Rumble

7 " :

1. Rumble

2. The Swag

The idea of ​​the song was born by Link Ray in 1956 , after his return from the Korean War. According to Link, Jesus himself inspired him with the idea of ​​composition ^[3] . However, she found her expression later when Link Wray and his Raymen , speaking at the opening act of The Diamonds , tried to play a proto-rock-and-roll song, the stroll, which was characteristic of those. The attempt came out so crude that it did not look like “the stroll” and became something completely special.

The song was first performed at a concert in Fredericksburg ( Virginia ) before the performance of The Diamonds . The impression of her was so strong that Link Ray was called on an encore four times.

Milt Grant, the man who actually served as the manager of Ray Men , sent out a demo of a successful song to Archie Bleyer , who held the label “ Cadence ”. However, he regretted that he agreed to record the song. Link Ray was looking for a fundamentally new sound - “lively”, dirty and aggressive. To do this, he made holes in the speakers and amplifiers, in such a "makeshift" way for the first time in rock, achieving a distortion effect. This and a little fake bass caused the refusal to release the composition.

The song was saved by Archie Blair’s daughter. She really liked the song, which reminded her of a scene of gang warfare from the musical West Side Story ^[3] . It was she who proposed the name "Rumble" - "gangster shootout" in the slang. Thanks to her, in 1958 the song was released on the single and achieved considerable success - 16th place on the national chart, 4 million copies were sold.

The song structure is based on a 12-bar blues . However, the sound of the guitar is not typical for the blues - it combines “heavy” distortion and the vibrato effect. This combination later became decisive for the surf genre, which Link Ray had a considerable influence on.

"Rumble" is an instrumental composition. It features 2 electric guitars, a bass guitar and drums. The sound of the leading guitar part is gloomy and frightening (especially by the standards of 1958).

• The original “Rumble” was called “Oddball” ^[4] .
• A version called “Rumble” was released on Link Ray 's debut album “Link Wray & The Wraymen” (which included “Rumble”), and was later included in the 1993 compilation “Rumble! The Best Of Link Wray. " The general style of “Rumble” is preserved in this version, however, a slightly different melody is used, and the piano sounds in the arrangement. Many believe that this version is significantly inferior to the final ^[5] .
• An alternative version of Rumble was released on the 1963 compilation Early Recordings. The deliberate slight upset of the instruments, a slightly slower pace, the use of a gloomy organ part and even stronger echo and vibrato effects make the sound of this version, possibly even more pressing and heavy than in the single version of "Rumble".

• Rumble was banned from playing on several city radio stations due to the frightening sound and dubious name. This is the first and, possibly, the last case when such a ban concerned instrumental composition ^[6] .
• Pete Townshend ( The Who ) said: “If there weren’t Link Ray and his“ Rumble “, I would never have picked up a guitar”; “I remember that for the first time it was pretty hard to listen to her. It was she who led to the emergence of a frantic garage sound. ” The influence of “Rumble” is very noticeable in the music of the early The Who , as well as a huge number of other groups of the 60s and 70s ^[7] .
• Rumble is featured in Quentin Tarantino 's Pulp Fiction , Independence Day, Ted Demme 's Cocaine , and Racers by Robert Rodriguez.

• The Shadows in 1960 recorded the song “The Rumble”, in which the influence of “Rumble” by Link Ray is felt.
• Composer Jack Nietzsche released the Rumble Orchestra in 1963 .
• A version of The Sonics was released on The Savage Young Sonics ( 2001 ).
• A version of The Dave Clark Five was released in 1964 on the album The Dave Clark Five Return ^[8] .
• A version of Duane Eddie came out in 1965 ^[9] .
• A version of the American rock band P was presented at the Austin Music Awards, 1993. A video recording of the song is available on YouTube .
• The Kingsmen , Bob Dylan , Bruce Springsteen , The Hives performed "Rumble" at concerts.
• A song with a similar name (and meaning) is featured on the rapper U God album Golden Arms Redemption (1999).

• Link Ray
• Rock'n'roll

• Link Rey's official website
• Wray's Snack 3 Tracks - Link Ray's Largest Resource

YouTube Video

• C DVD "The Rumble Man".
• In 1978
• In 1998
• In 2005
• The Hives performs Rumble.
• The Renfields performed by Rumble.