“Rumble” is a blues instrumental by Link Wray & His Ray Men, which they originally called “Oddball”. Originally released in 1958, “Rumble” utilized the techniques of distortion and feedback, then largely unexplored in rock and roll. The piece is one of very few instrumental singles banned from the radio airwaves. It is also one of the first tunes to use the power chord, the “major modus operandi of [the] modern rock guitarist”. (More from Wikipedia)
Whether or not Link Wray heard the 1950’s blues records with earliest power chords and got the idea has not been established as far as I know. He refined his technique over a period of time during gigs. While working up an instrumental backing for their version of a really fine early rock and roll song “The Stroll” (originally by the Diamonds), Link Wray and His Ray Men hit upon a slow-paced but incredibly powerful instrumental that they first called “Oddball”. The first time they played it, it was a huge hit with the audience, who demanded four encores of the performance.
Phil Everly of the Everly Brothers reportedly heard the song and suggested the name “Rumble” since it sounded like a street fight to him. Archie Bleyer, a record producer for Cadence Records also heard about it but hated the song. However, Bleyer’s step-daughter Jackie Ertel and some of her friends loved the song. Some sources even say that Jackie Ertel, not Phil Everly came up with the name – the two later married.
(February 2013)
