Rocket 88

"Rocket "88""
Single by Jackie Brenston and his Delta Cats
B-side"Come Back Where You Belong"
ReleasedMarch 1951 (1951-03)[1]
RecordedMarch 3 or 5, 1951
StudioMemphis Recording Service (Memphis)
Genre
Length2:48
LabelChess
Songwriter(s)
  • Jackie Brenston (credited)
  • Ike Turner (uncredited)
Producer(s)Sam Phillips
Jackie Brenston and his Delta Cats singles chronology
"Rocket "88""
(1951)
"My Real Gone Rocket"
(1951)
Audio sample

"Rocket 88" (originally stylized as Rocket "88") is a song that was first recorded in Memphis, Tennessee, in March 1951. The recording was credited to "Jackie Brenston and his Delta Cats"; while Brenston did provide the vocals, the band was actually Ike Turner and his Kings of Rhythm. The single reached number one on the Billboard R&B chart.

Many music writers acknowledge its importance in the development of rock and roll music, with several considering it to be the first rock and roll record.[5] In 2017, the Mississippi Blues Trail dedicated its 200th marker to "Rocket 88" as an influential record.[6] The song was inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame in 1991,[7] the Grammy Hall of Fame in 1998,[8] the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2018,[9] and the National Recording Registry in 2024.[10]

  1. ^ Sims, Lydel (March 28, 1951). "Rocket Becomes Flying Disc, Spins Toward Record Glory". The Commercial Appeal. p. 1.
  2. ^ Petersen 2011, p. 156.
  3. ^ Hall, Mitchell K. (2005). Crossroads: American Popular Culture and the Vietnam Generation. Rowman & Littlefield. ISBN 9780742544444.
  4. ^ Bergsman, Steve (2 July 2019). I Put a Spell on You: The Bizarre Life of Screamin' Jay Hawkins. Feral House. ISBN 9781627310918.
  5. ^ "When was rock'n'roll really born?". The Guardian. April 16, 2004.
  6. ^ "Mississippi Blues Trail Reaches 200th Marker with 'Rocket 88'". Mississippi Development Authority. November 9, 2017. Retrieved June 21, 2020.
  7. ^ O'Neal, Jim (November 10, 2016). "Hall of Fame Inductees: Rocket '88' – Jackie Brenston and His Delta Cats (Chess, 1951)". The Blues Foundation. Retrieved June 21, 2020.
  8. ^ "Grammy Hall of Fame". The Recording Academy Grammy Awards. Retrieved June 21, 2020.
  9. ^ Graff, Gary (April 18, 2018). "Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Inducts Songs for the First Time, Including 'Born to Be Wild' & 'Louie Louie'". Billboard. Retrieved June 21, 2020.
  10. ^ "The Notorious B.I.G., The Chicks, Green Day & More Selected for National Recording Registry (Full List)". Billboard. 2024-04-16. Retrieved 2024-04-16.