Link Wray dies in Copenhagen

gordguide

Link Wray, the man who invented the Power Chord and whose guitar style influenced every great Rock, Punk, and Alternative guitarist that ever lived has died quietly in Copenhagen at the age of 77.

I will be playing Rockabilly all day from within iTunes in memory. A sad day indeed.

Links at the iTMS are weak, but we have this version of Rawhide, his only top 40 hit. Music Store Link: Rawhide (Link Wray, 1958)
Rawhide

BBC interview 1977 w/ Robert Gordon (vocals) and Link Wray (guitar):
mp3 (yeah, it's legal)

When you listen to the two songs after the brief interview, remember that Link <i>invented</i> this style of guitar; before him Rock N Roll was just country music.

Check out some more Robert Gordon if you want to hear Link Wray at his best (these guys have many albums released, but just the one song in the iTMS).

CBC Obituary: Link Wray

__________________
"Being an artist doesn't take much, just everything you got. Which means, of course, that as the process is giving you life, it is also bringing you closer to death. But it's no big deal. They are one and the same and cannot be avoided or denied. So when I totally embrace this process, this life/death, and abandon myself to it, I transcend all this gibberish and hang out with the gods. It seems to me that that is worth the price of admission." —Hubert Selby, Jr.

Robbie_Mac

What a bummer. A true innovator is gone.

TroutMaskReplica

i had an opportunity in the mid nineties to see him play. i can't remember why i didn't (i hope it was something important!), but regretted not going from time to time.

__________________
intel iMac 20" dual core 2 ghz, Dual 1.25ghz MDD