William's Song a Day Blog - est. September 2007

From: The Link Wray Rumble ; Year: 1974; Genre: Blues Rock Happened to be thinking about the music of Link Wray once again since yesterday; this album in particular I decided to look into. As the title states: this track is done in the style of The Allman Brothers Band in memory of guitar great Duane Allman, who was tragically killed in a motorcycle accident a few years prior. Link Wray and the rest of the band really show off their musical chops on this one.   Hear I Got To Ramble (Dedicated to the Memory of Duane Allman) on YouTube.       My song pick 1 year ago today: The Thermals - Back to the Sea   My song pick 2 years ago today: Little Richard - Long Tall Sally   My song pick 3 years ago today: Bruce Hornsby and the Range - Across the River My song pick 4 years ago today: Autograph - Turn Up the Radio My song pick 5 years ago today: Steeleye Span - Two Magicians My song pick 6 years ago today: Genesis - Silent Sun My song pick 7 years ago t...

From: Link Wray & The Wraymen ; Year: 1959/60; Genre: Rock & Roll/Blues Rock Here's another artist that I've neglected more than a bit: legendary guitarist Link Wray. You gotta love that raucous, dirty, and distorted guitar; might seem passé today, but you have to remember this was the late 1950's that he was playing like that; truly revolutionary. Hear Comanche on YouTube. My song pick one year ago today: Foo Fighters - Everlong My song pick two years ago today: Rush - The Analog Kid My song pick three years ago today: The Alan Parsons Project - The Tell-Tale Heart My song pick four years ago today: Red Hot Chili Peppers - Ethiopia My song pick five years ago today: Bass Extremes - Glorious Pastorius My song pick six years ago today: Alexander Courage - Where No Man Has Gone Before (Theme From Star Trek ) My song pick seven years ago today: The Temptations - Get Ready My song pick eight years ago today: Bachman-Turner Overdrive (BTO) - N...

When people list influential guitarists it is amazing that Link Wray never makes those lists. While what he played is not as technical as many others, the sound that he put out in the '50s would not be heard in the mainstream until the '60 and '70s. From what I understand this song was banned on the radio in its day because of the sound and the title; it is still quite odd for an instrumental to be banned. Here is a video with a 45 rpm record of the song on YouTube. Here is a live performance on YouTube. +