"Rocket 88"
Single by Jackie Brenston and his Delta Cats
Released	1951

"Rocket 88" is a rhythm and blues song from 1951. It is claimed by Sam Phillips - owner of Sun Records, and pioneer rock and roll record producer - to be the "first rock and roll song". Image File history File links Nocover. ... A collection of various CD singles In music, a single is a short record, usually featuring one or two tracks as A-side, often accompanied by several B-sides, usually remixes or other songs. ... Rhythm and blues (or R&B) was coined as a musical marketing term in the United States in 1949 by Jerry Wexler at Billboard magazine, and was used to designate upbeat popular music performed by African American artists that combined jazz, gospel, and blues. ... 1951 (MCMLI) was a common year starting on Monday; see its calendar. ... Sam Phillips, born Samuel Cornelius Phillips (January 5, 1923 – July 30, 2003), was a record producer who played an important role in the emergence of rock and roll as the major form of popular music in the 1950s. ... Label of the fourth Sun Records Sun Records has been the name for four 20th century record labels. ... Rock and roll (also spelled Rock n Roll, especially in its first decade), also called rock, is a form of popular music, usually featuring vocals (often with vocal harmony), electric guitars and a strong back beat; other instruments, such as the saxophone, are common in some styles. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... There are many candidates for the title of the first Rock and Roll record. ...

The record was credited to "Jackie Brenston and his Delta Cats", but the band did not actually exist. The song was written by Ike Turner at the Riverside Hotel in Clarksdale, Mississippi and recorded by him with his band, the Kings of Rhythm. Brenston (1930-1979) was a saxophonist with Turner who also sang the vocal on "Rocket 88", a hymn of praise to the joys of the Oldsmobile "Rocket 88" automobile (see: Oldsmobile 88), which had just been introduced in 1949. Brenston was given author credit rather than Turner; it is now agreed that Brenston's contribution was overstated for financial reasons. Ike Turner (born Izear Luster Turner Jr. ... Clarksdale is a city in Coahoma County, Mississippi, United States. ... The Kings of Rhythm were an American rhythm & blues group led by Ike Turner in the late 1950s and the 1960s. ... 1930 (MCMXXX) is a common year starting on Wednesday. ... This page refers to the year 1979. ... The final Oldsmobile Logo, an update of the Rocket theme used in various forms since 1948, debuted in 1997 until the final Olds rolled off the line in 2004. ... A 1950s Olds Rocket 88, still running in 2003 The Oldsmobile 88 was a fullsize car sold by the Oldsmobile division of General Motors and produced from 1949 until 1999. ... 1949 (MCMXLIX) was a common year starting on Saturday (the link is to a full 1949 calendar). ...

Working from the raw material of jump blues and swing combo music, Turner made it even rawer, starting with a strongly stated back beat, and superimposing Brenston's enthusiastic vocals and tenor saxophone solos by "Raymond" and Brenston. The song also features one of the first examples of distorted, or fuzz guitar ever recorded. Reportedly, a speaker was damaged on Highway 61 when the band was driving from Mississippi to Memphis, Tennessee but Phillips liked the sound and used it. The jump blues is a type of blues music, characterized by a jazzy, saxophone (or other horn instruments) sound, driving rhythms and shouted vocals. ... In music a back beat (or the off-beat) is any of the even beats as opposed to the odd downbeats, ie pulses which are weak on their respective metric levels. ... A 1965 Gibson Maestro Fuzz Tone FZ-1A, one of the first commercially available fuzz boxes. ... United States Highway 61 is the official designation for a United States highway that once ran from New Orleans through Memphis and Iowa through Duluth, Minnesota all the way to Thunder Bay, Ontario in Canada. ... Official language(s) English Capital Jackson Largest city Jackson Area  Ranked 32nd  - Total 48,434 sq mi (125,443 km²)  - Width 170 miles (275 km)  - Length 340 miles (545 km)  - % water 3  - Latitude 30°13N to 35°N  - Longitude 88°7W to 91°41W Population  Ranked 31st... Nickname The River City, The Bluff City Location Location in Shelby County and the state of Tennessee Government Country State Counties United States Tennessee Shelby County Mayor W. W. Herenton (D) Geographical characteristics Area  - Total  - Land  - Water 294. ...

"Rocket 88" is the prototype for hundreds of other rock and roll records in musical style and lineup, not to mention its lyrical theme, in which an automobile serves as a metaphor for romantic prowess.

The claim that "Rocket 88" was the first rock and roll record is perhaps overstated, but it was the second-biggest rhythm and blues single of 1951 and much more influential than some other "first" claimants. Rhythm and blues (or R&B) was coined as a musical marketing term in the United States in 1949 by Jerry Wexler at Billboard magazine, and was used to designate upbeat popular music performed by African American artists that combined jazz, gospel, and blues. ... 1951 (MCMLI) was a common year starting on Monday; see its calendar. ...

"Rocket 88" was successfully covered by the country music group Bill Haley and the Saddlemen early in Bill Haley's career, which led to his own impact on popular music with "Rock Around the Clock". Those who subscribe to the definition of rock and roll as the melding of country music with rhythm and blues believe that it is Haley's version of the song, not the Turner/Brenston original, that is the first rock and roll record. country music, see Country music (disambiguation) In popular music, country music, also called country and western music or country-western, is an amalgam of popular musical forms developed in the Southern United States, with roots in traditional folk music, Celtic music, blues, gospel music, and old-time music that began... The original members of Bill Haley and His Comets, c. ... This article is about the song. ...

Turner's piano introduction was copied note for note by Little Richard on his "Good Golly Miss Molly" several years after that. Little Richard (born Richard Wayne Penniman, December 5, 1932 in Macon, Georgia) is an American singer, songwriter, and pianist, and an early pioneer of rock and roll. ... Good Golly, Miss Molly is a hit rock n roll song first recorded in 1958 by the American musician Little Richard. ...

Brenston left Turner's band after the record's success and released several more singles between 1951 and 1953, but they were minor variations of the original and had little success. Brenston rejoined Turner's band as a saxophonist in 1957 and continued with him until 1965. He died in 1979. 1953 (MCMLIII) was a common year starting on Thursday (link is to a full 1953 calendar). ... 1957 (MCMLVII) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... 1965 (MCMLXV) was a common year starting on Friday (the link is to a full 1965 calendar). ... This page refers to the year 1979. ...

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