Apache Link Wray

APACHE (Link Wray)

“Apache” is a much-recorded instrumental written by Jerry Lordan. The original version was by the British group the Shadows, recorded in June 1960 and released the following month. It topped the UK Singles Chart for five weeks. (More from Wikipedia)

Link Wray and His Ray Men have a bonafide hit song to their name, “Rumble” which got as high as #16 (and that’s not bad at all for an instrumental); and they hit the singles charts twice more in the early part of his career. Not surprisingly, due to his Indian heritage, several of his recordings were named after Indian tribes: his own people, “Shawnee Tribe”, plus “Comanche” and “Apache”. The latter is by far the best known of these instrumental songs, though by other artists; Link Wray didn’t actually record it until 1990.

(February 2013)