Guitars at half-mast: Link Wray passes on
redjac
father of the power chord in rock 'n' roll who inspired such legends as
Bruce Springsteen, David Bowie and Pete Townshend, has died. He was 76.
Wray died Nov. 5 at his home in Copenhagen, his wife and son said on
his Web site. No cause of death was given, but his family said his
heart was "getting tired." He was buried Friday after a service at
Copenhagen's Christian Church.
"He is the king; if it hadn't been for Link Wray and 'Rumble,' I would
have never picked up a guitar,'" Townshend wrote on one of Wray's
albums. Neil Young once said: "If I could go back in time and see any
band, it would be Link Wray and the Raymen."
The power chord, a thundering sound created by playing fifths (two
notes five notes apart, often with the lower note doubled an octave
above) became a favorite among rock players. Wray claimed because he
was too slow to be a whiz on the guitar, he had to invent sounds.
When recording "Rumble," he created the fuzz tone by punching holes in
his amplifiers to produce a dark, grumbling sound. It took off
instantly, but it was banned by some deejays in big cities for seeming
to suggest teen violence.
Chek
"redjac" <redja...@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:1132610216.3...@o13g2000cwo.googlegroups.com...
Sad news about The Master of Heavy Plecking.
He made his mark and will be missed.
He must surely have been one of the first with shades too
- a minor but not insignificant addition to the rock
wardrobe.
John Gutglueck
Did the Beatles cover Rumble in the early days? Way ahead of its
time--sounds more like 1966 than 1958. Maybe the first rock and roll
track built around a bVII-I chord progression. Anybody know of an
earlier one?
--
John
VI
Dylan did a tribute by performing the song at the opening of his last
concert.
Chris Jepson
mid-70s. He was performing on a temporary platform on the quad -- sort
of a Woolton Village Fete kind of setup. Excellent show, and he was
havin himself a good ole time.
Chris Jepson
abe slaney
> I had the pleasure of seeing Link Wray at a college concert in the
> mid-70s. He was performing on a temporary platform on the quad -- sort
> of a Woolton Village Fete kind of setup. Excellent show, and he was
> havin himself a good ole time.
>
> Chris Jepson
Yeah, I saw him back then, too - it was his revival I think. He was
touring with Robert Gordon. Link was a character, no doubt.
Chris Jepson
Trinity College in Hartford, CT.
Chris Jepson
abe slaney
At the Paradise in Boston. I'm guessing '78 or "79?
Chris Jepson
I checked, and their two LPs were from '77 and '78. I left Hartford in
mid-'78, so the show I saw was sometime before then.
Chris Jepson
paramucho
<johngu...@hotmail.com> wrote:
I finally got to listen to "Tumble" which I don't remember hearing
earlier at all.
I can hear the subtonic you mention but I can't hear the power chords
or feedback mentioned by others.
When he plays [D E] he uses open voicings for both -- all strings
resonate. Power chords are usually bare fifths and move distinctively
in parallel. "Jailhouse Rock" has the parallel movement, but it also
has strong thirds. This track is more like "Albatross" than power
rock.
Wray popped holes in his amps to get that ragged sound (as the Kinks
later did) and there's a ton of tight 50s reverb in there, but I can't
hear anything approaching feedback.
As to the bVII-I progression, "Tequila" was recorded on December 23,
1957. "Tumble" in 1958. Both tracks were sort-of accidental. "Tequila"
was a spontaneous track done at the end of a session. "Tumble" came
when Wray went on stage to back a singer without knowing the song.
http://groups.google.com.au/group/rec.music.rock-pop-r+b.1950s/browse_frm/thread/7b8e38b93173f365/5434e78441f222ec?lnk=st&q=link+wray+rumble&rnum=6&hl=en#5434e78441f222ec
http://www.sealsandcrofts.com/champs.html
John Gutglueck
Yeah, Tequila's got Rumble beat by a couple of months. An asterisk,
though: Tequila has a true subtonic chord (Eb in the key of F) only in
the intro and outro, where the guitar strums solo the F - Eb
progression. For most of the
track, the bass supports the Eb chord with a C, creating a jazzier Cm7
chord (v7). Tequila is the ancestor of songs like Ferry Across The
Mersey, Rumble of songs more like Mystic Eyes.
--
John