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EntityQ252248· pop 35· linked from 332 articles

Also known as Frederick Lincoln "Link" Wray Jr

American guitarist (1929–2005)

Music · MusicBrainz

Type
Person
Country
US
Active from
1929-05-02
Active to
2005-11-05

via MusicBrainz · CC0

Listeners · Last.fm

Listeners
427,539
Total plays
4,147,155

Tags

rockabillysurf rockRock and RollSurfrock

Fred Lincoln "Link" Wray, Jr. (May 2, 1929 – November 5, 2005) was a Native American rock and roll guitarist, songwriter, and vocalist who became popular in the late 1950s. Building on the distorted electric guitar sound of early records, his 1958 instrumental hit "Rumble" by Link Wray and his Ray Men popularized "the power chord, the major modus operandi of modern rock guitarists", facilitating the emergence of "punk and heavy rock". Rolling Stone placed Wray at No. <a href="https://www.last.

via Last.fm · Link Wray

Recent publications · Crossref

5 total works indexed

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  5. Social Conditions As Fundamental Causes of Disease

    · 1995 · cited 4,471x

via Crossref · CC0

Key facts

Born
Fred Lincoln Wray Jr. , ( 1929-05-02 ) May 2, 1929, Dunn, North Carolina , U.S.
Origin
Portsmouth, Virginia , U.S.
Died
November 5, 2005 (2005-11-05) (aged 76), Copenhagen , Denmark
Genres
Rock and roll country rockabilly surf garage rock country rock swamp rock hard rock Instrumental rock
Occupations
Musician songwriter
Instruments
Guitar vocals steel guitar bass guitar
Years active
1955–2005
Website
www .linkwray .com

via Wikipedia infobox

Wikidata facts

Official website
www.linkwray.com
Image
Link Wray - 3-8-03 Photo by Anthony Pepitone.jpg
Show 6 more facts
Commons category
Link Wray
date of birth
1929-05-02
date of death
2005-11-05
birth name
Fred Lincoln Wray, Jr.
start of work period
1956-00-00
pseudonym
Link Wray
Sources (4)

via Wikidata · CC0

~8 min read

Article

Fred Lincoln "Link" Wray Jr. (May 2, 1929 – November 5, 2005) was an American guitarist, songwriter, and vocalist who became popular in the late 1950s. His 1958 instrumental single "Rumble" reached the top 20 in the United States, and was one of the earliest songs in rock music to use distortion and tremolo.

Rolling Stone ranked Wray at No. 45 on its list of the 100 greatest guitarists of all time. He received two nominations for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, prior to being inducted in the Musical Influence category in 2023.

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