I must hang my head in shame and admit that until a few years ago, I had never heard Link Wray.

Oh sure, I had heard about him - the guy who tore holes in his amp speakers to get a distorted sound some time back in the early days of rock. And didn't he do a song called "Rumble"? Said to be a classic, but I never heard it.

Then one day I saw a CD titled "RUMBLE! The Best of Link Wray" (Rhino Records). It was on sale, so I picked it up on a lark, because I did want to hear that title track.

Two chords into "Rumble", and my jaw dropped - I KNEW THIS SONG!

"Rumble" had been playing in my head for YEARS! Somehow, I had heard the tune but never put a name to it. I suppose that's the problem with instrumentals - it's hard to put a name to them.

No wonder I couldn't get it out of my head - "Rumble" is THE power chord song. Listening to the power-packed guitar sound, one has to be astounded that this song was recorded in 1959.

That's right - Link was the man who brought the sound of POWER to rock. Pete Townsend acknowledges this, and it's a good thing, too. It just so happens that Link's "Deuces Wild" sounds exactly like a template for the kind of power chord/drum pounding workouts that the Who made famous. And Link recorded that tune in 1964.

The Rhino collection is a revelation for fans of power rock. Once you listen and once you realize when these tracks were recorded, you know that Link Wray was a MAJOR influence on rock and roll.

He may not have had many hits after "Rumble", but music history shows that most of the great innovators seldom make the charts.

Besides, as a guitarist, how can I not love a guy who set up a record studio on his farm and cranked out tons of tunes? How can I not love a guy who kept testing the limits of effects and recording techniques? Most of all, how can I not love a guy who pours all his energy into his playing? Listening to songs like "Raw-Hide" and "Jack The Ripper" makes me want to grab my axe and rock out! No doubt these tunes had the same effect on earlier generations of guitar players.

And so we come to the reason I'm writing this article. Call me a dreamer, but I took it for granted that an innovator like Link was in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. After all, when I think of "Rock and Roll", I think of power chords and distorted guitars, so of course the Hall had to include the man who brought those to the fore.

But I thought wrong.

While hunting for information on the Linkster, I found Wrays Shack 3 Tracks.com, an incredible resource for all things Wray, and was bowled over when I learned of their drive to get Link Wray inducted into the Hall of Fame.

Well, it's time to right this wrong, and make the Hall see the light!

"Induct Link Wray into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame!"

See (and SIGN) the petition here!

By the way, if you haven't heard any Link yet, check out Wrays Shack 3 Tracks.com, because they've got "Jack the Ripper" loaded up. If that doesn't get you rockin' ... well ... you'd better check your pulse.