Link Wray

At his London gig last night, according to Bill Pagel’s site, Dylan opened with Link Wray’s Rumble. Oddly, in the two reviews given, one doesn’t mention the fact, while the other merely notes that the gig started off to the “raunchy sounds of the old Link Wray tune The Rumble”, but elaborates no further, being lost in the sheer wonder of his Bobness’s presence.

What they miss out on – the reason for this – is that Link Wray has just died, aged 76.

I’d imagine it’s extremely rare for Dylan to move outside his own back catalogue, but it’s kind of appropriate for someone who draws their inspiration from the folk music of America in all its forms that he should have done this. Rumble almost counts as a folk tune, with its raw primal simplicity. It’s the greatest rock instrumental ever, a sort of ur-heavy metal – or ur-punk maybe. Forget Elvis, or Little Richard: if you really wanted proof that this here rock’n’roll music spelled nothing but trouble for the decent folk of America, just put on Rumble, and turn up the volume. It’s so menacing it’s scary. And this was back in 1958. And, to make it somehow even more perfect as a classic piece of Americana, the guy was a Shawnee Indian. As this site puts it, he’s the “the missing link in the history of rock guitar” between the blues and rock, a true hero of American music”. Or, from this Amazon review, “the first man to demonstrate that an electric guitar, in the right hands, could be made to sound like a weapon.” Trust Bob to pay homage.