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"Rocket 88" is a rhythm and blues song that was first recorded at Sam Phillips' recording studio in Memphis, Tennessee, on 3 or 5 March (accounts differ) 1951. It is claimed by some, including Phillips — later to become owner of Sun Records, and pioneer rock and roll record producer — to be the "first rock and roll song", however there is dispute as to which recording of the song (if either) actually deserves the accolade. The original version of 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 - though apparently based on the 1947 song "Cadillac Boogie" by Jimmy Liggins - and recorded by him with his band, the Kings of Rhythm. Jackie 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. An alternate explanation maintains that Brenston, an accomplished pianist, wrote the song to showcase his skill, hence the "88" (the number of keys on a standard piano). Brenston was given author credit rather than Turner; it is now agreed that Brenston's contribution was overstated for financial reasons. Working from the raw material of jump blues and swing combo music, Turner made it even rawer, starting with a strongly stated back beat by drummer Willie Sims, and superimposing Brenston's enthusiastic vocals, his own piano, and tenor saxophone solos by Raymond Hill. The song also features one of the first examples of distortion, or fuzz guitar ever recorded, played by the band's guitarist Willie Kizart. The legend of how the sound came about says that a tube amplifier was damaged on Highway 61 when the band was driving from Mississippi to Memphis, Tennessee but Phillips liked the sound and used it. It was the second-biggest rhythm and blues single of 1951, reaching A second version of "Rocket 88" was recorded by the country music group Bill Haley and the Saddlemen at a recording session on June 14, 1951*, a few months after Brenston recorded his version. Haley's recording was a regional hit in the northeast United States, and started Haley along the musical road which led to his own impact on popular music with "Rock Around the Clock" in 1954. 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. No matter which versions deserves the accolade, "Rocket 88" is seen as a prototype rock and roll song in musical style and lineup, not to mention its lyrical theme, in which an automobile serves as a metaphor for romantic prowess. The song was also featured in the 1984 film The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension. Buckaroo Banzai and his band, the Hong Kong Cavaliers, perform the song in a concert early in the movie although the track was actually recorded by Billy Vera and the Beaters. ---- Rocket 88 was also the name adopted by a UK-based back-to-the-roots boogie-woogie fun band based around Ian "Stu" Stewart and Bob Hall. It featured many top British musicians from different backgrounds who would meet up whenever possible during the 80s for what was in effect a jam session. The band recorded a live album on tour in Germany which was released on the Atlantic label. "Regular" members of the band included the two above-mentioned musicians plus George Green, Charlie Watts, Jack Bruce, Colin Smith, John Picard, Don Weller, Dick Morrissey, Colin Hodgkinson, Chris Farlowe, and many others. The format of the band inspired many of its members, many of them semi-retired rock stars from the 60s and 70s, to meet up again and "have a ball" by getting together with their old mates without the pressures of their former public macro-performances.
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