Going back even further now with Link Wray’s iconic “Rumble.” Short and simple, but there aren’t many pieces that strut as much as this does. It has so much attitude that it was banned by radio stations, even though it has no words.
“Rumble” was released in 1958, when gang violence in New York was high, the greaser subculture was at its peak, and so on. The song’s title was slang for a gang fight, so that and the song’s harsh swagger led people to think it was glorifying or inciting gang activity.
“Rumble” captured a big part of the American spirit of the ’50s, and both it and Wray were hugely influential on rockers to come:
Nevertheless it became a huge hit, not only in the United States, but also Great Britain, where it has been cited as an influence on The Kinks, The Who, and Jimmy Page among others. Jimmy Page cites the song in the Davis Guggenheim documentary It Might Get Loud and proceeds to play air guitar to the song in the movie. Pete Townshend stated in unpublished liner notes for the 1970 comeback album, “He is the king; if it hadn’t been for Link Wray and ‘Rumble,’ I would have never picked up a guitar.” In other liner notes in 1974, Townshend said, of “Rumble”: “I remember being made very uneasy the first time I heard it, and yet excited by the savage guitar sounds.”
Jeff Beck, Duff McKagan, Jack Rose, Jimmy Page, Jimi Hendrix, Eric Clapton, Cub Koda, Marc Bolan, Neil Young and Bob Dylan have all cited Wray as an influence. (Wikipedia)
Made in America.