Link Wray on Rumble

Link Wray tells the story behind his hit "Rumble"

[@Bietel]

Link was such a great guy. I recorded and toured with him, and I'll always carry that with me. The music was amazing, but it was much much more than that.

[@cherylalt101]

Bietel You must have some amazing memories cause this guy made some amazing music. To be any part of Link's universe had to be an incredible experience!

[@mybethw]

❤️❤️🎸🎸Thank you Bietel for sharing your story, and your Support for my Father, it means so much to me❤️❤️🎸🎸

[@steviepaton2899]

Bullshit brother

[@LordKenebutch]

@@mybethw Your dad has the coolest name in Rock n" Roll and as a fellow native I glad your dad got the recognition he deserves in the documentary "Rumble: Indians Who Rocked the World", did he ever talk about his Native roots?

[@joannehack7588]

✨

[@ColdenBaller]

"Play that weird song! Play that weird song!" Hahahaha

[@harrymills2770]

And they included the girl laughing at the cut, right where you put it. I bet it was a pleasure interviewing that Mr. Wray.

[@carrterdinkins7977]

We have nearly the same profile pic lol

[@IFeelSoTongueTied]

hahahahaha I didn’t see the comments and when I heard that I saw this one and was dying laughing.... even though they didn’t get it yet in the 50s once those kids heard some real shit they were like we neeeeeeed that

[@InADayInALife]

I saw him play back in 1974 at a small club in Santa Clara California . He used that little amp of his. Sat it on a chair and cranked it to eleven. I made the mistake of sitting right up front of the stage in line with his amp. When he played that song it tore right through me. LOL I can still remember how sweet that song sounded! Some 40 years later...

[@junction72]

Nothing will ever sound as good as those small tube amps with Jensen speakers.

[@WhiteCamry]

That is NEVER a mistake!

[@BaconTomatoCheese]

The Native American community must be proud as hell to have this bad ass dude on their roster…

[@whssy]

Denmark is also proud as hell that he is buried here.

[@bonsummers2657]

what, he's 1/8 or 1/4 at most Native American?

[@darlahaines6928]

Listening to this on Indigenous People's Day!

[@jamisonlittleaxe825]

@@bonsummers2657 I don't care how much Shawnee he was he's still a Shawnee

[@mybethw]

❤️❤️🎸🎸Thank you for your Support for my Father❤️❤️🎸🎸

[@GTX1123]

Someone needs to make a movie about Link. This guy is an absolute LEGEND in the history of rock n roll. In the 1960's Link and his band were the house band at a biker bar in SE Washington DC. The rule was you DID NOT mess with any of the biker's chicks. When word got back to the bikers that one of the band members started dating one of the biker's ex girlfriends, the bikers vowed to take revenge. Rather than back down, Link had the band members bring their hand guns to the next gig and place them on top of their equipment. The band begged Link not to antagonize the bikers so what does Link do? During the first set, Link goes out into the crowd with his guitar and starts taunting them. Instead of getting even more ticked off the bikers LOVED it and Link became a folk hero to them, LOL.

[@solomonsanchez79]

Link lost a lung in Korea. He was not intimidated by bikers.

[@oneman1812]

@@solomonsanchez79 AMEN

[@luminous3357]

Awesome story!!

[@markmoretzfishing]

Absolutely a movie 🎥 needs to be made about Link👍👍

[@t4texastom587]

LONG LIVE 1950s ROCKNROLL!!!!!!!! R. I. P. 🎸LINK WRAY 🎸

[@j.rexcrouch623]

He was playing in some bar in D.C. - I wasn't even old enough to be in there, but I walked in and right up to him and asked him "What is that third chord in 'Rumble'?" So he told me "A B7th" , then he showed me how to play it!

[@eggsmann594]

Wayyyyyyyyyyyy😎

[@glennsmith7702]

Another thing I like about the interview is that the "kids" knew right away that Link had just done something so different that they wanted to hear it again. They knew he had just crossed over into some other side that was so new the only thing they could call it was weird. He invented the power chord and fuzz and the kids were like -wow what is that?

[@donwright3429]

Just now learned about Link Wray and I'm 70! He was Hard Rock waaaay back in 1959...Rest In Peace Link Wray You were Great!!!

[@Pappysan]

"Rumble" was 1958.

[@Alanoffer]

Glad this little piece of history is here

[@stacyblue1980]

Our Pride.🦅 Love from NC. Bless you Link.

[@mightymartianca]

That was night the hard rock was born. The power chord, that mighty gift of the Rock Gods to Link Wray. What's sad is that he isn't more universally acclaimed. He really is one of the most influential guitarists to ever hold a pick, and certainly to guitarists like Jimmy Page, Pete Townsend and Jeff Beck, he really is one of the Olympians, but to popular music he is almost a side note.

[@andybutterbaugh2998]

Have faith. Those " in the know" know. Link Wray and rumble are legendary.

[@manly1974]

He's right up there with John Lee Hooker for elemental, intuitive, American, musical genius.

[@ryans9029]

Power chord? Open D, open E, open D, open A, open D, then B7, then descending 1st position E minor pentatonic scale.

[@andreas4858]

@@ryans9029 and jumbo, no, it‘s neither a power chord nor an open d, it‘s a dsus2, maybe also with the open a string, but i‘m not sure

[@lonnieporter8566]

Just goes to show "popular" doesn't necessarily mean "good."

[@GTX1123]

I love this story because it really was the FIRST incident of an overdriven / distorted amp/guitar in history. You could easily argue that Link was the father of the hard rock. This is THE SONG that influenced Jimmy Page, Pete Townsend, Eric Clapton etc. etc.to get that distorted / overdriven sound. If you love hearing these stories about Link get the book Capitol Rock. There's a long chapter dedicated to Link Wray in that book with some amazing stories in it.

[@renenowaylynch6423]

very sexy song

[@TequillanSunrise]

Rumble is so freaking iconic.

[@castaholic8665]

Pfp is cringe

[@stevefaure415]

0:24 "Chuck Burry, you know". Link is an absolute treasure.

[@renenowaylynch6423]

this guitar riff is so dangerous sounding so cooooool! nothin like it and never will be anything so epic

[@lisaellis2593]

Exactly!

[@billyboy1093]

Dangerous is right, so much so that the Christian right tried to ban it fearing that the teens would go crazy, get drunk and fight, in other words "Rumble!"

[@GTX1123]

This story is reminiscent of the soc hop scene in "Back to the Future" where Marty creates rock n roll by playing "Johnny B Good" which Chuck Berry hears over the phone. I.e. "The Rumble" was THE FIRST example of rock power chords through a cranked up amp. Just as the kids go crazy at the soc hop in the movie, the same thing happened in Fredericksburg Va in 1957. Clapton, Townshend, Page & Beck have said that this was THE SONG which inspired them to take delta blues and mix it with guitar distortion power chords via dimed up guitar amps.

[@Aqua.man045]

I agree this guy single handly Created Punk and Garage Rock.

[@xorxzorz6995]

One of the great Native American Indian rockers.

[@glenchapman3899]

Oh he transcends race. he is one of the great rockers full stop :)

[@eggsmann594]

He stole it from a white man 🤣

[@MrDagwood63]

Great time capsule of Link, strumming. He says he was "playing just nothing" in '57. He was so great influenced so many guitarists!

[@whippz75]

NATIVE PRIDE!!!

[@davidteller7681]

The first time I saw Link Wray was at one of the Volunteer Jams (were bands would play one or two songs). I didn't know who he was. His band came out and started, he came out in black, a long black leather coat and sunglasses and proceeded to absolutely KILL on guitar and walked off. I was like, WOW, who was that guy! I've seen lots of bands and artists but that was my most wowed initial impression

[@monstermchet]

Link wray, thanks for inventing badass.

[@martinwall7297]

loved seeing him at the lone star cafe in NYC, he and Robert Gordon were the best show in the city.

[@ericmeechglobalnetwork2273]

I was fortunate enough to see Link a few times live... awesome!

[@LaGuerre19]

"Play that weird song!" Funny how so many times throughout history, "weird" is used when the better word would've been "revolutionary." Play that revolutionary song! Thanks, Link!

[@modifiedcontent]

They were probably one of the first to take rock n roll beyond the 12-bar blues; they stripped it down, deconstructed/reconstructed it into something completely different.

[@Blackscorpion1963]

3 chords...the first two is the same chord strummed 2x and then the third chord is a lower note. So simple. So what is it that makes it SO GOOD? The timing. The beat. The RHYTHM. Link Wray is a genius.

[@MissPerriwinkle]

i got hi to many of his tunes.....spacey and fun

[@jamesgrannes1782]

Legendary song for sure.

[@steves7896]

I was fortunate enough to see Link play, weeks before he died, in a little known place called the Take One Nightclub in Las Vegas. Very very fortunate.

[@supermamamaxi]

Amazing interview! My cousin was the head of his local D.C. fan club and actually played a tambourine on one of his recordings at the 3 Track Shack. Link was our local hero. I saw him play on the back of a flatbed trailer at Marumsco Plaza, Woodbridge, Va. in the early 1960's. We didn't know how world famous he had become. As I said he was our local hero. I played all the clubs he played in and around D.C. ( Benny's Rebel Room, The Web, Hillbilly Heaven, Cameron Station and Ft. Myer) to name a few. These clubs were extremely dangerous to play. Link always had his stiletto at the ready, just in case. Link's music is timeless! He inadvertently invented heavy metal. God rest his soul and we will never forget.

[@luminous3357]

Great story!!

[@rockinjohn89]

I do a radio show in Madison Wis, and I play at least one Link Wray song each week on my program to honor Link's memory. The last time I saw him perform, he cooked a couple of amps at the Rockin' 50's Fest in Green Bay back in 2005 I still can't figure out why Link isn't in the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame.

[@peterstern6695]

Link Wray ,die ewige Rock'n'Roll Legende,klasse Musiker!!!!

[@SAHBfan]

1:20 "My brother Ray grabbed the mike..." So that would be Ray Wray?!! :-) The guy gets left out of so many discussions on Heavy Metal and stuff... If Blue Cheer get credit for playing blues covers with a distorted guitar - Link Ray should get even more credit since he was playing rock and roll with distortion and power chords nearly 10 years earlier.

[@greglapointe1311]

+SAHBfan His brother was Vernon Wray, changed it to Ray Vernon.

[@scottgolden2766]

Ray Wray would have been better

[@Aqua.man045]

It’s not a competition. Also blue cheer played using down tune guitars And had psychedelic elements which makes up heavy metal. It’s not just blues rock..that’s not what metal is.

[@t4texastomjohnnycat978]

SAHBfan Link Wray made music. blue cheer made noise.

[@Oldladyfartsalot]

Aqua

[@BaconTomatoCheese]

Iconic song. First heard it on “pulp fiction”. Saw him perform at the bluebird theater in Denver. About tore my ears off. Pete Townsend said if it wasn’t for Link Wray and “Rumble”, there would be no “Who”

[@chuckm4540]

Love The Bluebird. Saw Dick Dale there back in the day. Last band I saw there was Shooter Jennings I believe.

[@Xx-xd3zo]

"Play That Weird Song" There's the title of his autobiography, or movie, right there... You know, if you change Rock n Roll, especially at that time, and he did, you change America. And that changes the world.

[@Pickinbuddy]

God Bless Link Wray.....we all miss him so much.

[@medicinegone]

"Play that weird song, play that weird song!" Hellzya.

[@scottclark9421]

The coolest cat ever

[@ivyyoung521]

I love this man! I wish I would have know about him sooner.

[@MaskedRiderChris]

Man, what a profound drawl. And what a profound influence he had on everybody out there. I like how animated and excited he is in this interview!

[@matthewgranstrom4920]

He should be in the rock and roll hall of fame, because he influenced so many great guitarists that are in the hall of fame.!!!!!!!!

[@Kaesewicht]

sadly the "rock and roll" hall of fame is a joke

[@regandunn4850]

Its better reward to say he's not in it those guys that run that are not interested unless you have paid for it ten times over and got about 7 cents per dollar whole they have a cigar

[@frankiesparks2868]

That's news to me. Why the fuck would he not be in the Hall.

[@enriquerodriguezjr4466]

I love this guy! He's a legendary GOAT of Rock N Roll!

[@childwallred]

What a moment in music history,magic actually pulled from the air,still sounds as powerful today!

[@gronxman1]

This clip is gold! Is the full interview available? I am in awe of the man and I find his recollections utterly compelling. I love his enthusiasm and passion when he talks about the past. The history that he must have been able to recall! The people he met! The places he went to! It's a shame nobody got round to making a full length Link documentary film and perhaps even a movie/biopic . He is one of the greatest guitarists of all of time - no question about it! Right up there with Hendrix!

[@ezabjacorn6208]

Gareth Brown my quest ended when I understood. Link Wray is the master. Been searching for the roots...

[@whippz75]

Its on a documentary called "Rumble" on Amazon its about Native American rockers

[@Xx-xd3zo]

@@ezabjacorn6208 - Ditto. Soon as I found him? That was it... My search was done, too. I had found the missing Link. Zero kidding.

[@mybethw]

❤️❤️🎸🎸Thank you all for your Support for my Father❤️❤️🎸🎸

[@sweetcherry0829]

this is my uncle

[@GavinHatchell]

hes kids are in south carolina

[@MrJackrockerman]

marry me..🙏

[@scottgolden2766]

J Doe There is footage of Jimmy Page playing air guitar to " The Rumble ".

[@charlottebarefoot5326]

Cool he's my cousin. His mom is my grate aunt on my mom's side. My grandpa Starling Richard Coats was his mom's brother. Yeah him and his brother were awesome guys.

[@angelobouhoutsos3060]

Badass attitude!!! Original real rocker!

[@Beazabull]

Dang this guy has a way of speaking... that was a captivating story.

[@eggsmann594]

It's that Southern MD/NC dialect........ relate!

[@Teachering]

Love it! Great story! The great Link Wray and how Rumble came to be.

[@SmithsnMoz]

Classic interview. Thanks for uploading. Awesome! !

[@glenchapman3899]

This is the song Michael J Fox should have played at the end of "Back To The Future"

[@FansFAX]

Bro... I like you

[@phaedrussmith1949]

Absolutely.

[@xfilm]

Came here to say the exact same thing!

[@bradleyadamson6925]

no

[@danielfronc4304]

NO! While I love "Rumble", that shredding by Fox's character was to be, had to be from the dancer's kid's future, ie. the '80s. Rumble was almost exactly contemporary to the 1955 dance, as it was released March 31, 1958. It would have been irrelevant to the point being made. (Besides, it wasn't just too darn loud!.)

[@str8wstcst1]

What a great story!!

[@PatriotikTraitor]

"Play that weird song! Play that weird song!" 😂😂

[@eggsmann594]

It's like there's nothing " weird " anymore.

[@janetboucher2366]

The way he walked on stage chewing gum😎 Coolest guy ever ❤

[@bodoono]

Saw him every chance I got back in the day, especially with Robert Gordon!

[@Phuh_Queue]

RIP Mr Wray

[@thescarletandgrey2505]

His brother “Ray”? So, Ray Wray??

[@DaveAnchovies]

His OTHER brother was actually Vernon and made a killer album "Wasted". Troof, its very different than Link, but an top shelf album

[@jayf6806]

Very cool! thanks for this quick interview! Now...back to some music...

[@gurbindersekhon8240]

And that's how rock and roll was born kids

[@impalaman9707]

Look up the word "Rock Star" in the dictionary, you'll see a caption of Link Wray right beside the dictionary definition. He IS Rock and Roll!

[@Luxsound67]

❤ Mother of all psycho rockabilly songs 😈😎

[@mariajosemartinlozano306]

Amo el Rock'n roll. Link Wray... GRACIAS❤💃

[@pandanurse]

Lol that laugh at the end is great!

[@wildbillfirehands]

Great stuff from a musical legend !

[@CrowdPleeza]

This info says that the power chord started with these guitarist. Link Wray is considered the first mainstream rock guitarist to use power chords. "Power chords can be traced back to commercial recordings in the 1950s. Robert Palmer pointed to electric blues guitarists Willie Johnson and Pat Hare, both of whom played for Sun Records in the early 1950s, as the true originators of the power chord, citing as evidence Johnson's playing on Howlin' Wolf's "How Many More Years" (recorded 1951) and Hare's playing on James Cotton's "Cotton Crop Blues" (recorded 1954).​" musicintervaltheory.academy/guitar/power-chords/

[@blackchakra10]

Steven Colbert and Iggy Pop sent me here. A whole new generation just discovered this great master.

[@mr.sinister1279]

Link Wray would of had much respect in the ghetto!! One cool ass dude!!

[@mickeymousebiker1]

Link Wray's Rumble -- king tone (forever)!

[@redstreet8012]

He still had a North Carolina accent when filmed.

[@jamesf.byrnes8931]

One cool dude! Loved his work with Robert Gordon!

[@chrisperrien7055]

Cool , He noted God about thinking up that music at the spur of the moment wayback when

[@douglasjones2570]

Thank you.

[@SuperSmak2]

ALL TIME CLASSIC SENT FROM ABOVE LIKE LINK SAID......

[@LordKenebutch]

He has the coolest name in Rock n' Roll and influenced a lot of guitarist's from the 60's from Jimmy Page, Pete Townsend, etc.

[@thisisstevet]

GR8! 'Play that weird song, play that weird song!' Hehe SUPERB! What a guy...

[@teddyleather9079]

love love love it!

[@TheClash122]

Thanks for sharing!

[@kasperkjrsgaard1447]

I first heard about Link Wray in the late 70’s when he recorded with Robert Gordon, and started following him after that. Unfortunately I never had the chance to see him live. I believe that I saw him sitting among the audience at the Glam Rock Festival in Esbjerg, Denmark but were to shy to ask if it was him or not. 🤦‍♂️ I must have been after he married his danish wife.

[@PlanetC64]

LOVE RUMBLE

[@KingLouieOfficial]

what a laugh in the end

[@ShayneWray13]

thx for posting didnt see this

[@leslieswiman7297]

💕💕💕💕💕 THE LOVE OF MY LIFE

[@edwardcomer7455]

Lol isn't it the truth all of us rock gutarists are "LINKED" to the great LINK WRAY ?😎

[@CheckmateWithPawn]

Fredricksburg, VA?? thats like 20 minutes away from me. too awesome

[@LameGeneration91]

That last second gigle Cracks me up !! XD

[@elijahsabree1677]

"That's the thing about God.. watching me ya know..and BAM!!"

[@lizokitten2]

Link Wray and Wisconsin -- rock on!

[@200gregg]

amazing

[@johnnieguitar5724]

Ya don't need much more than three chords if you've got the rest of the simple ingredients for a classic rock anthem! Thanks Link. :)

[@jetteroheller]

His brother was Ray Wray. That’s awesome.

[@DaveRodway]

How long was his hair? Wow.

[@carlrudd1858]

I hear him. VERY interesting. very.

[@AntoniusRome]

Love ya Link!

[@RobertSlover]

awesome.

[@Requiredfields2]

Dope!!

[@rachelsanders2]

Can you imagine a kid hearing something so new and uncategorizable that they demand to hear that "weird song" again? There's nothing new these days.

[@Bietel]

All right, before you scroll down: (1) Link talks about his brother 'Ray', and no that was not Ray Wray, his name was Vernon. But Vernon Wray adopted the stage name Ray Vernon (and made some records under that name), so that's why Link says 'Ray'. (2) the guitar is a Yamaha SG-2, with some modifications. It had the tuners from a Gibson Firebird that Link used to play in the '70s, that was broken accidentally on stage. (3) If you want to try to recreate the sound, Rumble was recorded with a Gibson Les Paul Gold Top and a Premier 71 amp (made by Multivox I believe), with holes punched in at least one of the tweeters. Either with a pencil or with something else - Link thought it was a pencil. In the mid-eighties, Link played that SG-2 (called 'Screaming Red') through a Boss CS-2 Compression Sustainer pedal (everything all the way up) and most of the time a Marshall JCM-900 and suchlike (also everything all the way up, except the reverb if there was a reverb on it). (4) Link was a big Elvis fan; they met at least once. (5) Just in case you wondered, Link was a great guy (like I said here before).

[@IndianaSurfGuitar]

A Vox AC30 combo amp with the Reverb, Tremolo & Presence dialed in JUST right will totally nail the tone for "Rumble!"

[@isorokudono]

In Wild Zero Guitar Wolf plays that first riff, just before unleashing his mighty sword!!

[@masterjedi89]

this guy is a rock god