FUCK THE HALL

You know the butterfly effect? It's the theory that a small change somewhere can cause another change with  something else, which leads to another change and after this happens a bunch of times pretty soon something distant and more significant changes. I'm bringing this up because there is no doubt that people like me complaining that Link Wray was not in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame [sic] lead to his being inducted this year. Let me make it clear that the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame is a piece of crap. It's just a record industry way of pumping itself up. They don't know rock 'n' roll. Case in point, the Bee Gees were inducted in 1997. Would you call any song of theirs rock 'n' roll? And they were inducted twenty five years before Link Wray! Should I twist the knife a little more? Wray was inducted with a Musical Influence Award, not as a performer. What the fucking fuck?!

~ NOTE: ALL MEDIA IS HOSTED BY THE BLOGS & SITES NAMED BELOW ~

Listen:
Link Wray - Rumble mp3 at Internet Archive
Link Wray - The Swag mp3 at Internet Archive
Link Wray - Rawhide mp3 at Internet Archive
Link Wray - Ace of Spades mp3 at Internet Archive
Link Wray - Run Chicken Run mp3 at Internet Archive
Link Wray - The Black Window mp3 at Internet Archive
Link Wray - Jack the Ripper mp3 at Internet Archive

2 X 3 X 2

This is one of those things where I run into a song and think "I'll have to remember to post this". That happens all the time. Every once in a while I'll actually remember to post the song. Tonight's not like that. I did not know that there was a studio version of Jon Spencer Blues Explosion doing a two cover medley of the Beastie Boys' "She's On It" and Link Wray's "Jack the Ripper". I'd posted a live version six years ago thinking it was just a one time thing. It was not. Here's both versions and the rest of the live set.

~ NOTE: ALL MEDIA IS HOSTED BY THE BLOGS & SITES NAMED BELOW ~

Listen:
Jon Spencer Blues Explosion - She's On It/Jack the Ripper mp3 at Internet Archive Studio version
Jon Spencer Blues Explosion - She's On It/Jack the Ripper mp3 at Internet Archive Recorded live on WFMU, 2012
Jon Spencer Blues Explosion - Entire set (12 songs) at Internet Archive

RUMBLE MAMBO IS AN OXYMORON

Among all the bad shit that's been going on, there is still some good things to be found. Probe Is Turning-On the People, the bare bones music site of Phil Milstein, is still cruising. His most recent post is five versions of "Rumble", get this, all done by the man, rumbler godhead himself, Link Wray. Among the versions, one originally unreleased (the '65 version) and one that was recorded without the requisite menace ("Rumble Mambo"), a rare Wray fart. I've heard the original and covers of "Rumble" a thousand times, but hearing five versions done in the space of roughly a decade by the man himself is just about the best thing that has happened this week. How dead-on is the Probe? It's all in the details. If you look at all the info on the mp3 files you'll note that he's labeled the genre as "classical". Probe gets it.

The five individual mp3s are in a single zip. As of today they're at the top of the page linked below but, being that the site is bare bones, the newest posts appear at the top. He does, though, label posts as "sessions", so if Rumblemania ain't at the top, scroll down to Session 636.

~ NOTE: ALL MEDIA IS HOSTED BY THE BLOGS & SITES NAMED BELOW ~

Listen:
Link Wray's Rumbles at Probe Is Turning-On the People Five versions of "Rumble" by Link Wray, in a zip. If the post isn't at the top of the page scroll down to session 636.

THE MISSING LINK

Here's a couple oddballs of interest, if only to a certain breed of fiend. If you know Link Wray and Kip Tyler then, yeah, you'll dig these. Maybe only as oddities, from some weird annex in their discographies. They still happen. Strange Link Wray sightings. Wray is the guitar player on the Moon Men's "Some Kinda Nut" and I only caught it by the writing credit. "Wray, Sr." His dad wrote it. That's some proto-Murray Wilson shit right there. But there's no mistaking who's playing. It is classic Wray. I did find some info at Discogs that backed up my suspicions. The other one down there would have flown right past me had I not stopped and read the tiny text. The label credits "Jimmy O'Neill with Kipper and the Exciters", the text below says "great piece of Kip Tyler craziness!", so my guess is that Tyler is Kipper. The music is good and raucous. Unfortunately it's marred by Jimmy O'Neill, whom I'd bet dollars for donuts is a radio DJ. The lyrics are corny. Crappy. But Tyler and his damn Exciters make a nice racket.

~ NOTE: ALL MEDIA IS HOSTED BY THE BLOGS & SITES NAMED BELOW ~

Listen:
The Moon Men - Some Kinda Nut mp3 at Rock 'n' Soul Ichiban
Jimmy O'Neill with Kipper and the Exciters - Twistin' Train mp3 at Rock 'n' Soul Ichiban

BACK, BY NO DEMAND

Wow, this was a nice to hear on a Monday night. Maybe because seeing Link Wray and 1975 on the same page doesn't usually indicate a five minute and hairy live version of "Jack the Ripper" (originally released in 1962). This later version shreds in the way classic Wray does. You know what I'm talking about. The hills are alive with the sound of menace. Technique takes a backseat to the feel, and the feel here is a guy who knows his menace.

Here's just a couple highlights here to the LP that's posted in its entirety at Xtrmntr. The rest of the LP is good, but it's not the loud Link that we all know and love. But you ought to visit the post. It's an awesome read. The other song below, "BoJack", sounds very much like one the Cramps would've had a field day with. Who knows, maybe they did cover it. I could never keep up with those rascals.

~ NOTE: ALL MEDIA IS HOSTED BY THE BLOGS & SITES NAMED BELOW ~

Listen:
Link Wray - Jack the Ripper flac at Xtrmntr
Link Wray - BoJack flac at Xtrmntr
Link Wray - Stuck In Gear (full LP) flac at Xtrmntr Go there to get it. I have no idea what plays flac files and what doesn't. I can hear them, that's all I need.

YOU KNOW WHAT? FUCK THE HALL.

What a joke the Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Fame [sic] is. They take the fame part of it way too seriously. They all but ignore the rock 'n' roll part of it, and rock 'n' roll is not a game of numbers, in fans, records sold, press ink or dollars. This year Stevie Nicks was inducted for a second time, once as a member of the Fleetwood Mac, and this year as a solo artist. Rock 'n' roll? I think not.

Link Wray is not in the Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Fame [sic]. The man had more rock 'n' roll under his fingernail than Stevie Nicks has had in her entire career. If he never recorded anything but "Rumble" he'd still be a no-brainer, that is if this so called Hall lived up to its name. Fuck record sales, fuck numbers, fuck the hall.

~ NOTE: ALL MEDIA IS HOSTED BY THE BLOGS & SITES NAMED BELOW ~

Listen:
Link Wray - Rumble mp3 at California Girls (?)
Link Wray - Oddball mp3 at Probe Is Turning-On the People
Link Wray - The Fuzz mp3 at Record Brother
Link Wray - Ace of Spades mp3 at Kogars Jungle Juice
Link Wray - Tijuana mp3 at Ray Carram (?)
Link Wray - Comanche mp3 at RocknDog
Link Wray - Comanche (alternate nix) mp3 at Rock 'n' Soul Ichiban Promo 45

NOW, ABOUT THAT TITLE GUYS....

Two different versions of "Comanche" by He Whose Shit Does Not Stink and the Raymen, both raw as all get out. The first, the released version, begs for a second listen after you hear the fade out. Starting at about the 2:00 mark, ten seconds of what sounds like someone banging on a cardboard box. Ending the record with two isolated instruments, and one of them is the most poorly recorded instrument on the record. Brilliant.

Whoa, sit still for the alternate mix! This one was promotional copy version, notable because someone is totally beating the living shit out of a tambourine. The tambourine player isn't on the released version because after he injured his hand beating the living shit out of a tambourine, they took him out back and shot him.

~ NOTE: ALL MEDIA IS HOSTED BY THE BLOGS & SITES NAMED BELOW ~

Listen:
Link Wray - Comanche mp3 at RocknDog
Link Wray - Comanche (alternate nix) mp3 at Rock 'n' Soul Ichiban Promo 45

BOOSTER SHOT

Every once in a while a reminder is in order, so here's some Link Wray. No fussing today, I've got things to do.

~ NOTE: ALL MEDIA IS HOSTED BY THE BLOGS & SITES NAMED BELOW ~

Listen:
Link Wray - Rumble mp3 at Joe Troiano
Link Wray - Run Chicken Run mp3 at A Tumblr (?)
Link Wray - Jack the Ripper mp3 at Joe Troiano
Link Wray - The Swag mp3 at Joe Troiano

THE GARAGE-FATHER

I don't know what Link Wray was hopped up on when he recorded "Hidden Charms". It may well have been nothing more than his inert Wrayness. But, ho-ly shit, does it get it down to business. One of the rawest rock 'n' roll records you'll hear this week. And it continues to get dirtier all the way through the fade out, ending with a seriously tweaked solo.

The other versions below are by Charles Clark and Howlin' Wolf. Clark's version is the earliest I could find and could be the original as he's backed by the Willie Dixon Band, and the song was written by Dixon. The Howlin' Wolf version, though good, is not nearly as great as one would imagine, particularly for a Willie Dixon song. Better is his original version of Dixon's "Down in the Bottom". I bring that up for a reason. Wray's treatment of "Hidden Charms" reminded me of the Groupies' version of "Down in the Bottom", another unhinged take down of a Dixon song. Here's the lot of them, in chronological order.

~ NOTE: ALL MEDIA IS HOSTED BY THE BLOGS & SITES NAMED BELOW ~

Listen:
Charles Clark and the Willie Dixon Band - Hidden Charms (streaming) at YouTube 1958
Howlin' Wolf -Down in the Bottom (streaming) at YouTube 1961
Howlin' Wolf - Hidden Charms (streaming) at YouTube 1963
The Groupies - Down in the Bottom (streaming) at YouTube 1965
Link Wray - Hidden Charms mp3 at Beware of the Blog 1966
Old links (more music). Scroll down these pages:
Willie Dixon
Howln' Wolf
Link Wray

UNDER THE WRAYDAR

Here's one that I surely would have missed if it weren't for Diddy Wah and his knack for digging up oddball obscurities. It's Ray Vernon and the Wraymen. Ray Vernon was a pseudonym used by Vernon Wray, the brother of Link. The Wraymen were those two and brother Doug on drums. No way would I ever have run across this if he hadn't posted it, and it's every bit as nasty as a regular Link Wray and the Wraymen side. It's the same personnel, so that's not a huge surprise. But it's new to me, so I'm eating it up.

~ NOTE: ALL MEDIA IS HOSTED BY THE BLOGS & SITES NAMED BELOW ~

Listen:

Ray Vernon and the Raymen - Big City After Dark mp3 at Diddy Wah Go there to get it. 

Link Wray - Five cuts at this old post

THE GOOSEBUMP INDUCER

Sometimes hearing a song when you're not expecting to, even if you've heard it hundreds of times, will bring an instantaneous gut feeling, something along the lines of "I forgot what a hot shit song this is." That happened today in a record store. The song was "Rumble" by Link Wray, two and a half minutes of real attitude. Being in a record store that normally spins much lighter weight stuff, it was kind of out of context. Context in this case being within the four walls of my apartment. It made me think about how long it had been since I'd heard it played anywhere other then in my apartment or car. Not that it's that obscure. It was a hit when it came out and is on a million compilations of fifties and/or instrumental music, in other words, readily available.

Wray, as twee as he got. He'll still smoke your ass.

Maybe I rarely hear it because everybody in my crowd, whatever the hell that is, have already heard it themselves hundreds of times. Maybe it's because I don't get out much. Maybe it's because it seems so simple. There really isn't much going on in the song other than a general don't fuck with me attitude. Or so it seems. Read the thing at Wikipedia for the technical anolmanies, of which there are a few. All I care about is the feel, and no amount of factoids or other mumbo jumbo can accurately describe that.

~ NOTE: ALL MEDIA IS HOSTED BY THE BLOGS & SITES NAMED BELOW ~

Listen:
Link Wray - Rumble mp3 at Joe Troiano
Link Wray - Run Chicken Run mp3 at A Tumblr (?)
Link Wray - Jack the Ripper mp3 at Joe Troiano
Link Wray - The Swag mp3 at Joe Troiano
Link Wray - Tijuana mp3 at Ray Carram

SLAYER

Do this, start at Dead Wax and dig the Valliants, First the cool vocal number, and then the cover of "Jack the Ripper". Thinks are looking up, eh? Two great cuts. Now follow them with Link Wray's "Jack the Ripper". Yeah baby. Let the cage be rattled. If you're still not satiated, the full LP is linked below.

~ NOTE: ALL MEDIA IS HOSTED BY THE BLOGS & SITES NAMED BELOW ~

Listen:
Jimmy Friis and The Valiants - Serpents & Spiders mp3 (via Box) at Dead Wax
The Valiants - Jack The Ripper mp3 (via Box) at Dead Wax
Link Wray - Jack the Ripper mp3 at Joe Troiano (?)
The LP:
Link Wray and his Raymmen - Full LP at Surfadelic NOTE; Click on the orange "Download" button.
Check this:
 Link Wray and his Raymen - Promo shot at Ace Records High resolution.

MOONDOG, ALWAYS THE GATEWAY

I don't have any kids, but a lot of my cronies do, but even as someone who doesn't, I still in awe of those years before "cool" becomes part of the decision making process. Kids, by and large, like something or don't. Until that age when peer pressure rears it's ugly head, the decision making process is simplified. Once what other people like becomes part of the equation, it takes years to shake it, if you ever do. So, since almost all of my friends with kids are into music, it's not uncommon for me to ask them what their kids listen to. So it was that I asked Espen, from the Better Men Than You, what his kids listen to. The reason is that his eldest, Isak, is the kid I mentioned several weeks ago as having done a school report on Moondog. Of course I'm going to be curious.

Turns out that they like stuff that involves robots, Godzilla, and "any song with 'Batman' in the title". Say no more. This is it. I may never get the chance to do this again...(exhale). It brings me great pleasure to say...,Isak, this is Link Wray:

~ NOTE: ALL MEDIA IS HOSTED BY THE BLOGS & SITES NAMED BELOW ~

Listen:
Link Wray - Batman mp3 at Record Brother
Link Wray - Rumble mp3 at California Girls (?)
Other Batmans, both sufficiently tweaked::
Los Monjes - Batman mp3 at Rock 'n' Soul Ichiban
De Maskers - Batman mp3 (via DivShare) at The Devil's Music 

Note: Once you get to DivShare, click on the small green "Download" button (Not the larger green one that says "Download now"), and scratch your head for fifteen seconds while the timer counts down. When the button reappears, you're good to go.

Watch:
Link Wray - Rumble (live) at YouTube  1978
Link Wray - Rawhide (American Bandstand) at YouTube Late 50s, spitshined

FOUR KINDS OF CRAZY

Every time it seems like things are kind of slowing down, in terms of hearing anything that knocks me on my ass, I seem to run into a blog or two that nail it. Good text, wild music, and just the right amount of flippancy. In the right proportions that combination can eat up several nights, and that's probably what's going to happen, so I'll hep you to a handful of cuts at my newest instant favorite, and send you on your way.

On the Record is an unassuming looking blog, until you start poking around. Most of the links, even on the earliest posts are still good, and like I said, there's good text. Historical info, pretty detailed at that, along with snarky asides. Fucking awesome: a record fiend with attitude, and great records. Turn your attention now to first song linked below. That's right, you know him, you love him, you can't live without him, the Great One, Mr. Link Wray. Much fuss has been made here and elsewhere about his sinister licks. This, of course, is what put him on the map. As you may know he's dabbled in singing with mixed results. I honestly never thought one of his vocal songs would become a favorite, but then, I hadn't heard the one I just heard. Feast your ears on "Hidden Charms" by Wray and his Wraymen, circa 1966. That's right, smack dab in the middle of the garage rock explosion, our main man shows those bowl cuts a thing or two. Put it away teenagers, he means business. (Note: The outro is some seriously twisted licks.)

Also at the same site, the gold standard of nuts,"The Girl Can't Dance", which, of course, features the legendary larynx shredding of Bunker Hill. Did you know that it's Wray and his homies backing Hill? Now you do. Speaking of larynx schedding, remember ol' Joyce Harris' version of "Got My Mojo Working"? Of course you do. I was hyperventilating all over it on a post just...shit, it was six years ago. On the Record posted another a cut of hers, "No Way Out", that's as crazy as that earlier one. The last selection below is Dean Carter's cover of "Jailhouse Rock, which answers the question, if you were going to cover that song in 1967, how do you make it relevant? You go batshit crazy, that's how. Dig the guitar solo.

About DivShare, where On the Record hosts their stuff: From the site, click on the "share" button on the embedded DivShare player. A download link will appear (it might say "Link to mp3"). Click on that, it'll take you to DivShare. Once there, click on the green "Download" button. A bit of a hassle, but it will pay dividends.

~ NOTE: ALL MEDIA IS HOSTED BY THE BLOGS & SITES NAMED BELOW ~

Listen:
Link Wray and the Raymen - Hidden Charms mp3 (via DivShare) at On the Record
Bunker Hill - The Girl Can't Dance mp3 (via DivShare) at On the Record
Joyce Harris - No Way Out mp3 (via DivShare) at On The Record
Dean Carter - Jailhouse Rock mp3 (via DivShare) at On the Record
Visit:
On the Record

FUCK 'EM, HE'S IN MY HALL

Link Wray. You know what I'm talkin' about. Rock 'n' roll, right? Okay, we have that established. As you may know, Link Wray was up for induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame [sic] this year and was passed over. I'm not sure what their criteria is, and I don't care. I know this: any talk about rock 'n' roll, and what is and what is not, has to throw everything out that is irrelevant. Record sales, credits, mass acceptance, era, looks, technical proficiency, output, all that shit goes out the window. All that matters is if it is rock 'n' roll. Link Wray is rock 'n' roll, in all its simple, greasy, badass glory. And those people passed him over.

Want the sting? Just two of the artists that were inducted this year are Cat Stevens and Hall and Oates. I'm not going to waste my breath going off about that, because the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame is about as relevant to rock 'n' roll as your granny (unless she's Cordell Jackson). I won't legitimize them with the real lengthy counterpoint the issue deserves. I haven't paid attention to everone who has been inducted in the past, but even if every choice was spot on (which I guarantee you is not the case), this major fuck up should seriously negate any legitimacy they had. Link Wray's in my hall. I haven't figured out what to call it yet, but he's a first year inductee, totally.

~ NOTE: ALL MEDIA IS HOSTED BY THE BLOGS & SITES NAMED BELOW ~

Listen:
Link Wray - Rumble mp3 at Joe Troiano
Link Wray - Run Chicken Run mp3 at A Tumblr (?)
Link Wray - Jack the Ripper mp3 at Joe Troiano
Link Wray - The Swag mp3 at Joe Troiano
Link Wray - Tijuana mp3 at Ray Carram
Link Wray - Ace of Spades mp3 at Ole Miss
Link Wray - Dixie Doodle mp3 at Joe Troiano
Robert Gordon with Link Wray - Red Hot mp3 at Joe Troiano
Link Wray - It's All Over Now Baby Blue mp3 at The Rising Storm

GRAB BAG SPOTLIGHT

There's no theme here. My tastes are varied. So, apparently, is my mood tonight. I've been sidetracked over at The Explosive Generation. When I run into a high concentration of different types of music that I happen to like, I know enough to dig around a little bit. If you are a record store, I would be the pest. Which is all to say, there's some good music over there, particularly if you like to dabble outside of your safety zone.

Here's just a few. "Rumble", as you know, is the big bang of badassery. It is the air you breath. Don't ask any more about that. Ronnie Cook and the Gaylad's OG version of "Goo Goo Muck", so we can all have a moment for Lux. Ditto, sorta, Warren Smith's "Dear John", it's rockabilly anyway. Then there's King Tubby, because...fuck, do I have to give you reasons? Because it's Tubby. damn it. Sir Lord Baltimore is down there for you aging 70's hard rock second tier band freaks. The Digits,...go fish.

~ NOTE: ALL MEDIA IS HOSTED BY THE BLOGS & SITES NAMED BELOW ~

Listen:
Link Wray - The Rumble mp3 at The Explosive Generation
Ronnie Cook and the Gaylads - The Goo Goo Muck mp3 at The Explosive Generation
Warren Smith - Dear John mp3 at The Explosive Generation
King Tubby - Money Dub mp3 at The Explosive Generation
Sir Lord Baltimore - Hell Hound mp3 at The Explosive Generation
Didjits - Turn It Up mp3 at The Explosive Generation

PRIMORDIAL PICKERS

What would our record collections look like guitar players? Just about every type of the music we hold dear to our hearts is based on the role of the guitar player. Lest we forget, a great many early rock 'n' roll guitarists honed their chops listening to music that wasn't rock 'n' roll. I was reminded of that a few days ago, when a friend of mine left a comment (on the Bud Shank post) about how Mark Neil, the guitarist of his old band, the Unknowns, had no clue about the existence of surf music when, early on in the band's existence, people would comment on how his guitar style sounded like surf guitar. Neil was, in fact, a disciple of the Joe Maphis and Chet Atkins brand of picking. Add to that the use of a Mostrite guitar (which Maphis played, as well as the Ventures) and a little reverb and, viola, the lines were blurred.

Here's just a few pre-surf pickers. Believe me, this could have been an all nighter. Of all of the songs below, Maphis's "The Rockin' Gypsy" is probably the closest to primordial surf music. Chet Atkins...well, it's Chet Atkins. If the name doesn't mean anything to you, sink your teeth into "Under the Double Eagle." That's some clean shit. Alas, I wasn't able to find a Merle Travis song that showed him at full speed, but you'll get a feel for how tasty his licks can be on "Louisiana Boogie." I included the Collins Kids because Larry Collins was tutored by Maphis. Consider the fact that Collins was something like 13 when "Hoy, Hoy" was recorded, sit back, and let the amazement begin. (His age still blows me away, and I've been familiar with that song for a long, long time.) Duane Eddy and Link Wray are down there too, because no list of guitarists who influenced surf guitarists would be complete without them. Seriously, this is just the tip of the tip of the iceberg. Go to YouTube armed with these names and you'll kill a couple hours before you know it.

~ NOTE: ALL MEDIA IS HOSTED BY THE BLOGS & SITES NAMED BELOW ~

Listen:
Joe Maphis - The Rockin' Gypsy mp3 at Beware of the Blog
Joe Maphis - Twin Banjo Special mp3 at DK Presents
Chet Atkins & Hank Snow - Under the Double Eagle mp3 at Photos Plus
Chet Atkins - Freight Train mp3 at Rocky-52
Merle Travis - Louisiana Boogie mp3 at Bousculade
The Collins Kids - Hoy Hoy mp3 at Beware of the Blog
Duane Eddy - Rebel Rouser mp3 at Brown High 62
Link Wray - Rumble mp3 at Cows Are Just Food
Earlier semi-related post:
Give the Producer Some - Post about Mark Neill

OH, WHAT THE HELL

Here's a couple that feature guitarists playing on instrumentals under names you might not recognize.  The first is a restrained Link Wray playing with the Moon Men, presumably a name used for throwaway instrumentals.  Playing almost as if he's looking at his watch, it sounds like he's hearing the rhythm for the first time, like he's just making it up on the spot.  Just a reminder that Link Wray, contrary to what was commonly thought around here, was, in fact, mortal.  Nowhere near his sinister sounding best.  The other song features a young Roy Buchanan, who put out some blues rock stuff that I used to go nuts over when I was in my mid-late teens.  (Listen to his version of "Hey Joe" at YouTube.  Listen to the lead that starts at about 2:57.  Hard to believe that I used to get off on that sort of stuff.  How do you even come close to shaking what you got to that?)  In the case of these two songs, I think I'd appreciate them more if I didn't know who was playing on them.  I tell you what though, I will not rest until I can acquire twenty four hours of faceless dime store variety instrumentals; and these suckers will take up about five or six minutes.  Get outta my way, I've got a project goin' here.

~ NOTE: ALL MEDIA IS HOSTED BY THE BLOGS & SITES NAMED BELOW ~

Listen: 
The Moon Men - Some Kinda Nut mp3 (via Box.net) at The Slow Drag
Bobby Gregg - Potato Peeler mp3 at Diddy Wah

78 COMEBACK SPECIAL

"Fred Lincoln "Link" Wray Jr (May 2, 1929 – November 5, 2005) was an American rock and roll guitarist..." That's the first line of the Wikipedia entry for Link Wray. So there are some things on Wikipedia that are true. (Need a citation? Listen to "Rumble." It's all right there.)

As much as I like to heap praise on Wray, he was not infallible. He did some stuff in the early seventies that sort of strayed from what he did best, some bordering on country rock. Just in the nick of time, in the late seventies he teamed up with Robert Gordon, playing rockabilly. Not quite a return to form, his forte really was the simpler distort-o-menace, but he did get back to his greaser roots. And the Gordon sets would allow him to drag out some of his own stuff. Check the 1978 video below and tell me, just how badass do you want your forty nine year old guitar player to be? Dude reeks switchblade. In spirit anyway.

Check his moves at 2:30, just before the first guitar freakout.

Of course his playing isn't technically that challenging. And on his vocal stuff, he's no Pavarotti. To some, his whole package may seem a little over the top. But, come on, "Rumble"? You really think he fights in alleys? Link Wray was an American rock n' roll guitarist, a really great badass rock n' roll guitarist. (No citation needed.)

A couple notes: "Oddball" is take two of "Rumble," before it was called "Rumble." (Dig the effects near the end.) And give a listen to "Run Chicken Run." He's 68 years young on that one.

~ NOTE: ALL MEDIA IS HOSTED BY THE BLOGS & SITES NAMED BELOW ~

Listen:
Link Wray - Oddball mp3 at Probe Is Turning On the People
Link Wray - Rumble mp3 at JohnRook.com
Link Wray - Jack the Ripper mp3 at Cocktails and Records
Link Wray - Run Chicken Run (Live, 1998) mp3 at Cold Fury
Link Wray - The Fuzz mp3 at Record Brother
Link Wray - Batman Theme mp3 at Record Brother
Link Wray - Rawhide '63 mp3 at Merry Swankster
Link Wray - Comanche mp3 at RocknDog
Robert Gordon with Link Wray- Rockabilly Boogie mp3 at Rocky-52.net
Visit:
Be Wild, Not Evil: The Link Wray Story at Perfect Sound Forever Massive six part bio.
Excellent high resolution early live photo of Wray at I Am Not Jerry
Link Wray at Wikipedia

CHECK OUT!

There's a bunch of reasons to post "Check Out" by Us Kids, not the least of which is to hep you to Garage Hangover. It's a really great, very focused blog about obscure garage bands from the first garage era. It's been linked over in my sadly neglected blog list ("Get Lost") pretty much since day one, and it's provided me with hours of digging and reading about bands that don't mean a trifle in the overall rock n' roll scheme of things. Yet each band has their own special, if sometimes mundane, story.

Us Kids was a band of 11-14 year olds, from the early sixties, "Check Out," the one mp3 posted, is pretty good, and not just kid good. It's hard to believe the writer was something like 13 years old at the time. I listened and tried hard to imagine the song done in a somewhat creepier style. The very title of the song, and the riff, were already headed there. Some sort of teenage Link Wray, this kid was. That's when I started hearing the Cramps. I was thinking how cool it would be if the Cramps covered it. Then I realized that they practically did, with their version of Ronnie Cook and the Gaylad's "Goo Goo Muck."

~ NOTE: ALL MEDIA IS HOSTED BY THE BLOGS & SITES NAMED BELOW ~

Us Kids - Check Out mp3 at Garage Hangover
The Cramps - Goo Goo Muck mp3 at Motel de Moka
Link Wray and the Wraymen - Rawhide mp3 at Diddy Wah
Lux and Ivy's Favorites, Vol 1-11, separate mix zips at Beware of the Blog
(11 mixes, that's a lot of music!)
Fool's Paradise with Lux and Ivy interview mp3 at Beware of the Blog