Link Wray

"Born May 2nd, 1929 in Dunn, North Carolina, Link is three quarters Shawnee Indian. At the age of eight, he learned to play the guitar from Hambone, an African-American man who was travelling with Barnum and Baileys circus. He noticed Link on the porch banging his Maybelle-guitar



At the age of fifteen, Link paid twenty dollars a night to sit in with the country and western musician Tex Ritter (High Noon) in order to further his musical knowledge. He also played with Wild Bill Elliot.

Link played with his brother Doug and first cousin Shorty Horton in his band: Link Wray and the Wraymen.



He played at the Hank Williams memorial in 1953.



Link is known for his instrumental hit single Rumble. And to quote Uncut magazine, who voted Link 33 of the 100 best guitarist list in the World as the composer of the worlds most threatening instrumental: The violent intimations of Rumble so struck sensitive late 50s sensibilities that it was banned by many radio stations. Not bad for an instrumental. Rumble will outlive us all.



Link Wray is known for being the first musician to experiment with the sounds that pioneered rock and roll and punk styles. Link virtually invented fuzz tone by deliberately punching holes in his amplifier speakers. He was also a true pioneer of the use of distortion on instrumental rock recordings"