Rumble (instrumental)

"Rumble"
Single by Link Wray & His Ray Men
B-side "The Swag"
Released April 1958
Format 7"
Recorded 1954
Genre
Length 2:25
Label Cadence 1347
Songwriter(s)
  • Milt Grant
  • Link Wray
Audio sample
30 second sample of "Rumble" by Link Wray & His Ray Men, 1958
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"Rumble" is an instrumental by American group Link Wray & His Ray Men. Released in the United States in April 1958 as a single (with "The Swag" as a B-side),[2] "Rumble" utilized the techniques of distortion and feedback, then largely unexplored in rock and roll. The piece is one of very few instrumental singles banned from the radio airwaves in the United States.[3] It is also one of the first tunes to use the power chord,[4] the "major modus operandi of the modern rock guitarist".[5]

In 2018, the song was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in a new category for singles.[6]

History

At a live gig in Fredericksburg, Virginia, attempting to work up a backing for The Diamonds' "The Stroll," Link Wray & His Ray Men came up with the instrumental "Rumble", which they originally called "Oddball". It was an instant hit with the live audience, which demanded four repeats that night.

Eventually the instrumental came to the attention of record producer Archie Bleyer of Cadence Records, who hated it, particularly after Wray poked holes in his amplifier's speakers[7] to make the recording sound more like the live version. But Bleyer's stepdaughter loved it, so he released it despite his misgivings.[8] Phil Everly heard it and suggested the title "Rumble", as it had a rough sound and said it sounded like a street fight.

It was banned in several US radio markets because the term "rumble" was a slang term for a gang fight and it was feared that the piece's harsh sound glorified juvenile delinquency.[7] It became a hit in the United States, where it climbed to number 16 on the charts in the summer of 1958. Bob Dylan once referred to it as "the best instrumental ever".[9] The Dave Clark Five covered it in 1964 on their first album, A Session with The Dave Clark Five; it also appeared on their second American album, The Dave Clark Five Return!.

An updated version of the instrumental was released by Wray in 1969 as "Rumble '69" (Mr. G Records, G-820).

Influence

The 1980 Adam and the Ants song "Killer in the Home", from their Kings of the Wild Frontier album, is based on the same refrain that is featured in "Rumble" (Ants guitarist Marco Pirroni has cited Link Wray as a major influence).

The piece is popular in various entertainment media. It has been used in movies, documentaries, television shows, and elsewhere, including Top Gear, The Warriors (in the deleted opening scene), Pulp Fiction,[10] Screaming Yellow Theater with host Svengoolie, Independence Day, SpongeBob SquarePants vs. The Big One, Blow, the pilot episode of the HBO series The Sopranos, Starcraft II, Riding Giants, Roadracers, and Wild Zero.

In an interview with Stephen Colbert on April 29, 2013, Iggy Pop stated that he "left school emotionally" at the moment he first heard "Rumble" at the student union, leading him to pursue music as a career.[11]

The title of the record serves as the title of the 2017 documentary film Rumble: The Indians Who Rocked the World which features, amongst others, the work of Wray and his impact on rock music as a man of Native American descent.

References

  1. ↑ Richard Aquila (1989). That Old-time Rock & Roll: A Chronicle of an Era, 1954-1963. University of Illinois Press. p. 21. ISBN 978-0-252-06919-2.
  2. ↑ Jacqueline Edmondson Ph.D. (3 October 2013). Music in American Life: An Encyclopedia of the Songs, Styles, Stars, and Stories That Shaped Our Culture. ABC-CLIO. p. 359. ISBN 978-0-313-39348-8.
  3. ↑ Robert Rodriguez, The 1950s' Most Wanted: The Top 10 Book of Rock & Roll Rebels, Cold War Crises, and All-American Oddities (Brassey's, 2006), 94.
  4. ↑ Zitz, Michael. Fredericksburg Free Lance-Star. Fredericksburg, VA. "Fredericksburg Offered up Fertile Spot for Rock's Roots" December 20, 2005.
  5. ↑ AllMusic's Link Wray Biography
  6. ↑ "Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Inducts Songs for the First Time, Including 'Born to Be Wild' & 'Louie Louie'". Billboard. Retrieved 15 April 2018.
  7. 1 2 "Guitarist Link Wray Dies". Rolling Stone. 2005.
  8. ↑ Doyle, Jack (May 10, 2010). "Rumble Riles Censors, 1958-59". PopHistoryDig.com. Retrieved 5 April 2016.
  9. ↑ Wray's 'Rumble' Still Reverberating Richard Harrington, Take Note - Rockabilly Hall of Fame
  10. ↑ Maury Dean, Rock 'n' Roll Gold Rush: A Singles Un-Cyclopedia (Algora Publishing, 2003), 438.
  11. ↑
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