HBO sets date for “Rumble” premiere

Monday, October 23rd, 2017 11:08am

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Robbie Robertson speaks in the film about the Link Wray song "Rumble".

“Rumble: The Indians Who Rocked The World”, the Sundance award-winning Canadian documentary, will soon be seen on HBO Canada.

“Rumble” explores how Indigenous musicians were instrumental in shaping rock music.

The documentary– featuring Link Wray, Buffy Sainte-Marie, Robbie Robertson, Jimi Hendrix, Stevie Salas, Martin Scorsese, Steven Tyler, Steven Van Zandt, Tony Bennett, and others –will premiere on HBO Nov. 5 at 8:15 p.m. (ET).

“This whole film happened because I was playing sold out arenas and stadiums with Rod Stewart... and I started to wonder why there were no other Native Americans in the biz,” said executive producer Stevie Salas. “Then I discovered there were indeed others who, for reasons unknown to me, people didn't know about."

While many musicians and influences created rock, it was the 1958 piece “Rumble” by Shawnee guitarist Link Wray, the first song to use distortion and feedback, that had the most impact, and “Rumble” lays the foundation for the film. 

Rumble was one of the very few instrumental singles to be banned from radio for fear it would incite violence, reads a statement from HBO. (Wray has been nominated for induction into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2018.)

The documentary utilizes concert footage, archival images, and interviews to tell the story of how Indigenous music was part of the fabric of American popular music from the beginning, and how those contributions were left out of the music history, through attempts to ban, censor, and erase Indian culture in the United States and abroad.

Photo of Link Wray from http://http://www.linkwray.com/

See the trailer here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=120&v=Ni7fAqjA0BE