Rumble (song)
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"Rumble" is a massively influential[1] song by guitarist Link Wray. Originally released in 1958, "Rumble" utilized then unexplored techniques like distortion and feedback.
At a live gig in Fredericksburg, Virginia, attempting to work up a backing for The Diamonds' "The Stroll," Link Wray and his Ray Men came up with the stately, powerful blues instrumental "Rumble", which they originally called "Oddball". The song was an instant hit with the live audience, which demanded four repeats that night.
Eventually the song 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 to make the recording sound more like the live version. However, Bleyer's step-daughter loved it and it was released despite his protest. She was the one who suggested renaming the song "Rumble," because it reminded her of West Side Story.
The song was an instrumental played by a combination of two electric guitars, an electric bass guitar, and drum set. It was banned in several radio markets because the term "rumble" was a slang term for a gang fight, and it was feared that the song's harsh sound glorified "juvenile delinquency." To date it is the only instrumental song to be banned from radio play. Nevertheless it became a huge hit, not only in the United States where it climbed to number sixteen on the charts in the summer of 1958,[2] but also in Great Britain, where it has been cited as an influence on the The Who, among others. It is featured in the 1994 film Pulp Fiction when John Travolta and Uma Thurman are together in the early scenes of the film.
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