray and 'Rumble,' I never would have picked up a guitar."[1] Mark E. Smith of The Fall wrote in his autobiography: "The only people I ever really looked up to were Link Wray and Iggy Pop... Guys like [Wray] are very special to me."[27] Iggy Pop[28] and Neil Young[29] have also cited Wray as an influence on their work.
Bob Dylan refers to Wray in his song "Sign Language", which he recorded as a duet with Eric Clapton in 1975: "Link Wray was playin' on a juke box I was payin'/ for the words I was saying, so misunderstood/he didn't do me no good"[30] Both Dylan and Bruce Springsteen performed Wray's tune "Rumble" in concert as a tribute to the influential musician upon his 2005 death.[31] In 2007, musician Steven Van Zandt inducted Link Wray into the Native American Music Hall of Fame with a tribute performance by his grandson Chris Webb and Native artist Gary Small.
Discography
editSingles
edit| Release date | A-side | B-side | Label | Catalog number | US |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| March 1958 | "Rumble" | "The Swag" | Cadence | 1347 | 16 |
| January 1959 | "Raw-Hide" | "Dixie-Doodle" | Epic | 5-9300 | 23 |
| June 1959 | "Comanche" | "Lillian" | Epic | 5-9321 | |
| October 1959 | "Slinky" | "Rendezvous" | Epic | 5-9343 | |
| February 1960 | "Trail of the Lonesome Pine" | "Golden Strings" (Based on a Chopin etude) | Epic | 5-9361 | |
| 1960 | "Roughshod" [released as by Ray Vernon & The Raymen] | "Vendetta" [released as by Ray Vernon & The Raymen] | Scottie | 1320 | |
| October 1960 | "Ain't That Lovin' You Babe" | "Mary Ann" | Epic | 5-9419 | |
| July 1961 | "Jack The Ripper" | "The Stranger" | Rumble | 1000 | |
| August 1961 | "El Toro" | "Tijuana" | Epic | 5-9454 | |
| November 1961 | "Evil Angel" [A-side by Ray Vernon] | "Danger One Way Love" [B-side by Ray Vernon with Link Wray & His Raymen] | Rumble | 1349 | |
| April 1962 | "Poppin' Popeye" | "Big City Stomp" | Trans Atlas | M-687 | |
| October 1962 | "Hold It" [released as by Ray Vernon & The Raymen] | "Big City After Dark" [released as by Ray Vernon & The Raymen] | Mala | 456 | |
| January 1963 | "Dancing Party" | "There's a Hole in the Middle of the Moon" | Mala | 458 | |
| February 1963 | "Hambone" [A-side by Red Saunders & His Orchestra with Dolores Hawkins & The Hambone Kids] | "Rumble Mambo" [B-side by Link Wray & The Wraymen] | OKeh | 4-7166 | |
| March 1963 | "Jack The Ripper" [reissue] | "The Black Widow" | Swan | S-4137 | 64 |
| September 1963 | "Week End" | "Turnpike U.S.A." | Swan | S-4154 | |
| November 1963 | "The Sweeper" | "Run Chicken Run" | Swan | S-4163 | |
| February 1964 | "The Shadow Knows" | "My Alberta" | Swan | S-4171 | |
| July 1964 | "Deuces Wild" | "Summer Dream" | Swan | S-4187 | |
| February 1965 | "Good Rockin' Tonight" | "I'll Do Anything For You" | Swan | S-4201 | |
| April 1965 | "I'm Branded" | "Hang On" | Swan | S-4211 | |
| never released/withdrawn from schedule (originally set for mid–1965) | "Please Please Me" | "Rumble '65" | Swan | S-4221 | |
| July 1965 | "Baby, What'cha Want Me" | "Walkin' Down the Street Called Love" | Diamond | D-186 | |
| October 1965 | "Girl from the North Country" | "You Hurt Me So" | Swan | S-4232 | |
| December 1965 | "Ace of Spades" | "The Fuzz" | Swan | S-4239 | |
| February 1966 | "Batman Theme" (with Bobby Howard) | "Alone" | Swan | S-4244 | |
| July 1966 | "Hidden Charms" | "Ace of Spades" [alternate version] | Swan | S-4261 | |
| October 1966 | "Let the Good Times Roll" (with Kathy Lynn) | "Soul Train" | Swan | S-4273 | |
| 1967 | "Jack The Ripper" [reissue] | "I'll Do Anything For You" [reissue] | Swan | S-4284 | |
| 1968 | "Rumble '68" | "Blow Your Mind" | Heavy | H-101 | |
| 1969 | "Rumble–69" | "Mind Blower" | Mr. G (an imprint of Audio Fidelity) | G-820 | |
| July 1971 | "Fire and Brimstone" | "Juke Box Mama" | Polydor | PD-14084 | |
| October 1971 | "Fallin' Rain" | "Juke Box Mama" | Polydor | PD-14096 | |
| 1973 | "Shine the Light" | "Lawdy Miss Clawdy" | Polydor | PD-14188 | |
| 1973 | "I'm So Glad, I'm So Proud" | "Shawnee Tribe" | Virgin [UK] | VS-103 | |
| 1974 | "I Got To Ramble" (Dedicated to the memory of Duane Allman) | "She's That Kind of Woman" | Polydor | PD-14256 | |
| 1974 | "It Was a Bad Scene" | "Backwoods Preacher Man" | Polydor [UK] | 2066 366 | |
| 1975 | "I Know You're Leaving Me Now" | "Quicksand" | Virgin [UK] | VS-142 | |
| June 1979 | "It's All Over Now, Baby Blue" | "Just That Kind" | Charisma [UK] | CB-333 | |
| April 2018 | "Son of Rumble" | "Whole Lotta Talking" | Easy Eye | 566577-7 | |
| April 2019 | "Vernon's Diamond" | "My Brother, My Son" | Easy Eye Records | EES-009 |
Wray was a featured collaborator on Robert Gordon's 1977 single "Red Hot" (Private Stock 45–156). The single peaked at No. 83 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.[33]
Albums
edit| Release date | Title | Label | Catalog Number |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1960 US | Link Wray & The Wraymen | Epic | LN 3661 |
| 1962 US | Great Guitar Hits by Link Wray and His Raymen | Vermillion | LP-1924 |
| 1963 US | Jack the Ripper | Swan | S-LP 510 |
| 1964 US | Link Wray Sings and Plays Guitar | Vermillion | LP-1925 |
| 1969 US | Yesterday – Today | Record Factory | LP-1929 |
| 1971 US | Link Wray | Polydor | PD-24-4064 |
| 1971 US | Mordicai Jones (with Bobby Howard) | Polydor | PD-5010 |
| 1973 US | Beans and Fatback (rec. 1971) | Virgin | V-2006 |
| 1973 US | Be What You Want To | Polydor | PD-5047 |
| 1974 US | The Link Wray Rumble | Polydor | PD-6025 |
| 1974 US | Listen to the Voices That Want to Be Free (with Joey Welz; rec. 1969–70) [reissued in 2013 as Rumble & Roll on Rokarola/Music Avenue 250346] | Music City | MCR-5003 |
| 1975 US | Stuck in Gear | Virgin | V-2050 |
| 1979 US | Bullshot | Visa/Passport/Gem | VISA 7009 |
| 1980 US | Live at the Paradiso [at the Paradiso, Amsterdam] | Visa/Passport/Gem | VISA 7010 |
| 1985 UK | Live in '85 | Big Beat | WIK 42; CDWIK 972 |
| 1989 DE | Born to Be Wild: Live in the U.S.A. 1987 | Line | LICD 9.00690 |
| 1989 UK | Rumble Man | Ace | CH 266 |
| 1990 UK | Apache | Ace | CH 286; CDCHD 931 |
| 1990 UK | Wild Side of the City Lights | Ace | CH 296; CDCHD 931 |
| 1993 DK | Indian Child | Epic/Sony Music | EPC 473100 2 |
| 1997 US | Shadowman | Hip-O/UMe | HIPD-40069 |
| 1997 US | Walking Down a Street Called Love [live] | Cult Music/Cleopatra | CLP-9989 |
| 2000 UK | Barbed Wire | Ace | CDCHD 770 |
| 2019 UK | Link Sings Elvis [10" LP] | Ace | 10CHD 1553 |
Compilations
edit| Release date | Title | Label | Catalog Number |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1978 UK | Link Wray: Early Recordings | Chiswick/Ace | CH 6; CDCHD 1460 |
| 1982 UK | Good Rockin' Tonight | Chiswick/Ace | CH 69; CDCHD 1460 |
| 1987 UK | Growling Guitar | Big Beat | WIK 65; CDWIK 972 |
| 1989 UK | The Original Rumble: Plus 22 Other Storming Guitar Instrumentals | Ace | CDCH 924 |
| 1989 UK | The Swan Demos '64 [reissued in 2005 as Law of the Jungle! The Swan Demos '64 on Sundazed SC-6221] | Hangman | HANG-31 UP |
| 1990 UK | Jack The Ripper [reissued in 1994 on Forevermore FVR-5002; and again in 2005 on Sundazed LP-5192] | Hangman | HANG-33 UP |
| 1990 US | Hillbilly Wolf: Missing Links Vol. 1 | Norton | ED 210 |
| 1990 US | Big City After Dark: Missing Links Vol. 2 | Norton | ED 211 |
| 1990 US | Some Kinda Nut: Missing Links Vol. 3 | Norton | ED 212 |
| 1992 US | Walkin' With Link | Epic/Legacy | EK 47904 |
| 1993 US | Rumble! The Best of Link Wray | Rhino | R2 71222 |
| 1995 US | Guitar Preacher: The Polydor Years [2CD] | Chronicles/Polydor | 527 717 |
| 1995 US | Mr. Guitar: Original Swan Recordings [2CD] | Norton | CED 242 |
| 1997 US | Streets of Chicago: Missing Links Volume 4 | Norton | ED 253 |
| 1997 UK | Robert Gordon with Link Wray / Fresh Fish Special [2-LP-on-1-CD; with extra bonus track: "Endless Sleep"] | Ace | CDCHD 656 |
| 1997 UK | The Swan Singles Collection 1963–1967 [reissued in 2004 on Sundazed LP-5178] | Rollercoaster | RCCD 3011 |
| 2002 US | Slinky! The Epic Sessions '58–'61 [2CD] | Sundazed | SC-11098 |
| 2002 UK | Law of the Jungle | Ace | CDCHD 837 |
| 2004 UK | "They're Outta Here", Says Archie [first issue of the unreleased 1958 Cadence album, rejected by label boss Archie Bleyer] | Rollercoaster | RCCD 3032 |
| 2006 US | White Lightning: Lost Cadence Sessions '58 | Sundazed | SC-11137 |
| 2007 UK | King of the Wild Guitar | Ace | CDCHD 1143 |
| 2007 UK | The Pathway Sessions (includes the albums: Apache, Wild Side of the City Lights) | Ace | CDCHD 1154 |
| 2015 UK | 3-Track Shack [2CD] (includes the albums: Link Wray, Mordicai Jones, Beans and Fatback) | Ace | CDCH2 1451 |
With Robert Gordon
edit| Release date | Title | Label | Number |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1977 US | Robert Gordon with Link Wray | Private Stock; 1979 reissue: RCA Victor; 1997 CD reissue: One Way; 2015 CD reissue: Culture Factory | PS 2030; AFL1-3296; OW-34493; 850703003880 |
| 1978 US | Fresh Fish Special | Private Stock; 1979 reissue: RCA Victor; 1997 CD reissue: One Way; 2015 CD reissue: Culture Factory | PS 7008; AFL1-3299; OW-34491; 850703003873 |
| 2014 US | Robert Gordon / Link Wray: Cleveland '78 [live] | Rock-A-Billy/Cleopatra | CLP-CD-1952 |
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ a b "100 Greatest Guitarists - 45. Link Wray". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 2021-12-06.
- ^ "Nirvana, Kiss, Hall and Oates Nominated for Rock and Roll Hall of Fame" Archived September 2, 2016, at the Wayback Machine. Rolling Stone. October 16, 2013; retrieved October 16, 2013.
- ^ "Kate Bush, Missy Elliott, and Rage Against the Machine Inducted Into Rock & Roll Hall of Fame's Class of 2023". pitchfork.com. 3 May 2023. Retrieved 2023-05-03.
- ^ Flowers, Sonya (2008). ""Rumble"—Link Wray (1958)" (PDF). Library of Congress. Washington, DC. Retrieved 22 November 2024.
Their mother, Lillian, was of Shawnee descent, and became affectionately known as Memaw.
- ^ Bengal, Rebecca (2023). "Link Wray & the Chord Heard 'Round the World". Our State. Retrieved 22 November 2024.
- ^ "Ancestry of Link Wray". Wargs.com. Retrieved 2012-08-24.
- ^ "Link Wray - MEGAMIX - 16 03 1994". YouTube.
- ^ a b Raidt, Dana (6 February 2019). "Link Wray Grew Up Hiding from the KKK in Rural North Carolina. Over the Course of His Career, He Refused to Be Erased". Indyweek.com. Archived from the original on 2021-09-24. Retrieved 19 October 2021.
- ^ Cartwright, Garth. "Link Wray". The Guardian. Retrieved 2 May 2016.
- ^ "Musician with Virginia roots "Rumbles" for an induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame". 19 October 2017.
- ^ "New Biography Covers Rock 'n' Roll Guitarist Link Wray | Coastal Virginia Magazine". 21 June 2019.
- ^ a b Meadows, Dick (August 28, 1971). "Link: Doing it his Way". Sounds. Spotlight Publications. p. 8.
- ^ ""Rumble" Riles Censors". Pophistorydig.com. Retrieved 1 April 2019.
- ^ "The Leading Bands Site on the Net". BayAreaBands.com. Retrieved 2013-08-09.
- ^ "Whisky A-Go-Go Show List 1971-1975". Chickenona unicycle.com. Retrieved June 14, 2017.
- ^ "Link Wray". wolfgangsvault.com. Archived from the original on 2012-06-25. Retrieved 2012-08-24.
- ^ Prown, Pete & Newquist, HP (1997). Legends of Rock Guitar: The Essential Reference of Rock's Greatest Guitarists, p. 25. Hal Leonard Corporation.
- ^ Chatterton (album booklet). Alain Bashung. Barclay Records. 1994. 523 111-2.
{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link) - ^ "Dan Auerbach's Easy Eye Sound Label Releases Never-Before-Heard Link Wray Song "Son of Rumble"". MXDWN Music. 29 November 2017. Retrieved March 2, 2021.
- ^ "Steve Hoffman Music Forums". Forums.stevehoffman.tv. Retrieved March 2, 2021.
- ^ a b Bernstein, Adam (November 22, 2005). "Guitarist Link Wray Dies; Influenced Punk, Grunge". The Washington Post. Retrieved December 8, 2013.
- ^ Sisario, Ben (November 22, 2005). "Link Wray, 76, a Guitarist With Raw Rockabilly Sound, Dies". The New York Times.
- ^ "Guitarist Link Wray Dies At 76". Billboard.com. 21 November 2005.
- ^ a b c Koda, Cub. "Link Wray Biography". AllMusic. Retrieved 2022-12-10.
- ^ Fablo, Syd (October 16, 2016). "Link Wray – Live at The Paradiso". Rock Salted. Retrieved 2022-12-10.
- ^ Simmonds, Jeremy (2008). The Encyclopedia of Dead Rock Stars: Heroin, Handguns, and Ham Sandwiches. Chicago Review Press. p. 559. ISBN 978-1-55652-754-8.
- ^ Smith, Mark E. (2009). Renegade: The Lives and Tales of Mark E. Smith. Penguin UK. ISBN 978-0141028668.
- ^ "Iggy Pop – The Colbert Report". Comedy CentraL. 30 April 2013. Archived from the original on December 6, 2021. Retrieved 2021-12-06.
- ^ Archived at Ghostarchive and the Wayback Machine: "BBC Documentary; Don't Be Denied". BBC. Retrieved 2009-06-10.
- ^ "Sign Language". Dylanchords.info. Retrieved February 4, 2020.
- ^ "Sign Language: the meaning behind the music and lyrics in Dylan's song". Bob-dylan.org.uk. 14 June 2016. Retrieved February 4, 2020.
- ^ a b Strong, Martin C. (2000). The Great Rock Discography (5th ed.). Edinburgh: Mojo Books. pp. 1084–1085. ISBN 1-84195-017-3.
- ^ "Hot 100 for the week ending October 15, 1977". Billboard. Vol. 89, no. 41. October 15, 1977. p. 88. Note that, despite the correct credit on the record itself, the Billboard chart credited Wray as "Link Ray".
External links
edit
- Official website
- Rumble: The Indians Who Rocked the World
- Link Wray's entry at the Rockabilly Hall of Fame Archived 2007-06-08 at the Wayback Machine
- Perfect Sound Forever: Be Wild, Not Evil: The Link Wray Story at furious.com
- Mr. Guitar's City After Dark: Link Wray Obituary at newyorknighttrain.com
- Vernon Wray – features some unreleased Link photos Archived 2012-03-13 at the Wayback Machine