Guitar legend Link Wray on the hit that introduced distortion to rock and roll, inspired Jimmy Page to play guitar — and caused public outrage

When Link Wray recorded “Rumble” in early 1958, most rock-and-roll guitarists were doing everything they could to avoid distortion. Wray did the opposite, unabashedly leaning into it and, in the ...
American Songwriter

On This Day in 2005, We Said Goodbye to the Pioneering Musician Whose Banned Instrumental Classic Planted the Seeds for Hard Rock, Heavy Metal, and Punk

On this day (November 5) in 2005, Link Wray died of heart failure in his Copenhagen, Denmark, home. Over the years, his music ventured into country, rockabilly, garage rock, and hard rock. He ...