Link Wray’s 1958 single “Rumble” is one of the most celebrated rock and roll track’s ever released. An entirely instrumental composition, the song is awash in waves of gritty, tremolo-painted guitar power-chords, and spiced up in the middle with a frenzied, solo. “Rumble” sounds so raunchy and depraved in fact, that it was actually banned by some radio stations in the U.S. when it first debuted. It was later used to great affect in a pivotal scene in Quentin Tarantino’s masterpiece Pulp Fiction.
What wasn’t known until recently is that Wray actually wrote and recorded a sequel to his most recognized hit. Titled “Son Of Rumble,” the single will finally get it’s long-awaited debut next year on April 13th thanks to Black Keys singer Dan Auerbach, who will be putting it out as a special 7″ on his Easy Eye Sound record label. “I saw him play in Cleveland at the Grog shop and he blew my mind,” Auerbach said in a statement. “To get the chance to put out unreleased songs on Easy Eye Sound is amazing and a dream I never thought was possible.”
2017 has been something a revival for Link Wray. Earlier this year, his self-titled 1971 album, which was recorded in a literal chicken shack, received a much-deserved reissue via Light In The Attic. Then, a few months after that, it was revealed that Wray was listed as one of the nominees for induction into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame.
You can listen to “Son Of Rumble” above and compare it to the original below. If you like what you hear, you can pre-order a physical copy through Auerbach’s label’s website.
