Who could possibly forget the dramatic opening number played at Young Rumbler gigs? The Rumblers stood boldly like frozen Roman statues on a jet black stage with smoke rising from the drum kit. With the nod of Tommy’s head, the Rumblers would unleash the thunder of one of the most recognizable riffs in rock history- “Rumble.”

The song must have been important to Tommy Conwell. It apparently inspired the name of the band and the title of their first national album release, “Rumble,” on Columbia Records. Former Rumbler guitarist Billy Kemp mentioned in a recent interview, “Whether Tommy was doing a blues, a rockabilly, a country, or a jazz tune, he would make it his own.” I always felt that the instrumental “Rumble” was an integral part of the appeal of Tommy Conwell and the Young Rumblers.

Commercialized today from beer and Taco Bell television commercials to major motion pictures such as “Pulp Fiction,” “12 Monkeys,” “Blow,” and “Independence Day,” the rudimentary riff has come to label rock culture. The Who’s Pete Townshend summed it up when he said, “If it hadn’t been for Link Wray and “Rumble,” I would have never picked up the guitar.”

The Link Wray story caught my eye when I read that a 73-year-old rockabilly star was to perform at a Philadelphia venue called the North by Northwest.  Seventy-Three years old!!!! You have got to be kidding me!

Remembered by my mother as one of the handsomest country stars in the 1940’s and 1950’s, Frederick Lincoln Wray, Jr. looks today like a singing corpse………..with a slight resemblance to Keith Richards or Alice Cooper. Clearly a faded heartthrob, however, with still enough energy to deliver an important chapter of rock history.

Guitarist Link Wray formed Lucky Wray, Lazy Pine Wranglers, and Wraymen with his brothers, Doug and Vernon, in the 1940’s. The band got its break in Washington DC playing with The Diamonds. Link laid down his simple riff with a 1953 Gibson Les Paul.

While the recorded version of “Rumble” was a mere two minutes, several cities on the East Coast banned it because it was feared as too suggestive and might insight violence. Leather jackets, fast cars, and rock n roll were synonymous with this powerful instrumental called “Rumble.”