Editing Link Wray (section)

==Early life==
Wray was born on May 2, 1929, in [[Dunn, North Carolina]], to Fred Lincoln Wray Sr. and Lillian Mae (née Coats), whom her son identified as being of [[Shawnee]] descent.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Flowers |first1=Sonya |title=“Rumble”—Link Wray (1958) |url=https://www.loc.gov/static/programs/national-recording-preservation-board/documents/Rumble_Flowers.pdf |website=Library of Congress |access-date=22 November 2024 |location=Washington, DC |date=2008 |quote=Their mother, Lillian, was of Shawnee descent, and became affectionately known as Memaw.}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Bengal |first1=Rebecca |title=Link Wray & the Chord Heard ’Round the World |url=https://www.ourstate.com/link-wray-the-chord-heard-round-the-world/ |website=Our State |access-date=22 November 2024 |date=2023}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.wargs.com/other/wrayl.html |title=Ancestry of Link Wray |publisher=Wargs.com |access-date=2012-08-24}}</ref> Wray recalled living in very harsh conditions during childhood, in mud huts, without electricity or heating, going to school barefoot, barely clothed.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yqyFdeGfBYA |title=Link Wray - MEGAMIX - 16 03 1994 |website=[[YouTube]] }}</ref> He recounted that his family experienced discrimination, including times when they had to hide from the [[Ku Klux Klan]].<ref name="indyweek">{{Cite web |url=https://indyweek.com/music/features/link-wray-kkk-rural-north-carolina/ |title=Link Wray Grew Up Hiding from the KKK in Rural North Carolina. Over the Course of His Career, He Refused to Be Erased. |first=Dana |last=Raidt |date=6 February 2019 |website=Indyweek.com |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210924182951/https://indyweek.com/music/features/link-wray-kkk-rural-north-carolina/ |access-date=19 October 2021 |archive-date=2021-09-24 }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Cartwright |first1=Garth |title=Link Wray |url=https://www.theguardian.com/news/2005/nov/22/guardianobituaries.artsobituaries |newspaper=[[The Guardian]] |access-date=2 May 2016}}</ref> Wray later said: "The cops, the sheriff, the drugstore owner—they were all Ku Klux Klan. They put the masks on and, if you did something wrong, they'd tie you to a tree and whip you or kill you."<ref name="indyweek"/> His family listed themselves as White on census records. Three songs Wray performed during his career were named for Indigenous peoples: "Shawnee", "[[Apache (instrumental)|Apache]]", and "Comanche".

Wray lived with his family in [[Portsmouth, Virginia]] from 1942 until 1955. He and his brothers Ray and Doug (born July 4, 1933 – died April 29, 1984) drove cabs during the day while working at night clubs in the Portsmouth and [[Norfolk, Virginia]] area. Wray's first bands, The Lucky Wray Band and The Palomino Ranch Gang, formed in Portsmouth and included brothers Ray, Doug, and Vernon (born January 7, 1924 – died March 26, 1979) and two other musicians, Dixie Neal and Shorty Horton.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.pilotonline.com/2017/10/19/musician-with-virginia-roots-rumbles-for-an-induction-into-the-rock-and-roll-hall-of-fame/ |title=Musician with Virginia roots "Rumbles" for an induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame |date=19 October 2017 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://coastalvirginiamag.com/article/new-biography-covers-rock-n-roll-guitarist-link-wray/ |title=New Biography Covers Rock 'n' Roll Guitarist Link Wray &#124; Coastal Virginia Magazine |date=21 June 2019 }}</ref>

Wray served in the [[United States Army|U.S. Army]] during the [[Korean War]] (1950–53). He contracted [[tuberculosis]], which hospitalized him for a year. His stay concluded with the removal of a lung, which doctors predicted would mean he would never be able to sing again.<ref name="hisway">{{cite news |title=Link: Doing it his Way |first=Dick |last=Meadows |newspaper=[[Sounds (magazine)|Sounds]] |publisher=Spotlight Publications |date=August 28, 1971 |page=8}}</ref>