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Link Wray was born on this date. (Original Post)
Dyedinthewoolliberal
May 2021
OP
pecosbob
(7,544 posts)1. I remember this song was banned in some places
cilla4progress
(24,777 posts)2. So cool.
Just learned about him on Rumble: The Indians Who Rocked the World, a PBS special about Native American influence on rock and roll, blues, jazz, folk, etc!!!
So funny - banned. No lyrics!
The Polack MSgt
(13,199 posts)3. Happy Birthday!
mahatmakanejeeves
(57,621 posts)4. I just noticed that on This Day in Rock History.
Sat May 2, 2020: I was just looking for that. I had forgotten the name of the song. Old age....
Please allow me to toss this in.
Rumble (instrumental)
"Rumble" is an instrumental by American group Link Wray & His Ray Men. Released in the United States on March 31, 1958, as a single (with "The Swag" as a B-side),[citation needed] "Rumble" utilized the techniques of distortion and feedback, then largely unexplored in rock and roll. The single is the only instrumental ever banned from radio in the United States. It is also one of the first tunes to use the power chord, the "major modus operandi of the modern rock guitarist".
In 2018, the song was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in a new category for singles.
At a live gig in Fredericksburg, Virginia, in early 1958, 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 to make the recording sound more like the live version. But Bleyer's stepdaughter loved it, so he released it despite his misgivings. 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. 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".[ 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!.
"Rumble" is an instrumental by American group Link Wray & His Ray Men. Released in the United States on March 31, 1958, as a single (with "The Swag" as a B-side),[citation needed] "Rumble" utilized the techniques of distortion and feedback, then largely unexplored in rock and roll. The single is the only instrumental ever banned from radio in the United States. It is also one of the first tunes to use the power chord, the "major modus operandi of the modern rock guitarist".
In 2018, the song was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in a new category for singles.
At a live gig in Fredericksburg, Virginia, in early 1958, 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 to make the recording sound more like the live version. But Bleyer's stepdaughter loved it, so he released it despite his misgivings. 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. 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".[ 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!.
If there's one person who could go on about those days, it's Mark Opsasnick.
Mark Opsasnick, Author
Description:
Life-long Greenbelter Mark Opsasnick has authored eight books about culture, music and unexplained phenomena in the Washington, D.C. area. An avid fan and follower of the rock since in his early years, he's become best known for putting that passion into use researching and publishing his four books about the DC-area rock scene.
His most recent book, published in 2019, is Rock the Potomac, a comprehensive history of popular music in the Washington, D.C. area from Colonial times to the end of the Vietnam War in 1975, with a strong emphasis on the emergence of rock and roll and its early development in the nations capital. Offering a mix of cultural history, extensive night club information and detailed band and musician profiles, Rock the Potomac stands as a literary monument that will forever serve fans of Washington, D.C. area popular music.
Watch an interview with Mark about Rock the Potomac by Greenbelt Access Television. (1)
Mark's first book, in 1996, was Capitol Rock, which chronicled DC-area rock music from 1951 to 1976 and attracted some nice reviews, with the Washington City Paper calling it a feast of arcane, often fascinating detail, conjuring a long-lost world of innocent teen dances and rowdy honky-tonks. The Washington Post called it an excellent recent history of Washingtons rock n roll scene.
More music history books followed: Washington Rock and Roll: A Social History, and The Lizard King Was Here: The Life and Times of Jim Morrison in Alexandria, Virginia.
{snip}
Description:
Life-long Greenbelter Mark Opsasnick has authored eight books about culture, music and unexplained phenomena in the Washington, D.C. area. An avid fan and follower of the rock since in his early years, he's become best known for putting that passion into use researching and publishing his four books about the DC-area rock scene.
His most recent book, published in 2019, is Rock the Potomac, a comprehensive history of popular music in the Washington, D.C. area from Colonial times to the end of the Vietnam War in 1975, with a strong emphasis on the emergence of rock and roll and its early development in the nations capital. Offering a mix of cultural history, extensive night club information and detailed band and musician profiles, Rock the Potomac stands as a literary monument that will forever serve fans of Washington, D.C. area popular music.
Watch an interview with Mark about Rock the Potomac by Greenbelt Access Television. (1)
Mark's first book, in 1996, was Capitol Rock, which chronicled DC-area rock music from 1951 to 1976 and attracted some nice reviews, with the Washington City Paper calling it a feast of arcane, often fascinating detail, conjuring a long-lost world of innocent teen dances and rowdy honky-tonks. The Washington Post called it an excellent recent history of Washingtons rock n roll scene.
More music history books followed: Washington Rock and Roll: A Social History, and The Lizard King Was Here: The Life and Times of Jim Morrison in Alexandria, Virginia.
{snip}
He could tell you all about those old clubs, gone for years, where Link Wray played.
(1) &feature=youtu.be
mahatmakanejeeves
(57,621 posts)5. Born on this day, May 2, 1929: Link Wray
Sat May 2, 2020: Born on this day, May 2, 1929: Link Wray
Hat tip, This Day in Rock, but they got the year wrong.
Link Wray
Birth name: Fred Lincoln Wray, Jr.
Born: May 2, 1929; Dunn, North Carolina, U.S.
Died: November 5, 2005 (aged 76); Copenhagen, Denmark
Website: www.linkwray.com
Fred Lincoln "Link" Wray, Jr. (May 2, 1929 November 5, 2005) was a Shawnee rock and roll guitarist, songwriter, and vocalist who became popular in the late 1950s.
Building on the distorted electric guitar sound of early records, his 1958 instrumental hit "Rumble" by Link Wray & His Ray Men popularized "the power chord, the major modus operandi of modern rock guitarists," facilitating the emergence of "punk and heavy rock". Rolling Stone placed Wray at No. 45 of the 100 greatest guitarists of all time. In 2013 and 2017 he was a nominee for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Though he began in country music, his musical style went on to consist primarily of rock and roll, rockabilly, and instrumental rock.
{snip}
Career
Building on the distorted electric guitar sound of early records, Wray's first hit was the 1958 instrumental "Rumble". It popularized "the power chord, the major modus operandi of modern rock guitarists," facilitating the emergence of "punk and heavy rock". The record was first released on Cadence Records (catalog number 1347) as by "Link Wray & His Ray Men". "Rumble" was banned in New York and Boston for fear it would incite teenage gang violence.
Birth name: Fred Lincoln Wray, Jr.
Born: May 2, 1929; Dunn, North Carolina, U.S.
Died: November 5, 2005 (aged 76); Copenhagen, Denmark
Website: www.linkwray.com
Fred Lincoln "Link" Wray, Jr. (May 2, 1929 November 5, 2005) was a Shawnee rock and roll guitarist, songwriter, and vocalist who became popular in the late 1950s.
Building on the distorted electric guitar sound of early records, his 1958 instrumental hit "Rumble" by Link Wray & His Ray Men popularized "the power chord, the major modus operandi of modern rock guitarists," facilitating the emergence of "punk and heavy rock". Rolling Stone placed Wray at No. 45 of the 100 greatest guitarists of all time. In 2013 and 2017 he was a nominee for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Though he began in country music, his musical style went on to consist primarily of rock and roll, rockabilly, and instrumental rock.
{snip}
Career
Building on the distorted electric guitar sound of early records, Wray's first hit was the 1958 instrumental "Rumble". It popularized "the power chord, the major modus operandi of modern rock guitarists," facilitating the emergence of "punk and heavy rock". The record was first released on Cadence Records (catalog number 1347) as by "Link Wray & His Ray Men". "Rumble" was banned in New York and Boston for fear it would incite teenage gang violence.
Link Wray - Rumble - 11/19/1974 - Winterland (Official)
886,517 viewsSep 23, 2014
Rock on MV
46.6K subscribers
Link Wray - Rumble
Recorded Live: 11/19/1974 - Winterland - San Francisco, CA
More Link Wray at Music Vault: http://www.musicvault.com
Previously at DU:
Mon Apr 23, 2018: Link Wray - Rumble
Starting in 2018, the Rock n Roll Hall of Fame announced the creation of a new award category -- single records that shaped rock n roll.
One of the recipients of this new category was Link Wray's "Rumble"
Wray, whose music was popular in the late 50s, is known as the inventor of the "power chord", influenced many later artists, including Jimmy Page and Neil Young.
According to Rolling Stone's "100 Greatest Guitartists" ....
When Link Wray released the thrilling, ominous "Rumble" in 1958, it became one of the only instrumentals ever to be banned from radio play for fear that it might incite gang violence. By stabbing his amplifier's speaker cone with a pencil, Wray created the distorted, overdriven sound that would reverberate through metal, punk and grunge. Wray, who proudly claimed Shawnee Indian ancestry and lost a lung to tuberculosis, was the archetypal leather-clad badass, and his song titles alone "Slinky," "The Black Widow" convey the force and menace of his playing. "He was fucking insane," said the Black Keys' Dan Auerbach. "I would listen to 'Some Kinda Nut,' over and over. It sounded like he was strangling the guitar like it was screaming for help." When Wray died in 2005, Bob Dylan and Bruce Springsteen both performed "Rumble" onstage in tribute. "If it hadn't been for Link Wray and 'Rumble,'" said Pete Townshend, "I would have never picked up a guitar."
Are you ready to Rumble???
And....
Here's Jimmy Page listening to "Rumble"-- priceless!
One of the recipients of this new category was Link Wray's "Rumble"
Wray, whose music was popular in the late 50s, is known as the inventor of the "power chord", influenced many later artists, including Jimmy Page and Neil Young.
According to Rolling Stone's "100 Greatest Guitartists" ....
When Link Wray released the thrilling, ominous "Rumble" in 1958, it became one of the only instrumentals ever to be banned from radio play for fear that it might incite gang violence. By stabbing his amplifier's speaker cone with a pencil, Wray created the distorted, overdriven sound that would reverberate through metal, punk and grunge. Wray, who proudly claimed Shawnee Indian ancestry and lost a lung to tuberculosis, was the archetypal leather-clad badass, and his song titles alone "Slinky," "The Black Widow" convey the force and menace of his playing. "He was fucking insane," said the Black Keys' Dan Auerbach. "I would listen to 'Some Kinda Nut,' over and over. It sounded like he was strangling the guitar like it was screaming for help." When Wray died in 2005, Bob Dylan and Bruce Springsteen both performed "Rumble" onstage in tribute. "If it hadn't been for Link Wray and 'Rumble,'" said Pete Townshend, "I would have never picked up a guitar."
Are you ready to Rumble???
And....
Here's Jimmy Page listening to "Rumble"-- priceless!
There are some related threads at DU based on this:
MBLE: The Indians Who Rocked the World Official Trailer
135,798 viewsApr 21, 2017
kinolorber
18.5K subscribers
RUMBLE: The Indians Who Rocked the World opens July 26 at Film Forum in New York before expanding to cities across the country.
Sun Nov 12, 2017: Rumble: The Indians Who Rocked the World
Tue Mar 13, 2018: Rumble The Indians Who Rocked The World