link wray

Link Wray, 76, a Guitarist With Raw Rockabilly Sound, Dies
By BEN SISARIO
Link Wray, a rockabilly guitarist whose raw sound and inventive techniques influenced musicians from the early days of rock 'n' roll into the punk era, died on Nov. 5 at his home in Copenhagen. He was 76.

The cause was heart failure, said his wife, Olive.

With a guitar sound as elegant as it was jagged, Mr. Wray led his band, the Ray Men, in a string of instrumentals from the late 1950's into the mid-60's that have become rockabilly standards. His songs also introduced a handful of scrappy innovations like the driving power chord and distortion made from a damaged amplifier, inspiring generations of rock guitarists.

"He is the king," Pete Townshend of the Who once said of him. "If it hadn't been for Link Wray and 'Rumble,' I would have never picked up a guitar."

"Rumble," Mr. Wray' s signature song, was released in 1958, and its snarling two-chord pattern remains a symbol of the stylized menace of rockabilly. According to legend, the song got its title when someone said it reminded her of the fight scenes in "West Side Story."

To record it, Mr. Wray punctured his amp with a pencil, damaging the speaker just enough to give the sound a thorny fuzz. Though an instrumental, the song was considered an incentive to violence and was banned from the radio in some cities.

In other songs, like "Raw-Hide" "Jack the Ripper" and "The Swag," Mr. Wray expanded on the vocabulary of "Rumble" and experimented with rougher and more aggressive guitar sounds. To record "Jack the Ripper," Mr. Wray placed his amp in a hotel staircase, creating an eerie and enticing reverb.