The Power Chord

[winston]

Rock and Roll has been in transition ever since it snuck into our living rooms back in the 50's as a merging of multiple influences. Nothing though transformed Rock and Roll so quickly and so emphatically as the emergence of the power chord.

The first recordings that used the power chord were by two great rock and roll pioneers. Link Wray and Eddie Cochran. But what do we really know about these two and why are they not still household names today, except perhaps to musicians? Pete Townshend for example stated in unpublished liner notes for his comeback album in 1970, "He is the king; if it hadn't been for Link Wray and 'Rumble,' I would have never picked up a guitar." Tall praise for a man that many of us know little about. Rumble of course was a killer instrumental that took the Western world by storm back in 1958.

Jeff Beck, Jimi Hendrix, Marc Bolan, Neil Young and Bob Dylan have all cited Wray as an influence. Songs written based on the use of the power chord are still a staple of every self respecting rock bands repertoire and will be for some time to come in my estimation.

One of my favorites is the 1965 hit "I Can't Explain" by the Who. I guess Peter truly was influenced by Link Wray. The Kinks of course, seized ownership of the power chord for a number of their hits.

[peewee]

Nice, Brian!

Power chords were also used in early C&W believe it or not. Webb Pierce's "There Stands The Glass", recorded for Decca in March of 1953, is the first example that I know of. Seeing as Link didn't record "Rumble" until 1958, I have to wonder if "There Stands The Glass" was a subconscious influence on him. The chords are identical and there's also a touch of amp tremolo on both. The difference is that "Rumble" follows a traditional 12 bar I-IV-V progression while "TSTG" is I-IV-I-IV-I-V.

**"There Stands The Glass" was also the very first song ever recorded featuring a pedal steel guitar. Up to that point, all steel guitar work was played on a "high" or table steel with no levers or pedals and only a volume pedal for swells. The pedal steel was played by Sho-Bud co-founder, Bud Issacs.**

[winston]

That's interesting news Mike,

Every article that I found on this subject credits Link Wray with the first use. Ike Turner also claimed the use of power chords as a first. Most acknowledge Link however. I suppose it could be a bit like the controversy raging over the invention of the telephone. Was it really Bell or did he "lift" the idea for the technology he patented? I suppose that we will never really know the answer to that one.

It would be interesting to listen to the recording that you cite. Do you have a copy of it?

[peewee]

Yes, I have it on a comp CD called Webb Pierce : King of the Honky-Tonk that has the original Decca master recordings of his hits from 1952-1959.

I went back and listened to refresh my memory and the guitar is only playing the I and the IV chord - in this case D and G.
So there are a couple of differences between the two songs afterall. The crude "power chords" are still there though and being played during the verses.

I wish I could share a file but the best I can offer is a poor quality audio link to the CD on Amazon.com. The part mentioned sounds a little anemic here and nowhere near as up front as on the actual CD..........

http://www.amazon.com/King-Honky-Tonk-O ... 381&sr=1-3

[winston]

Thanks Mike,

It does sound a bit weak but.....it seems that we may have evidence of an earlier recording that uses power chords. Anyone else have any thoughts on the use of power chords and why they are so compelling to our ears?

[blueflamerick]

Without the power chord, I wouldn't be able to play a guitar.

The power chord sounds so compelling to our ears because the perfect 5th is the most stable harmony outside of an octave. It's all to do with the anatomy of our ears & how the brain processes sounds.

[shamustwin]

The power chord takes the place of an entire orchestra.

[winston]

Without the power chord, I wouldn't be able to play a guitar.

That comment stopped me in my tracks, because it probably applies to many of us. Guitar players that is. I can play with a power cord though.

[nick_allen]

OK, I'm going to be Mr Picky Knowitall here
1) Re pedal steel guitar. Pedal steel was recorded many times prior to Bud Isaacs, by Alvino Rey and Speedy West among others. What Bud Isaacs did, on "Slowly" by Webb Pierce, was to make the moving tones created by use of the pedals an integral part of the music. (I.e. play a G chord, GBD, then press a pedal, without moving the bar or picking the strings again, to raise the B to a C, and the D to an E, making a C chord.) Previously, the pedals were used essentially to shift to a new tuning in the course of a song. (And I'm 99% sure that the "Bud" of Sho-Bud was Buddy Emmons, not Bud Isaacs.)
2) Power chords, being the tonic and the 5th with no 3rd - I strongly suspect these have been used forever, very probably by Bach, Beethoven, etc. - and certainly in a lot of the old modal folk country tunes such as Pretty Polly, The Cuckoo, etc. Also I would think a lot of the old acoustic blues - if Robert Johnson strummed in an Open G tuning and didn't hit the 2nd string, that was a power chord.

[peewee]

You're right on there, Nick - my mistake.

I was thinking "Slowly" but had "TSTG" on my mind. You're also correct about Buddy Emmons - Shot Jackson & Buddy Emmons are the founders of Sho-Bud, not Bud Issacs.

Thanks!