In an eye-opening new documentary, Rumble: The Indians Who Rocked the World, hidden Native American figures
are finally given credit for influencing a vast amount of popular music.
For a song with no lyrics,
“Rumble” managed to say a lot about sex, swagger and the allure of teenage
rebellion. Released in 1958 by Native American guitarist Link Wray, the track –
all dirty chord progressions and blistering guitar – was an omen of the
impending 60s rock revolution… “Rumble’s
narrative goes far deeper than teenage impulses, tracing a path from rock ‘n’
roll to jazz to the blues to the music of pre-colonial America, before European
immigrants and Federal government began their systematic decimation of Native
people and the vibrant musical traditions they carried. Through exhaustive
research backed by the Smithsonian, Rumble
makes a case that the blues, the oldest form of American popular music, was
influenced by even more ancient Native styles of playing and singing.
In particular the film points to Charley Patton – “the father of the
Delta blues” who’s believed to have Choctaw ancestry – as a key artist who
melded traditional tribal rhythms with the then burgeoning blues. The scene in
which Tuscarora/Taíno musician Pura Fé demonstrates the Native influence in
Patton’s “Down the Red Dirt Road” will likely give you chills.
“That’s Indian music with a guitar,” Fé says, her eyes lighting up,
“that’s where it went.”
Patton’s style influenced other blues artists and, eventually, the
British rock and rollers like The Rolling Stones, The Who and Zeppelin who
would bow at their feet in the ‘60s. Rumble
features a 1965 clip from the American musical variety show Shindig! in which
the Stones host a performance by Howlin’ Wolf, who was deeply influenced by
Patton. With such footage, Rumble
fleshes out the DNA of popular music, which has for centuries been incomplete
due to the suppression of Native people.”