The Led Zeppelin guitarist inducted Link Wray with a performance of “Rumble.”
Led Zeppelin cofounder Jimmy Page delivered a rare performance on Friday as he inducted guitar pioneer Link Wray into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame and led the band through a rousing rendition of “Rumble.”
Page first appeared in a video montage about Wray, who died in 2005. When the video ended, Page was on stage in person at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn ― complete with his iconic double-necked cherry Gibson:
“Rumble” has the unusual distinction of being perhaps the only instrumental ever to be banned from radio, as some felt the title alone could incite violence.
“The nation at that time, anxious over sudden spikes in juvenile delinquency, was eager to drum out anything that could be cited as an instigator,” the Library of Congress notes.
Page, who called Wray “my hero,” wrote on Facebook that he first heard the song when he was 14.
“As a guitar instrumental the attitude of it was totally unique in its mystery, imagination and execution — it had a profound effect on me,” he wrote. “Link Wray and Rumble stand alone at the pinnacle in the world of instrumentals.”
He added that he was “thrilled” at the chance to perform the song.
Page has only rarely performed in public over the past two decades. His most recent known live musical performance was about 20 seconds of “Ramble On” during an interview with a French TV show in 2014. He performed with Roy Harper in 2011, and at the 2007 Led Zeppelin reunion.
His former Zeppelin bandmate Robert Plant has kept up a much more rigorous touring schedule, both on his own and with Alison Krauss, with whom he has released two albums.
Plant made headlines last month when he performed Zeppelin’s “Stairway to Heaven” for the first time in 16 years.
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