{"id":137059,"date":"2026-05-02T08:30:04","date_gmt":"2026-05-02T12:30:04","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.sheilaomalley.com\/?p=137059"},"modified":"2026-05-02T13:34:32","modified_gmt":"2026-05-02T17:34:32","slug":"happy-belated-birthday-link-wray","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.sheilaomalley.com\/?p=137059","title":{"rendered":"\u201cIt\u2019s the sexiest toughest chord change in all of rock \u2018n roll.\u201d \u2013 Steven Van Zandt on \u201cRumble.\u201d  Happy Birthday, Link Wray"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.sheilaomalley.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/GettyImages-635819590-LinkWray.jpg\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.sheilaomalley.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/GettyImages-635819590-LinkWray.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"960\" height=\"675\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-146524\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.sheilaomalley.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/GettyImages-635819590-LinkWray.jpg 960w, https:\/\/www.sheilaomalley.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/GettyImages-635819590-LinkWray-100x70.jpg 100w, https:\/\/www.sheilaomalley.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/GettyImages-635819590-LinkWray-200x141.jpg 200w, https:\/\/www.sheilaomalley.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/GettyImages-635819590-LinkWray-768x540.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.sheilaomalley.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/GettyImages-635819590-LinkWray-400x281.jpg 400w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 960px) 100vw, 960px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>\nWhen Link Wray wails &#8220;Have you heard the news? There&#8217;s good rockin&#8217; tonight&#8221; in his version of &#8220;Good Rockin&#8217; Tonight&#8221; &#8230; it sounds like a threat that could topple civilization. And when he goes up the octave? Forget about it. Run for cover.<\/p>\n<p>\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/MekCQW--8B4\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"autoplay; encrypted-media\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>Link Wray&#8217;s &#8220;Rumble&#8221; was considered so dangerous at the time some radio stations refused to play it. It was banned &#8211; literally &#8211; in New York and Boston. There was fear that just HEARING the song &#8211; an instrumental, no less &#8211; would cause chaos, riots, actual &#8220;rumbles&#8221;. It&#8217;s one of the only instrumentals to ever be banned from radio play in America. And you know what? The song IS dangerous. The people who were afraid of it weren\u2019t wrong. Those who were afraid of \u201cRumble\u201d sensed correctly that the song was part of what was shattering the status quo. You listen to \u201cRumble\u201d and you are altered. Nothing will ever be the same again. <\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/ucTg6rZJCu4\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"autoplay; encrypted-media\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>\n&#8220;The first time I heard &#8216;Rumble&#8217; &#8230; it was something that had so much <em>profound<\/em> attitude &#8230;&#8221; In the documentary <i>It Might Get Loud<\/i>, Jimmy Page listens to &#8220;Rumble, and then discusses with Jack White and Edge. <\/p>\n<p>\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/RLEUSn8y9TI\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"autoplay; encrypted-media\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>\nHis &#8220;Fever&#8221; is pure sex. <\/p>\n<p>\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/kPmrW_Ocbxk\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"autoplay; encrypted-media\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>\nLink Wray&#8217;s guitar-playing opened the way for others. It was that radical. Once people plugged in their guitars, following in the footsteps of Sister Rosetta Tharpe and other pioneers, &#8220;power chords&#8221; were always a possibility. But Link Wray is the one who discovered it, and pushed it, creating sounds that had never been heard before. He was playing around with interference in the late 1950s, a decade before Hendrix. Link Wray pushed those chords, the vibrato, the vibrations, the distortion, the interference and resonance, to their most extreme limits. In his hands, the sound becomes almost abstract, yet it never sacrifices power. Jimi Hendrix&#8217;s famous distorted version of &#8220;The Star-Spangled Banner&#8221; wouldn&#8217;t have been possible without Link Wray. Link Wray&#8217;s playing is <i>aggressive<\/i>. You can&#8217;t putter about watering plants when you&#8217;re listening to Link Wray. He will not stand for it. <\/p>\n<p>I love Kim Morgan&#8217;s <a href=\"https:\/\/thesunsetgun.com\/2012\/05\/09\/briefly-with-so-much-more-to-discuss-but-for-now-just-take-a-listen-rock-pioneer-link-wray-most-famous-for-rumble-was\/\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">story of seeing Link Wray<\/a>: &#8220;The crowd consisted of die-hard Rockabillies, a smattering of older people, varied Wray fans, me and my little sister. I stood in the front, hands on stage, and watched one of rock n&#8217; roll&#8217;s most influential guitar Gods work his power &#8212; taking all that is raucous and dark and soulful and yes, light, and hypnotizing us. There were no bad vibes in that cramped crowd of potential rowdies. Moving on stage like the half-Shawnee he was, he worked us as if performing some kind of Native American rock and roll rain dance, while still playing down and dirty &#8212; music that made us feel alive and real and raw. And then dreamy &#8212; a seedy, sexy, soulful, demonic, beatific dream.&#8221; <\/p>\n<p>I&#8217;m trying to picture just turning on the TV in 1959 and hearing &#8230; this.<\/p>\n<p>\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/Fn5hl2IA7_s\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"autoplay; encrypted-media\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>\nLink Wray tells the story of how &#8220;Rumble&#8221; was born. (Naturally, I am happy about the shirt he is wearing).  The song started as improvised &#8220;filler&#8221; at a record hop &#8230; but the kids heard the threat in the sound, the power of it, the sheer aggressive drive of it &#8211; they felt it immediately. Link Wray: &#8220;Now the kids are screaming because now something is happening.&#8221; <\/p>\n<p>\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/kKjjb8RmcgA\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"autoplay; encrypted-media\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>\nSpeaking of Elvis, here&#8217;s Link Wray grinding out &#8220;Mystery Train,&#8221; live, in 1974. Even now, when his influence has so permeated our culture, and music, you can still pick his guitar out of a lineup and say &#8220;That. That&#8217;s Link Wray.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/lZd_5XUXMRU\" title=\"YouTube video player\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>\n&#8220;It&#8217;s the sexiest toughest chord change in all of rock &#8216;n roll.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/kiVBPs-O8DA\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"autoplay; encrypted-media\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>\nIf you haven&#8217;t seen the documentary, <i>Rumble: The Indians Who Rocked the World<\/i>, I highly recommend it!<\/p>\n<p>\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/KCzVyCERhP4\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"autoplay; encrypted-media\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>\n&nbsp;<br \/>\n&nbsp;<br \/>\n<small><em>Thank you so much for stopping by. If you like what I do, and if you feel inclined to support my work, here&#8217;s a link to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.venmo.com\/u\/Sheila-OMalley-3\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\">my Venmo account<\/a>. And I&#8217;ve launched a Substack, <a href=\"https:\/\/sheilaomalley.substack.com\/\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Sheila Variations 2.0<\/a>, if you&#8217;d like to subscribe.<\/em> <\/small><\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/sheilaomalley.substack.com\/embed\" width=\"480\" height=\"320\" style=\"border:1px solid #EEE; background:white;\" frameborder=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>When Link Wray wails &#8220;Have you heard the news? There&#8217;s good rockin&#8217; tonight&#8221; in his version of &#8220;Good Rockin&#8217; Tonight&#8221; &#8230; it sounds like a threat that could topple civilization. And when he goes up the octave? Forget about it. &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sheilaomalley.com\/?p=137059\">Continue reading <span class=\"meta-nav\">&rarr;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[17,39],"tags":[2641],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sheilaomalley.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/137059"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sheilaomalley.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sheilaomalley.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sheilaomalley.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sheilaomalley.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=137059"}],"version-history":[{"count":17,"href":"https:\/\/www.sheilaomalley.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/137059\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":204866,"href":"https:\/\/www.sheilaomalley.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/137059\/revisions\/204866"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sheilaomalley.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=137059"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sheilaomalley.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=137059"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sheilaomalley.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=137059"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}