Saturday Night Attitude Dance with Power Chords Rumbling At the 2022 Birthday of the Awesome Bad Boy Grunge Guitarist Link Wray
by Robert Wilkinson
Monday is the birthday of the iconic bad boy Link Wray, one of the pioneer guitarists of rock and roll. Black leather jacket, sunglasses and a slicked back ducktail, he set the standard for early raunchy guitar slinging. Without Link Wray, rock and roll might never have survived the transition from the late 50s into the 60s, and certainly wouldn’t sound much like it has these past 60 years!
He was one of the most influential guitarists in the history of rock and roll. Though most have never heard of the raw, menacing work of Link Wray (May 2, 1929 – November 5, 2005), he gave rock and roll one of its most distinctive guitar trademarks, the power chord! From AllMusic:
“... his contribution to the language of rockin' guitar would still be a major one, even if he had never walked into another studio after cutting "Rumble." Link Wray invented the power chord, the major modus operandi of modern rock guitarists. Listen to any of the tracks he recorded between that landmark instrumental in 1958 through his Swan recordings in the early '60s and you'll hear the blueprints for heavy metal, thrash, you name it.””Pete Townshend summed it up for more guitarists than he probably realized when he said, "He is the king; if it hadn't been for Link Wray and "'Rumble,'" I would have never picked up a guitar...."
Armed with a 1953 Gibson Les Paul, a dinky Premier amp, an Elvis sneer, and a black leather jacket, Link started playing the local record hops around the D.C. area…. One night during a typical set, says Link, "They wanted me to play a stroll. I didn't know any, so I made one up. I made up "'Rumble.'"
”Rumble” was a “primitive instrumental” that went to number 16 on the national charts, even though it was banned in a number of cities, including New York, as it was considered to “promote gang warfare.” As it was put by the biographer in AllMusic, “if Duane Eddy twanged away for white, teenage America, Link Wray played for juvenile delinquent hoods, plain and simple.”
Here’s more from the Rolling Stone Rock Almanac:
”With its slow tempo, thick riffs and distorted guitar, the recording will much later be called ‘the first heavy metal song,’ and Wray will be credited with inventing guitar fuzztone. The story goes that Wray, piqued by his malfunctioning amplifier, punched a hole in the speaker and discovered that he liked the dirty, distorted sound it produced.”
He was a full blooded Shawnee from North Carolina, and radiated rebellion with a stage presence like few others! He survived Korea but got TB, then had to have a lung removed. And yet he went on to become a legend in his black leather jacket, shades, and major attitude. His influence is incalculable, since it is impossible to imagine rock and roll without the power chord. So it's heavy metal instrumental time!!
Without further ado, here’s the 1958 breakthrough that scared white America to its toes, the singular “Rumble”
Here’s the Man, complete with shades and his trademark black jacket, shades, and pendant at Winterland in 1974 in a great live performance of “Rumble,” and here's Link on Conan in 1998 live doing "Rumble."
An interview with Link explaining the story behind “Rumble.”
Here’s an early performance by Link and the Raymen (without shades and his trademark leather jacket!) on Dick Clark’s American Bandstand live doing an early hit, “Rawhide.”
From 1975 on The Old Grey Whistle Test, Link in a live performance of the Ray Charles standard “Unchain My Heart.” From the same show, Link doing “Midnight Lover.”
This video cooks! I assume “TopPop” is short for Top of the Pops. It’s Link on scorching lead with Robert Gordon fronting on a smokin’ version of the 1955 Sun rockabilly classic, “Red Hot”
Last year I had a great 49 minute video of Link and Robert live on the German tv music show Musikladen in 1978, but this year it’s disappeared, as have the individual clips of “Mystery Train,” "My Baby Left Me," the Eddie Cochran classics, "20 Flight Rock" and “Summertime Blues,” and the classic rockabilly train song "Lonesome Train." Better luck next year.
Here's Link and Robert at Rockpalast live doing "The Way I Walk" and “Mystery Train.” Their clip “Rock Therapy” from that show has disappeared.
From their days in the studio, here's an audio-only version of the Warren Smith rockabilly classic "Red Cadillac and A Black Moustache." Here's a rare treat. I found the original 1957 recording by Warren Smith on Sun Records! "Red Cadillac and A Black Moustache."
Another of their studio efforts, here's a rockin' version of "Flyin' Saucer Rock n Roll"
This link will take you to the first song of their classic second album Fresh Fish Special, and the rest will play in order. For your enjoyment, the studio album "Fresh Fish Special"
Back to Link and his shades cranking out power chords!
From 1995, rare footage of Link and his Dutch band cranking out 38 minutes of pure grunge! Link Wray and his Acemen Live in the Netherlands - 1995
It’s gone again. Sometimes his live 1996 Hamburg performance of this song is available but this year it’s disappeared. This year I’ll give you the original studio recording of the iconic “Batman Theme. ” and we still have this other live performance of this iconic tune, which somehow seems fitting given Link shares a birthday with Lesley Gore, who had star guest appearances in the Batman tv series! For your enjoyment, from 1997 with Dieselhed, Link Wray’s version of “Batman Theme. ” From that same Iowa gig, Link and Dieselhed crank out his early hit “Jack the Ripper.” Our third from that show features a live performance of “Ace of Spades”
Link's BBC session version of the Springsteen classic has disappeared, but I found this one from the album Live in 85! "Fire."
Now the original studio versions of some of his best!
Link doing one of my favorite Beatle tunes, the great “Please Please Me”
With pieces borrowed from several other tunes, here’s “Sorrento”
The one hour clip is gone, but here’s 18 mnutes of the legendary show from Winterland in Nov 1974! Link Wray Live at Winterland – 1974
This is the entire show in three parts!
Link Wray and John Cipollina at Winterland – Pt 1. (22 minutes)
Link Wray and John Cipollina at Winterland – Pt 2. (20+ minutes)
Link Wray and John Cipollina at Winterland – Pt 3. (11+ minutes)
From that show, John Cipollina cooks on lead guitar! “Mystery Train”
Last year’s hour and 12 documentary called Link Wray – The Rumble Man has disappeared. Instead, here’s a short 11+ minute clip of his story. Link Wray – NC Rock Legend
In a fitting encore to this birthday tribute, we have a trifecta from Copenhagen Television in 1987! Here’s Link cranking out “Rumble,” “Born To Be Wild,” “Rawhide,” and “Jesus of Nazareth” (The closing rap is very strange....)
Sorry you're gone, but glad you're getting the recognition you deserve. Also very glad you rumbled through 50s America and shook everything up! "If there's a rock and roll heaven, you know they have a helluva band..." Power chords forever!
© Copyright 2022 Robert Wilkinson
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