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News from the darkest corners of the musical universe:
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Monday, November 21, 2005 ◦
Guitar master Link Wray , the father of the power chord in rock 'n' roll who inspired such legends as Bruce Springsteen, David Bowie and Pete Townshend, has died. He was 76.
Wray died Nov. 5 at his home in Copenhagen, his wife and son said on his Web site. No cause of death was given, but his family said his heart was "getting tired." He was buried Friday after a service at Copenhagen's Christian Church.
Wray, who played in his trademark leather jacket, developed a style considered the blueprint for heavy metal and punk music. He is best known for his 1958 instrumental "Rumble," 1959 "Rawhide" and 1963 "Jack the Ripper." His music has been featured in movies including "Pulp Fiction," "Independence Day" and "Desperado."
Wray, who was born in North Carolina and is three-quarters Shawnee Indian, is said to have inspired many other rock musicians, including Townshend of the Who, Springsteen, Bowie, Bob Dylan and Steve Van Zandt. All have been quoted as saying that Wray and "Rumble" inspired them to become musicians.
"He is the king; if it hadn't been for Link Wray and 'Rumble,' I would have never picked up a guitar,'" Townshend wrote on one of Wray's albums. Neil Young once said: "If I could go back in time and see any band, it would be Link Wray and the Raymen."
When recording "Rumble," he created the fuzz tone by punching holes in his amplifiers to produce a dark, grumbling sound. It took off instantly, but it was banned by some deejays in big cities for seeming to suggest teen violence.
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Wednesday, November 02, 2005 ◦
Skitch Henderson, the Grammy-winning conductor who lent his musical expertise to Frank Sinatra and Bing Crosby before becoming the first "Tonight Show" bandleader and founding the New York Pops in 1983, died Tuesday. He was 87.
Henderson died at his home in New Milford, Conn., of natural causes, a spokeswoman for New Milford Hospital said.
In 1954, NBC pegged him as the bandleader for Steve Allen's "Tonight Show." Even as the hosts changed from Allen to Jack Paar to Johnny Carson, Henderson was a constant. He left the show in 1966.
Born in England, Lyle Russell Cedric Henderson moved to the United States in the 1930s. He got his big break in 1937, when he filled in for a sick pianist touring with Judy Garland and Mickey Rooney. He then went to Hollywood, where he joined the music department at MGM and played piano for Bob Hope's "The Pepsodent Show." His friendship with Hope put him in touch with other stars of the day, including Crosby, a mentor to Henderson.
After World War II, Henderson toured as Sinatra's musical director and later became musical director at NBC.
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