A neglected part of rock ’n’ roll history — the part played by American Indians in shaping the sounds we love — gets an airing in “Rumble: The Indians Who Rocked the World,” an absorbing and sometimes fascinating documentary.
The documentary’s writers, director Catherine Bainbridge and co-director Alfonso Maiorana, string together a series of vignettes of musicians of American Indian ancestry. Some are well-known trailblazers, while others are the sort of musicians whom other musicians cite as influences.
The rhythm of rock music is the drum, and Bainbridge and Maiorana interview historians and musicians who speak of how American Indian drumming patterns became the heartbeat of rock ’n’ roll. At the same time, the call-and-response style of Native singing also worked its way into soul and jazz music — especially in places like New Orleans, where American Indians and African descendants, both subjugated as “colored” by the white authority, often would intermarry.
The better-known musicians profiled here include Jimi Hendrix, who celebrated his Indian and African heritage through his music and extravagant dress, and Robbie Robertson, who recalls in an interview sharing Native folk traditions with Bob Dylan on the singer’s infamous “Dylan Goes Electric” tour. But it’s the hidden heroes who are the most compelling.
Look at Link Wray, a Shawnee who championed the fuzz-tone electric guitar in his 1958 instrumental hit “Rumble” — which was famously used in “Pulp Fiction,” among other films, and cited as life-changing by Iggy Pop, Pete Townshend and Steven Van Zandt.
Or listen to Charley Patton, believed to have both Native and African-American roots, who became known as “the father of the Delta Blues.” Patton’s style borrowed from Native traditions, and he passed his knowledge down to bluesmen like Howlin’ Wolf, who in turn influenced The Rolling Stones.
Or consider Mildred Bailey, who left Idaho’s Coeur d’Alene Reservation to become a big-band singer. She worked with Bing Crosby early in his career, in Spokane. Her phrasing was emulated by Tony Bennett (who’s interviewed here) and Frank Sinatra.
The movie goes on like this, with brief profiles of such legends as folksingers Buffy Sainte-Marie and Peter La Farge (whose “The Ballad of Ira Hayes” was famously covered by Johnny Cash). The episodes don’t have much connective tissue, and only in the final moments — with footage of musicians joining in the protests against the pipeline at Standing Rock — do Bainbridge and Maiorana connect the past to the present in a vibrant way.
Still, lovers of rock music should groove to “Rumble” and appreciate the pioneers who are finally getting their due.
• • •<br>’Rumble: The Indians Who Rocked the World’<br>American Indians who were pioneers in rock, blues and jazz music finally get their due in this thorough documentary.<br>Where • Tower Theatre.<br>When • Opens Friday, Sept. 8.<br>Rating • Not rated, but probably PG-13 for language and drug references.<br>Running time • 103 minutes.