"Rumble" is an
instrumental
An instrumental or instrumental song is music without any vocals, although it might include some inarticulate vocals, such as shouted backup vocals in a big band setting. Through Semantic change, semantic widening, a broader sense of the word s ...
by American group
Link Wray & His Wray Men. Released in the United States on March 31, 1958, as a single (with "The Swag" as a B-side), "Rumble" utilized the techniques of
distortion
In signal processing, distortion is the alteration of the original shape (or other characteristic) of a signal. In communications and electronics it means the alteration of the waveform of an information-bearing signal, such as an audio signal ...
and
tremolo
In music, ''tremolo'' (), or ''tremolando'' (), is a trembling effect. There are multiple types of tremolo: a rapid repetition of a note, an alternation between two different notes, or a variation in volume.
Tremolos may be either ''measured'' ...
, then largely unexplored in
rock and roll
Rock and roll (often written as rock & roll, rock-n-roll, and rock 'n' roll) is a Genre (music), genre of popular music that evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It Origins of rock and roll, originated from African ...
.
In 2018, the song was inducted into the
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (RRHOF), also simply referred to as the Rock Hall, is a museum and hall of fame located in downtown Cleveland, Ohio, United States, on the shore of Lake Erie. The museum documents the history of rock music and the ...
in a new category for singles.
In 2008, it was inducted to
National Recording Registry
The National Recording Registry is a list of sound recordings that "are culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant, and inform or reflect life in the United States." The registry was established by the National Recording Preservation ...
by
Library of Congress
The Library of Congress (LOC) is a research library in Washington, D.C., serving as the library and research service for the United States Congress and the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It also administers Copyright law o ...
.
History
At a live gig in
Fredericksburg, Virginia
Fredericksburg is an Independent city (United States), independent city in Virginia, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 27,982. It is south of Washington, D.C., and north of Richmond, Virginia, R ...
, in early 1958, while 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 audience, which demanded four repeats that night. The host of the
sock hop, disc jockey
Milt Grant, paid for the song to be recorded and released as a single; in turn, Grant would receive songwriting credit.
Eventually the instrumental came to the attention of record producer
Archie Bleyer
Archibald Martin Bleyer (June 12, 1909 – March 20, 1989) was an American song arranger, bandleader, and record company executive.
Early life
Bleyer was born in the Corona section of the New York City borough of Queens. His father was a well-k ...
of
Cadence Records, who hated it, particularly after Wray poked a pencil through the speaker cone of his amplifier to make the recording sound more like the live version.
But Bleyer's stepdaughter loved it, so he released it despite his misgivings.
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
A gang is a social group, group or secret society, society of associates, friends, or members of a family with a defined leadership and internal organization that identifies with or claims control over Wiktionary:territory#Noun, territory in a ...
fight, and it was feared that the piece's harsh sound glorified juvenile delinquency
Juvenile delinquency, also known as juvenile offending, is the act of participating in unlawful behavior younger than the statutory age of majority. These acts would be considered crimes if the individuals committing them were older. The term ...
.[ The record is the only instrumental single ever banned from radio in the United States.]
Chart performance
"Rumble" was a hit in the United States, where it climbed to number 16 on the pop charts and number 11 on the R&B chart in the summer of 1958. In Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...
the song also reached number 16.
Covers and later versions
The Dave Clark Five
The Dave Clark Five, also known as the DC5, were an English rock and roll band formed in 1958 in Tottenham, London. Drummer Dave Clark was the group's leader, producer and co-songwriter. In January 1964, they had their first UK top-ten single, ...
covered it in 1964 on their first album, '' A Session with The Dave Clark Five''; it also appeared on '' The Dave Clark Five Return!'', their second American album.
Another recording of the instrumental was released by Wray in 1968 as "Rumble '68", and again in 1969 as "Rumble-69" (Mr. G Records, G-820). In 2014 jazz guitarist Bill Frisell released a cover of "Rumble" on his album '' Guitar in the Space Age!''
Influence
Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan (legally Robert Dylan; born Robert Allen Zimmerman, May 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. Described as one of the greatest songwriters of all time, Dylan has been a major figure in popular culture over his nearly 70-year ...
once referred to "Rumble" as "the best instrumental ever".Pulp Fiction
''Pulp Fiction'' is a 1994 American independent crime film written and directed by Quentin Tarantino from a story he conceived with Roger Avary.See, e.g., King (2002), pp. 185–7; ; It tells four intertwining tales of crime and violence ...
'', '' Screaming Yellow Theater with host Svengoolie'', ''Independence Day
An independence day is an annual event memorialization, commemorating the anniversary of a nation's independence or Sovereign state, statehood, usually after ceasing to be a group or part of another nation or state, or after the end of a milit ...
'', '' SpongeBob SquarePants vs. The Big One'', '' Blow'', the pilot episode of the HBO series ''The Sopranos
''The Sopranos'' is an American Crime film#Crime drama, crime drama television series created by David Chase. The series follows Tony Soprano (James Gandolfini), a New Jersey American Mafia, Mafia boss who suffers from panic attacks. He reluct ...
'', '' StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty'', '' Riding Giants'', '' Roadracers'', and '' Wild Zero''.
In the 2008 documentary, '' It Might Get Loud'', with the guitarists Jimmy Page
James Patrick Page (born 9 January 1944) is an English musician and producer who achieved international success as the guitarist and founder of the Rock music, rock band Led Zeppelin.
Page began his career as a studio session musician in Lo ...
, The Edge
David Howell Evans (born 8 August 1961), better known as the Edge or simply Edge,McCormick (2006), pp. 21, 23–24 is a British-Irish musician, singer, and songwriter. He is best known as the lead guitarist, keyboardist, and backing vocalist o ...
, and Jack White
John Anthony White (; born July 9, 1975) is an American musician who achieved international fame as the guitarist and lead singer of the rock duo the White Stripes. As the White Stripes disbanded, he sought success with his solo career, subse ...
, Page, the Led Zeppelin
Led Zeppelin were an English rock music, rock band formed in London in 1968. The band comprised vocalist Robert Plant, guitarist Jimmy Page, bassist-keyboardist John Paul Jones (musician), John Paul Jones and drummer John Bonham. With a he ...
founder and guitarist, appears playing a 45 rpm single of "Rumble", apparently from his personal collection. Page discusses the record and performs air guitar along with it. Intercut in this footage is part of a conversation among the three guitarists where Page discusses listening to, "anything with a guitar on, when I was a kid ..but the first time I heard "The Rumble" ic that was something that had so much profound attitude to it".
"Rumble" was sampled by experimental hip-hop trio Death Grips in "Spread Eagle Cross the Block" from their 2011 mixtape '' Exmilitary''. Interviewing on television with Stephen Colbert
Stephen Tyrone Colbert ( ; born May 13, 1964) is an American comedian, writer, producer, political commentator, actor, and television host. He is best known for hosting the satirical Comedy Central program ''The Colbert Report'' from 2005 to ...
on April 29, 2013, Iggy Pop
James Newell Osterberg Jr. (born April 21, 1947), known professionally as Iggy Pop, is an American singer, musician, songwriter, actor and radio broadcaster. He was the vocalist and lyricist of proto-punk band the Stooges, who were formed in 1 ...
commented that he "left school emotionally" at the moment he first heard "Rumble" at the student union, which led him to pursue music as a career.Adam and the Ants
Adam and the Ants were an English Rock music, rock band that formed in London in 1977. The band existed in two versions, both fronted by Adam Ant, between 1977 and 1982. The first phase began when the band were founded in May 1977 and were call ...
song "Killer in the Home", from the '' Kings of the Wild Frontier'' album, is based on the same refrain in "Rumble" (Ants guitarist Marco Pirroni has cited Link Wray as a major influence).
References
External links
Library of Congress essay
{{Authority control
1958 singles
1958 songs
Cadence Records singles
American garage rock songs
Link Wray songs
Rock instrumentals
United States National Recording Registry recordings
1950s instrumentals