21. Link Wray

Considering how long he was active, Wray didn’t record a lot. Frankly, he could have stopped recording after his 1958 instrumental hit “Rumble” and still be on this list. That song introduced the world to the “power chord” and his experimentation of distortion and feedback was revolutionary for its time. Some in the music world have given Wray credit for fathering Hard Rock, Metal and Punk based on that power chord alone. Guitar legends such as Jimi Hendrix, Jeff Beck and Pete Townshend have cited him as influential, the latter stating that had it not been for Wray “he would have never picked up a guitar”. Considering the caliber of his supporters his chance for induction is certainly better than the quantity of recordings would indicate.

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