Very cool, indeed
Link Wray, a North Carolina native with Shawnee Indian ancestry invented the power chord and explored the use of reverb and distortion long before guitarists had their stomp boxes and pedals. He served in the Army during the Korean War and contracted tuberculosis, which led to the removal of a lung. He went on to directly influence every major British guitar player and indirectly that influence extends to every electric guitar slinger on the planet. He died in 2005 and has finally been nominated for this year’s 2014 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.