In April of 1958 Link Wray and the Raymen improvised a song at a teen dance in Fredericksburg Virginia. It was a simple instrumental, saturated with reverb and tremolo. The audience that night was thrilled by the song, requesting it four more times during the evening.

There are two different stories about how it got its name, either or neither of them could be true. One is that a producers daughter named it. The other is that Phil Everly from the Everly brothers suggested the name because the music sounded raunchy and violent.

In the late 1950s the term "rumble" had come to describe street fights by teenage gangs. And so because of its name, and it's loud tone, radio stations in New York and in Boston banned the song, not wanting to encourage violent gang type behavior by impressionable teens.

This is the song that inspired Link Wray to poke holes in the speakers of his amplifiers to get distortion, which was not yet available as an electronic effect. He is also credited with the first use of power chords, simple two note chords that can be played loudly. The opening of "Smoke on the Water", by Deep Purple is a good example.

He went on to write several other successful instrumentals, including "Apache" and "Switchblade."

More Info: www.openculture.com