LINK WRAY

Link Wray is one of the most important figures in the history of the electric guitar.
Go ahead, try this out on your guitar playin' buddies:
Ask 'em if they can play five songs by Link Wray.
If they can't, you can bet your bottom dollar that they ain't fit to call themselves "guitarists".
Link Wray is the Father of Punk Rock.
Born in North Carolina, Link and his brothers Vern & Doug first started playing music in Virginia, under names like "The Lazy Pine Wranglers" and "Lucky Wray and Palomino Ranch Hands".
Moving to Washington, DC, Link & his kin took a raunchier direction, renaming the combo "The Raymen".
Together they would record some of the most crude, intense, and violent guitar instrumentals in the history of rock'n'roll.
Their first hit, "Rumble", was so suggestive of gang violence that it was actually banned from radio airplay in many areas! Not bad for a tune with no lyrics whatsoever!
Link & his Raymen followed with another smash, "Rawhide", before signing on with Swan Records. It was during their tenure with Swan that the Raymen recorded their most devastating tracks.
Jack The Ripper, Ace Of Spades, I'm Branded, Mr. Guitar, and dozens of others flowed from Link's fingers directly to brother Vern's three-track tape machine.
Link harnessed the pure elemental power of the electric guitar, basted it in excessive tremolo and distortion, and tossed it on a noisy B-B-Q of raw energy and snotty attitude.
As recent feedback-drenched live appearances demonstrate, Link Wray at 70 years of age is STILL more PUNK ROCK than anyone playing electric guitar today.

Link Wray is a real guitar hero.
Listen to Link Wray's minimalist classic "Jack The Ripper"

You don't think Link Wray can still be a punk rock caveman the ripe old age of 70?
Watch a RealPlayer movie of The King of Raunch playing a fuzzed-out version of his original hit "Rumble" c.1996! Yes, people, this is how he sounds today!