Rumble: The Indians Who Rocked The World

Rumble is an important documentary, foundational to any survey of Native American musics, but it runs out of time before getting to the contributions and influence of Jim Pepper (Kaw/Muskogee Creek) and Don Cherry (Choctaw/African American), both pioneers in the development of experimental jazz and "world" music. Both created important and original bodies of work.

I saw this film at the Sonoma film fest. There were probably 200 people in the audience and all sat in rapt attention. No one walked out and there was mad applause at the end. A beautiful music and Native American feel good story masterfully told.

Artists discuss the role that Native Americans have played in the development of American popular music. Very well done documentary. Deeper than expected. Undoubtedly there are those who already knew/know all this but I'll call it revisionist history because it certainly revised my history of American music. I only knew of Jim Pepper ('Witchitai-to') and Jesse Ed Davis (with Taj Mahal) before watching this. I knew of Buffy Sainte-Marie but I always felt badly because I couldn't stand her vibrato. If you have near-musicology level interest in the history of blues, jazz and rock, served with another healthy dose of delightful American cultural history, here you go.

The heavy distortion that carries from Link Wray's iconic "Rumble" was the current that ran through every rock 'n' roll song that ever came after. His, and many other influential and musical talents, are of Native American descent, which is a traditionally overlooked culture when it comes to popular music.

Native American musicians undoubtedly played a major role in the creation and influence of blues, rock 'n' roll, and pop music. Beginning with Link Wray's historic riff, to Redbone's 70s pop smash, "Come and Get Your Love," to Black Eyed Pea's rapper Taboo, director's, Catherine Bainbridge and Alfonso Maiorana, have created a wonderfully unique documentary making a sound argument that Native American's have made the most influential contributions to music.

This a definite watch for any music fanatic.

This starts with a full on Link Wray appreciation overload as we learn he was half native Indian. It's interesting, but doesn't really feel like sure footing for a feature length documentary. This format continues with Charlie Patton, Hendrix, but it improves with a deep look at white Americas treatment of native Americans and the oppression of their culture... and their music. Utilising some really nice archival footage, it's a story of diversification of people and cultures, the rhythms those people brought with them, the birth of new sounds from those origins and how those sounds came to influence the music we recognise today.