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Chuck Berry internalized country, blues and R&B influences to create a singular guitar technique.

Chuck Berry

Bo Diddley, nicknamed "the Originator" for his role in the transition from blues to rock and roll, drove music into a new era with his rollicking rhythms and edgy guitar.

Bo Diddley

Everyone who puts a slide on their guitar owes a debt to Elmore James. Raw, stimulating electric—his was the lick that basically defines blues rock.

Elmore James

Charlie Christian took electric guitar out of the rhythm section and into the spotlight.

Charlie Christian

Lead Belly had a hard life in which he couldn't count on much besides poverty and prison. No doubt, this informed his sharp, keening vocals and significant contributions to the fledgling folk movement.

Lead Belly

You can't overstate Les Paul's genius. The lifelong innovator created echo delay, overdubbing, multitracking and more.

Les Paul

Hard rock and heavy metal as we know it wouldn't exist without Led Zeppelin, one of the most popular and innovative rock bands ever.

Led Zeppelin

Short-lived but influential, the Yardbirds blazed a trail for new genres and gave some of rock's best guitarists their start.

The Yardbirds

The Stooges were punk before punk existed. In a time when hippie idealism was popular, the Stooges threw down the gauntlet in the form of provocative, high-octane rock and roll.

The Stooges

The window-breaking, earth-quaking, soul-shaking Who.

The Who

No band embodied the psychedelic rock era’s mind-expanding, counterculture vibe better than the Grateful Dead.

The Grateful Dead

Jimi Hendrix was the most gifted instrumentalist of all time.

Jimi Hendrix Experience

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This fuzz-crusted, tremolo-laden  instrumental was both banned by authorities and embraced by future icons. A seminal rock guitar tone is born. 

Rumble

Straddling rockabilly and country, with a pounding piano throughout, this song is both proto-surf and proto-punk.

Raw-Hide

A hypnotic, unique fusion of rockabilly and raga, this track would become a standard, covered by both Roy Buchanan and Los Straitjackets.

Jack the Ripper

Recorded in his own studio, this dobro-tinged country-rock stomper would be covered by both the Neville Brothers and Nick Cave. 

Fallin’ Rain

An homage to his Native American ancestry, this lowdown blues recorded in a shack features a hypnotic vocal meshed with a droning 12-string acoustic.

Shawnee Tribe

Primal Rock Pioneer

Link Wray played this 1958 Danelectro Guitarlin on such recordings as “Raw-Hide” “Commanche” and “Dixie-Doodle” – and is pictured on the cover of 1960’s Link Wray & The Wraymen LP. 

Commonly known as the “Longhorn” and first manufactured in 1958, it has an unprecedented 31 frets, intended to allow players to reach high notes commonly heard on the mandolin (hence the name “Guitarlin”).

Link Wray

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Jimmy Page 

"Link Wray’s seismic 1958 single 'Rumble’ is the most influential and enduring rock-guitar instrumental of all time."

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**Impact**

Career Spotlight Film - featured during their induction ceremony in 2023.

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**Influence**

Inductees

The Black Keys

The Black Crowes

The White Stripes

Ray Charles

Arthur Smith

**Induction**

Tribute: "Rumble" with Jimmy Page

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**Link Wray was the original punk,** the inventor of the power chord, and the architect of a sound that laid the foundation for metal, punk and every genre that relies on raw, untamed noise to convey its message. Every young rebel who has donned a leather jacket and slashed away at an electric guitar with loud, distorted abandon owes a significant debt to Wray.

This is the signature that appears on the inductee’s plaque at the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame to officially commemorate their induction.

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Link Wray was the original punk, the inventor of the power chord, and the architect of a sound that laid the foundation for metal, punk, and beyond.

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{{year}} **Inductees**

This award recognizes individuals who have dedicated their lives to crafting influential, important music infused with originality, achieving a level of timeless distinction.

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This award acknowledges artists whose music and performance style have directly influenced, inspired, and evolved rock & roll and music impacting culture.

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Celebrating the iconic artists who have created music whose originality, impact, and influence has changed the course of rock & roll.

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PRESS RELEASE

Rock & Roll Hall of Fame

Beatles

John, Paul, George, & Ringo kickstarted the seismic British Invasion that swept the U.S. in the ‘60s and rewrote the rules of what performers could be and do.

The Beatles

AC:DC

Since 1975, AC/DC has carved out a niche between punky hard rock and heavy metal, inspiring countless musicians with crank-up-the-volume radio staples 

AC/DC

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The Rolling Stones have married their love of blues and American R&B to a vast array of styles and genres. The constant throughline has been the band’s swagger.

The Rolling Stones

Bon Jovi

Bursting out of New Jersey in 1984, Bon Jovi’s irresistible combo of heavy metal and pop brought multiple chart-topping hits and worldwide rock stardom. 

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There's a reason the Eagles' "best of" album was the first album ever to be certified platinum.

The Eagles

Prince

Prince redefined artistic possibility, mixing rock, funk, soul, pop and jazz into a genre-defying blend that both challenged and satisfied audiences. 

Queen was one of the most popular, ambitious and beloved classic rock bands ever.

Queen

Bruce

Bruce Springsteen rose from Jersey street poet to socially conscious cultural icon, an artist whose voice spoke to—and for—multiple generations worldwide. 

Bruce Springsteen

Pink

Architects of two major music movements – psychedelic rock and progressive rock – Pink Floyd were renowned for biting political, social and emotional commentary. 

Pink Floyd

Maonna

Madonna demolished pop boundaries, boldly redefining what it means to be a rock star. She proved art could be both controversial and commercially successful.

Madonna

Janis Joplin had one of the most powerful voices of the Sixties. Her voice is equal parts tough and vulnerable, a shout into the void that resonated with a generation.

Janis Joplin

Fleetwood

Fleetwood Mac delivered some of the  most indelible songs of the ‘70s, creating a distinctive “California sound” that endures as a sonic touchstone for countless bands.

Fleetwood Mac

The first female-fronted hard rock band, Heart proved women can rock with the best of them. Heart's mix of hard rock and folk yielded one of the longest lasting and most commercially successful bands of all time.

Heart

Tina Turner worked hard to reimagine the role of a Black woman in rock and roll — one not related to the edges.

Tina Turner

aretha

The first woman inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, Aretha Franklin was an artist of passion, sophistication and command, whose recordings remain anthems that defined soul music.

Aretha Franklin

Cher

Pop’s enduring icon – and the only woman with No. 1 hits across seven decades. With her distinctive contralto voice, Cher mastered folk-pop, rock, disco, and electropop.

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Missy “Misdemeanor” Elliott holds the record for most platinum albums by a woman rapper. She forged new paths by unapologetically owning her body and her Blackness. 

Missy Elliott

With her prodigious songwriting talent, vocal and instrumental prowess, charisma, and trademark style, Dolly Parton has achieved immense global success as a musician and blazed a trail for generations of artists to come.

Dolly Parton

Joan Jett & The Blackhearts smash genre (and gender) boundaries by fusing punk, glam and heavy metal with '50s and '60s rock & roll.

Joan Jett & The Blackhearts

Elvis

The first anointed King of Rock & Roll. Elvis Presley ignited a revolution with his firebrand take on blues, country, R&B, pop, bluegrass and gospel. 

Elvis Presley

Billy Joel comes off as such a determinedly average guy that it's tempting to undervalue his extraordinary gifts.

Billy Joel

The founder and creative beacon of Elektra Records. Jac Holzman's diverse taste and engineering knowledge yielded a catalogue of music ranging from classical to hard rock to simply sound effects, all of the highest quality.

James Brown

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Van Halen kicked the American hard rock scene into high gear in the late Seventies, became rock heroes on MTV in the Eighties, and gave rise to a steady stream of shredders and trailblazers ever since.

Van Halen

Michael Jackson redefined both the sound and look of pop, worldwide. Transcending  cultural and racial boundaries, his music continues to influence generations.

Michael Jackson

The unmistakeable vocal timbre of Rock & Roll Hall of Fame 2019 Inductee Stevie Nicks’s voice has dominated rock.

Stevie Nicks

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Earth, Wind & Fire’s distinctive blend of funk, soul, jazz, Africana, and pop melodicism ruled the ‘70s and ‘80s airwaves. 

Induction

Impact

Primal Rock Pioneer

Primal Rock Pioneer

Rumble

Raw-Hide

Jack the Ripper

Fallin’ Rain

Shawnee Tribe

Guitar(lin)Man

As a guitar instrumental, the attitude of Rumble was totally unique in its mystery, imagination, and execution. It had a profound effect on me.

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Influence

Influences

Influenced

sealed with a signature

Shop Link Wray and more

Shop Link Wray and more

more from
the hall

explore the hall of fame

explore the hall of fame

Induction

Impact

Primal Rock Pioneer

Primal Rock Pioneer

Rumble

Raw-Hide

Jack the Ripper

Fallin’ Rain

Shawnee Tribe

Guitar(lin)Man

As a guitar instrumental, the attitude of Rumble was totally unique in its mystery, imagination, and execution. It had a profound effect on me.

more from therock & rollhall of famearchives

Influence

Influences

Influenced

sealed with a signature

Shop Link Wray and more

Shop Link Wray and more

more from the hall

explore the hall of fame

explore the hall of fame

more from
the hall