Comments on: There's A Rumble In Heaven Tonight

There's A Rumble In Heaven Tonight

tapeguy — Sun, 20 Nov 2005 11:08:31 -0800

Pioneering instrumental-rock guitarist Link Wray - one of the original rockabilly artists, credited with having invented the "power chord", which has become the basis for modern rock and alternative music - died this week at the age of 76. You'd probably know him from his song 'Rumble', used on the 'Pulp Fiction' soundtrack. The English-speaking media hasn't picked up on the story yet, but various blogs, the Spanish and Danish press - translation here - and various music messageboards were all over the story 24 hours ago.

By: interrobang

interrobang — Sun, 20 Nov 2005 11:12:35 -0800

Sad, but I was actually kind of surprised to find out that he was still alive to begin with.

By: rockabilly_pete

rockabilly_pete — Sun, 20 Nov 2005 11:13:54 -0800

By: mcsweetie

mcsweetie — Sun, 20 Nov 2005 11:32:48 -0800

terrible news. I don't know where I, or any musician for that matter, would be without his influence.

By: padraigin

padraigin — Sun, 20 Nov 2005 11:33:19 -0800

By: Heywood Mogroot

Heywood Mogroot — Sun, 20 Nov 2005 11:38:28 -0800

By: Heywood Mogroot

Heywood Mogroot — Sun, 20 Nov 2005 11:39:04 -0800

alternatively, ... .

By: reflecked

reflecked — Sun, 20 Nov 2005 11:41:01 -0800

What a rocker he was! I can't begin to count the number of musicians he backed up so solidly that they sounded competent. :) He had the hair, too. RIP, Link; thanks for all the rhythm.

By: mwhybark

mwhybark — Sun, 20 Nov 2005 11:41:10 -0800

. Saw him about eight years ago at the Backstage in Ballard. I had no idea he was that old.

By: intermod

intermod — Sun, 20 Nov 2005 11:44:07 -0800

.............. .............. ............ ...................! [guitar style, rendered in periods] .

By: Opposite George

Opposite George — Sun, 20 Nov 2005 11:47:32 -0800

Aw jeez, that sucks.

By: keswick

keswick — Sun, 20 Nov 2005 11:54:12 -0800

, (distorted .)

By: Busithoth

Busithoth — Sun, 20 Nov 2005 11:56:48 -0800

By: boo_radley

boo_radley — Sun, 20 Nov 2005 12:10:59 -0800

By: jepler

jepler — Sun, 20 Nov 2005 12:12:52 -0800

Power chords, for those who (like me) didn't know exactly what they were.

By: hampton

hampton — Sun, 20 Nov 2005 12:23:42 -0800

. He had only one lung for the past fifty years! Hasil Adkins, Bob Moog and now this, it's been a tough year.

By: lumpenprole

lumpenprole — Sun, 20 Nov 2005 12:32:35 -0800

Damn. I was literally thinking about Link yesterday. I'm going to pry out my Link Wray vinyl and have a personal memorial. He had a good long run, but we'll miss him.

By: alteredcarbon

alteredcarbon — Sun, 20 Nov 2005 12:40:01 -0800

:::::::::::::: :::::::::::::: ;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;; (Rumble distorted & echoed)

By: kaseijin

kaseijin — Sun, 20 Nov 2005 12:50:46 -0800

By: baphomet

baphomet — Sun, 20 Nov 2005 12:54:31 -0800

Sucks that the guy is dead, but power chords are definitely not this guys invention.. A power chord is just a three-note chord which happens to sound great based on the intervals between the notes (one a third and one a fifth higher than the root, making the root note and highest note an octave apart). Part of the popularity of the chord in modern music lies in the fact that when played on a guitar in any standard or drop tuning (usually E and Drop D) they are slidable, easy to play, and are great for arranging melodies. Additionally they sound heavy as shit on an electric guitar with proper distortion, amplification, and percussion, and are easy and fun to play in a "barre chord" formation. This guy may have helped make them popular in modern rock music but "power chords" have been rocking for a long time now. Oh, and: .

By: bardic

bardic — Sun, 20 Nov 2005 12:59:37 -0800

A power chord is a two-note chord, I-V. A I-III-V makes a major chord. That said, I got into Link Wray through the writing of George Pelecanos. Link even shows up in a few of his novels, especially his latest, Hard Revolution. Link kept it real before there was such a thing. .

By: Mr Bluesky

Mr Bluesky — Sun, 20 Nov 2005 13:02:50 -0800

By: LeLiLo

LeLiLo — Sun, 20 Nov 2005 13:09:07 -0800

Sad, but I was actually kind of surprised to find out that he was still alive to begin with. Me too. As I would be surprised to hear about any other rock stars born in 1929 who were still alive. (P.S. Great 'link' title, tapeguy.)

By: Bron

Bron — Sun, 20 Nov 2005 13:41:44 -0800

By: jonmc

jonmc — Sun, 20 Nov 2005 13:45:28 -0800

*salutes* goodbye, great one.

By: Mikey-San

Mikey-San — Sun, 20 Nov 2005 13:47:02 -0800

A two-note chord is not a chord at all; it is an interval.

By: Mikey-San

Mikey-San — Sun, 20 Nov 2005 13:47:54 -0800

Also: .

By: destro

destro — Sun, 20 Nov 2005 13:56:42 -0800

not a mention in English anywhere...

By: rdone

rdone — Sun, 20 Nov 2005 13:58:43 -0800

The last of the rockabilly greats who is still with us (AFAIK) is Billy Lee Riley, b.1933.

By: jonmc

jonmc — Sun, 20 Nov 2005 14:13:22 -0800

The last of the rockabilly greats who is still with us (AFAIK) is Billy Lee Riley, b.1933. *Ahem* *ahem* *ahem* *ahem*

By: Smart Dalek

Smart Dalek — Sun, 20 Nov 2005 14:24:22 -0800

By: sgt.serenity

sgt.serenity — Sun, 20 Nov 2005 14:42:54 -0800

I used to have this thing about Link Wray , i used to play him every saturday , god bless saturday.

By: mmahaffie

mmahaffie — Sun, 20 Nov 2005 16:07:53 -0800

Bummer. "Rumble" was a moment of awakening for me as a kid. He was a Washington DC native (thus the George P. link) and I was proud to have him as a hometown musician. It's said that he did mostly instrumentals because of the loss of the lung, but he was an effective singer as well. His singing style is a great early example of southern rock. I have some old vinyl around here somewhere.....

By: mmahaffie

mmahaffie — Sun, 20 Nov 2005 16:12:18 -0800

Hmmmm... I may be wrong about Link being a DC native, but I know he is associated with the DC-area somehow. Also. iTunes doesn't offer much, I'm afraid ;(

By: jann

jann — Sun, 20 Nov 2005 16:46:06 -0800

damn.

By: arto

arto — Sun, 20 Nov 2005 16:49:35 -0800

Coop did a fantastic tribute to Rumble and its many cover versions a while back. Definitely worth checking out if you wanna know what the fuss is all about. *bashes out those two famous chords, heavy on the Bigsby* *retunes*

By: glycolized

glycolized — Sun, 20 Nov 2005 17:11:30 -0800

Sad day. I had the pleasure of meeting Link 7 or 8 years ago when the band I was in opened for him. We were loading in as he was sound checking. We were standing around listening, his LOUD amp sounded great in the empty club. At the end of songs we'd clap and hoot and holler, just the 3 or 4 of us as we stashing our equipment. Just as I was wondering if we'd really get a chance to talk to him (we'd heard from some friends in NYC that he'd probably hang out in his bus), he and the band finished their check. Link walked right over to us off the stage and introduced himself. We talked for 20-30 minutes about all kinds of stuff (mostly music, of course). Seriously, such a charming, nice man - and so cool with his 70 y.o. long, jet black hair. After his show, he hung out on the stage and signed autographs (including guitars that guys must have brought and had stashed in their cars) for at least 1 1/2 hours. Everyone had so much fun that night, and just loved him.

By: HSWilson

HSWilson — Sun, 20 Nov 2005 17:41:34 -0800

Two days ago I decided to learn how to play "Rumble". And if you haven't heard it you should really check out his work with Robert Gordon, it is outstanding.

By: ludwig_van

ludwig_van — Sun, 20 Nov 2005 19:15:15 -0800

but power chords are definitely not this guys invention They weren't handed down by God. According to the wiki definition, which I'm inclined to agree with, part of what defines a power chord is distortion, which hadn't become widespread yet when Wray was doing his thing. A power chord is a two-note chord, I-V. A I-III-V makes a major chord. (pedant) You should just write 1 and 5. Roman numerals refer to chords. (/pedant) A two-note chord is not a chord at all; it is an interval. That's a fairly meaningless distinction. They're still called "power chords."

By: notsnot

notsnot — Sun, 20 Nov 2005 20:17:52 -0800

Damn, my barber played with him a couple months ago. Said it was the greatest thing ever.

By: mmahaffie

mmahaffie — Mon, 21 Nov 2005 05:13:18 -0800

One of the main Link Wray websites has been updated with a fair amount of new info. WrayShack also has an MP3 of Bob Dylan covering Rumble in tribute. I'm at work and can't download, but plan to as soon as I get home this evening.

By: fletchmuy

fletchmuy — Mon, 21 Nov 2005 05:32:47 -0800

Heh, Sgt. Serenity, that lyric keeps going through my head as well.

By: stinkycheese

stinkycheese — Mon, 21 Nov 2005 07:08:45 -0800

Nooooo! Damn. .

By: dial-tone

dial-tone — Mon, 21 Nov 2005 07:21:03 -0800

By: DonnieSticks

DonnieSticks — Mon, 21 Nov 2005 09:15:42 -0800

. jonmc, Ronnie Dawson's been dead for a couple years and I wouldn't exactly say that Jerry Lee is "with us" if you've seen him lately.

By: Smedleyman

Smedleyman — Mon, 21 Nov 2005 18:29:00 -0800