I've always thought that this was a Beatle invention, but I've been reading that the real honour goes to rockabilly icon Link Wray way back in the fifties. Can anyone vouch for this ? (PC?).

Quoted from kevin_b

I've always thought that this was a Beatle invention, but I've been reading that the real honour goes to rockabilly icon Link Wray way back in the fifties. Can anyone vouch for this ? (PC?).

Link Wray was an innovator with feedback/overdrive/distortion and that was back in the late 50's/early 60s. He still plays quite a bit.

j r is correct......link wray and the raymen did songs such as rumble,switchblade,ain't that loving you baby,and rawhide.those were the most notable.he always had heavy guitar sounds on his albums.eddie cochran was an early experimenter too.....the monkees used distortion too...name the song for 50 points.....

^ Stepping Stone?

no it was on the birds the bees and the monkees i believe.

it was magnolia simms.............but look at the comments i found.......by the monkees on jimi
Micky Dolenz later recalled:


The first time I'd seen Hendrix was in New York at some club in the Village. He was playing lead guitar for the John Hammond band. I'd been invited down to hear "this guy play with his teeth." Sure enough, there was this young Black guy who, besides being an extraordinary guitar picker, would occasionally raise the instrument up to his mouth and play it with his teeth.
Mike Nesmith remembered when he first heard of Hendrix as well:


I was in London visiting John Lennon, and I was having dinner with him, McCartney and Clapton. And John was late. When he came in he said, "I'm sorry I'm late but I've got something I want to play you guys." He had a handheld tape recorder and he played "Hey Joe." Everybody's mouth just dropped open. He said, "Isn't this wonderful?" So I made a mental note of Jimi Hendrix, because Lennon had introduced me to his playing.

heres the link it came from...its a interesting read...http://www.snopes.com/music/artists/hendrix.htm

Far out. Lennon, McCartney, Clapton, Nesmith (oh well) sitting around having dinner and listening to Hendrix.  What would you give for an invite?

all of my solo mccartney collection........

Quoted from pc31

all of my solo mccartney collection........

Trying to give what you dont have,,,,,tsk, tsk!

Quoted from pc31

j r is correct......link wray and the raymen did songs such as rumble,switchblade,ain't that loving you baby,and rawhide.those were the most notable.he always had heavy guitar sounds on his albums.eddie cochran was an early experimenter too.....the monkees used distortion too...name the song for 50 points.....

This thread got me curious, so I did some research on the All Music Guide website about Link Wray, its some fascinating stuff. I just ordered his compilation. Thanks PC.

you will like it...he gets kinda old quick tho...duane eddy is good too...but link was a simple country man.....kinda like charlie feathers...

What John said about I FEEL FINE:


That's me, including the guitar lick with the first feedback ever recorded. I defy anybody to find an earlier record - unless it is some old blues record from the Twenties -- with feedback on it.

well sweets john was mistaken...he probally had listened to all the records from america just the ones they could swipe or buy....i don't think he had heard of link wray...i defy you mr lennon....

I don't care what you all say, I Feel Fine was the first feedback

I remember watching the Anthologies, and in it there is a section with George Martin talking about the single, it was the beginning distortion of I feel fine.  The Beatles accidently left their guitar leaning on the amp, when they turned on they thought the noise was great, so they recorded it.  The Anthology says it was the first recorded feedback ever.  

Now keep in mind, its the first feedback ever recorded, not distortion, keep in mind the difference.

feedback - holding the guitar too close to the amp so it loops the signal and causes, well, feedback.

distortion - overdriving the amp in a way that distorts the overall sound.

Distortion had been recorded before in early blues and such, but no one ever thought to intentionally record feedback.  

That is great that the Beatles discovered it, even before Hendrix refined it and turned feedback into an artform.  

I smell the beginning of a new 'who did the aah in A Day In The Life'- thread. And it sure smells good

This is directed more at PC--got "Rumble: Best Of" by Link Wray. Haven't gotten through the whole disc yet, but if Pete Townshend doesn't owe this guy everything. Wow. Cool early heavy stuff.

its hard to believe it didn't catch on right then...america was truly sleeping....he also did a song with the art of noise,one of his tunes rumble i think....

do you listen to rock-a-billy at all??i think some of carl perkins early stuff is great...the brits were into rock a billy...tommy steele,billy fury,and even rory storm had rock a billy overtures...

dang i fergot marty wilde

I'm intrigued by some of that, but not enough to have added any to the collection. I'd like to check out some of that heavy twang vibrato stuff. I don't know whose more of that, Duane Eddy or Eddie Cochran? Suggestions are welcome.

I've been listening alot to Carl, Gene and Eddie lately.  There's a good BBC recording with Eddie and Gene.  I love it when the announcer says, "And now Eddie will play 'What Did I Say'."  And Eddie rips into "What'd I Say."

I'd forgotten how amazing Gene Vincent's voice was.  His "Summertime" is phenomenal.   I can see why John admired him.

link died recently.....

Quoted from Bobber

I smell the beginning of a new 'who did the aah in A Day In The Life'- thread. And it sure smells good

Perhaps we'll even be analysing who did the cough at the very end of the I Feel Fine feedback!

A Hard Day's Write says it was John who put the guitar against the amp.

Quoted from GreenApple

A Hard Day's Write says it was John who put the guitar against the amp.

Yep, absolutely - Paul and George confirm the same in Anthology. Also, it may have been discovered accidentally but its use was very deliberate on I Feel Fine. I beleive it was created by John leaning a Gibson acoustic against an amp and then hitting a 'E'.

Well actually it was a 'A' and paul also plucks an A on his bass to back it up... but being picky aside - I can believe nobody has mentioned The Who. Thier live act throughout 1964 (pre I Feel Fine) incorporated feedback lots as part of the overall sound. It was a stage gimmick and they didnt record it until the second single ('Anyway Anyhow Anywhere' mid 1965 after I Feel Fine ) but it just goes to show the whole rock show was heading that way anyway. Feedback was so common on stage unintentionally that someone had to start using it creativley!

I cant think of any recorded instances of feedback (not distortion) before the guys did it though.

Quoted from Benreturns

[...] Feedback was so common on stage unintentionally that someone had to start using it creativley!...

An the guys were the first, what a coincidence!  
They were pioneers on certain things, tho sometimes they didn't invent them

george coughed.........

I think that this topic deserves a reading, what do you think?

Quoted from mooorange

[...] The Anthology says it was the first recorded feedback ever.  
[...]
feedback - holding the guitar too close to the amp so it loops the signal and causes, well, feedback.
distortion - overdriving the amp in a way that distorts the overall sound.
[...]
That is great that the Beatles discovered it, even before Hendrix refined it and turned feedback into an artform.  

Another myth that it's not true or they (John) invented Jimi Hendrix -as it's said in theAnthologies-?

I love the song ... really innovative and a big step for them (because of the unusual drums too) made in 1964! ... far from they're so-called "Studio Years", with all that time to be bored (ask Ringo, for example) or to be working and experimeting at the studio ...