Wray, Link

▪ 2006

Frederick Lincoln Wray  American guitarist (b. May 2, 1929, Dunn, N.C.—d. Nov. 5, 2005, Copenhagen, Den.), pioneered the use of feedback and fuzz-tone techniques and invented the power chord—a harsh sound created by playing fifths (two notes, five tones apart)—which became the lynchpin of heavy metal and punk music. Among his admirers were Neil Young, Bob Dylan, Pete Townshend, Jeff Beck, the Kinks, and Jimi Hendrix. Wray's most famous recording, the raucous instrumental “Rumble,” became a huge hit in 1958 even though many radio stations refused to play it because they believed that it incited gang violence. After serving in the army in the Korean War, Wray in 1953 bought a guitar and joined a band that included his brothers Vernon and Doug. He focused on instrumental music after his left lung was removed (1956) because of tuberculosis, which severely limited his singing. “Rumble” came about when his group, Lucky Wray and the Palomino Ranch Hands, improvised a “stroll” tune by featuring the guitar, which squealed feedback when a microphone was placed in front of Wray's amplifier. The resulting hit record was aided in the studio by the fuzz tone created when Wray punctured his amplifier with a pencil. As Link Wray and the Wraymen, the group scored big instrumental hits again with “Rawhide” (1959) and “Jack the Ripper” (1963). His music was featured in such film sound tracks as Pulp Fiction (1994).

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