Fast-paced and fascinating, vibrating with the energy of a power chord strummed on a Gibson SG, Rumble fills in a piece of the history of 20th-century popular music that few people knew was missing: the Native American influence on rock ’n’ roll, blues and R&B.

Taking its name from the iconic instrumental, Rumble begins with the song’s creator, guitarist Link Wray. Born in North Carolina to a Shawnee mother, he recalls hiding under the bed during nighttime KKK raids. Many influential blues musicians who were thought of as African American also had Native roots, and Rumble illuminates the traditional rhythms, singing and playing styles that can so clearly be heard in their work and in popular music today. The film posits that there might not have been bands like The Who or the Rolling Stones without these seminal musicians. Featuring interviews with rock greats of all backgrounds, Rumble is an essential documentary for music fans.

Winner: Special Jury Award, Sundance