Goodbye, Link Wray...We'll miss you.

Link Wray.. 1929-2005. Rest in peace, Ripper.

The true "Ace of Spades"! R.I.P.:tiki:

"He is the king; if it hadn't been for Link Wray and 'Rumble', I would have never picked up a guitar."

Pete Townshend.

Link Wray was one of the few artists that I never got to see. Every so often, I would see his name listed in the upcoming shows for some DC area club, and I would circle it and look forward to attending -- but the show would always end up being cancelled.

The Washington Post has a nice article on Link Wray
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/11/21/AR2005112101625.html

Two interesting tidbits I learned in the article

1. Bob Dylan called "Rumble"" the greatest instrumental ever"; on Sunday, Dylan opened his concert at London's Brixton Academy with a cover of the song.

2. "Rumble" was the first rock instrumental that was banned from being played on certain radio stations. (Some said it incited gang violence)

Vern

[ Edited by: ikitnrev 2005-11-22 00:47 ]

truly a legend......

I feel fortunate to have seen this legend, nice guy, signed our ticket stubs after the show.

A true loss.

Glad to have seen him. Sad to see him go.

Crossed state lines into New Jersey quite a while back, to see a show called Great Guitars. There was Johnny Winter, some other guys I don't remember, and one dude I thought was a bit long in the tooth. Turns out he was the man, Link Wray. I listen to his stuff on CD today and just want to speed up the red roadster and live a Tarantino kind of life.

Hey all,

KFAI - FM in Minneapolis is having a tribute to Link on the program Radio Rumpus Room. The details are below, but you can listen in on the internet at http://www.kfai.org.

Think Link! Radio Rumpus Room (Fridays, 9:00-10:30 PM) pays tribute to Link Wray, one of the most influential guitar wranglers in history, this Friday, December 2. We will observe the recent passing of the creator of such legendary instrumentals as "Rumble,""Jack The Ripper," "Rawhide" and "Comanche," One of the first guitarists to experiment with feedback and distortion, Wray was tagged by the British mag NME as the man who "invented punk rock, heavy metal and every other form of sonic nastiness."