Link to the Power Chord – Xperience Monthly – a Column, by Johnny Mystery

Link to the Power Chord column.

Welcome to Dunn, North Carolina, Anytown, USA, population around ten thousand. It’s not the kind of place you would expect anything extraordinary musically. There is no Beale Street. There is no Graceland or Sun Recording Studio. It is, however, the hometown of a guy whose influence on rock n roll is absolutely undeniable.

You’ve either never heard of Link Wray or know him as the man who invented the power chord. Ask any guitar slinger worth talking about. Pete Townsend, Jack White or Jimmy Page will tell you that Link showed them the power that they could have in hand if you just take some time and learn how to play. In the documentary film “It Might Get Loud” Page blissfully played air guitar to Link’s infamous record “Rumble. But we’ll talk about that song in a minute.

Link was born in Dunn, North Carolina on May 2, 1929. In the late 1950s, when rock n roll was just catching on, Mr.Wray was an innovator , constantly searching for ways to sound dirtier, grittier and even more menacing. This is my kind of player! He was a visionary who experimented with sound and would set the tone for decades to come. Hard rock, classic rock, punk and even metal can trace their roots to Link Wray.

Link joined the Army and fought in the Korean War from 1950 to 1953. During this time, he came down with a bad case of tuberculosis and had to be hospitalized stateside for about a year and had one lung removed. Doctors told him to forget about ever singing. But it was the sound of that “geetar” that would bring him fame. The sound and aggression of his playing is unmistakable on his record “Rumble.” Nothing up till that time sounded like it, live or on record. It sounded like a rumble, so much so that it was banned in several major markets because some city fathers thought it would incite riots and violence among teen gangs around the country. To this day it stands as the only instrumental to be banned from the radio in the United States.

“Rumble” came about as an accident, if you believe the way Link tells it. He and his band,” The Ray Men” were doing record hops in Washington DC and a fight broke out at one of them. Just for fun Link started out the famous chord progression and played it as the fight progressed. People began asking for it during the rest of the night, thus prompting Link to consider that perhaps he had something. Not long after, a song was worked up and arranged and recorded. In order to get the rough and raw sound he craved, Link poked holes I the speakers of his recording amp. The invention and availability of the fuzz box or distortion pedal, as it’s also called was some years away. Slicing up your amp was the next best thing and it worked.

There was no luck in shopping the song around until Cadence Records owner Bill Blair heard it and even he didn’t like it until his daughter heard it and convinced him it would be a hit, which it was. They followed up “Rumble” with several other singles, namely, “Ace Of Spades” which was featured in the 1994 film “Pulp Fiction,” “Rawhide” and “The Swag.”

In 1971 Link proved those doctors wrong and recorded a self-titled album in which he sang and played every single song on the record. As the 70’s rolled on he continued to record, and others were covering some of his catalogue. Want to hear one of the greatest live albums of all time? I recommend “Live At The Paradisio.” I found it quite by chance in a cut out bin years ago and baby it smokes!!!

Link continued playing killer shows, right up to the end. He left our mortal coil on November 5th, 2005. His influence is still felt today from artists such as, The White Stripes, Iggy Pop, The Black Keys and anyone who wields the almighty “POWER CHORD.” Every year in the first week of May, Dunn North Carolina celebrates its favorite son with memorials, parades and parties because let’s face it, parties and parades are what rock n roll is all about. Rock just takes everything fun in real life and just makes it bigger. Some people will do anything in life to be noticed. Rock stars just do it bigger.

On the local scene, be on the lookout for a band I’ve just discovered. They’re a three-man group called “Same Old Rat.”  They just recently played in Troy at “The Eldorado.”  Their music is loaded with catchy riffs and great vocals, and it’s flavored with a cool nineties’ vibe. Let’s hope they record soon.

That’s it for this ish…. now go out and hit the bins. Hey, isn’t Record Store Day coming again soon?