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Rocket 88

"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.

This article is about the 1951 song. For other uses, see Rocket 88 (disambiguation).

"Rocket "88""

"Come Back Where You Belong"

March 1951 (1951-03)[1]

March 3 or 5, 1951

Memphis Recording Service (Memphis)

2:48

Chess

  • Jackie Brenston (credited)
  • Ike Turner (uncredited)

Sam Phillips

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]

Chart performance[edit]

"Rocket 88" was the third-biggest rhythm and blues single in jukebox plays of 1951, according to Billboard magazine, and ninth in record sales.[29] The single reached the top of the Best Selling R&B Records chart on June 9, 1951, and stayed there for three weeks.[30] It also spent two weeks at the top of the Most Played Juke Box R&B Records chart; spending a total of five weeks at number-one on the R&B charts.[11][31]

Birnbaum, Larry (2012). Before Elvis: The Prehistory of Rock 'n' Roll. Lanham, Massachusetts: Scarecrow Press.  978-0810886384.

ISBN

Campbell, Michael (2011). Popular Music in America: And The Beat Goes On (4th ed.). Boston, Massachusetts: Cengage Learning.  978-0810886384.

ISBN

Collis, John (2003). Ike Turner: King of Rhythm. London: Do Not Press.  978-1-904316-24-4.

ISBN

; Propes, Steve (1992). What Was the First Rock 'n' Roll Record?. London: Faber & Faber. ISBN 0-571-12939-0.

Dawson, Jim

(1970). The Sound of the City. Sphere Books. ISBN 978-0722138601.

Gillett, Charlie

(1994). Last Train to Memphis: The Rise of Elvis Presley. New York City: Little Brown. ISBN 978-0316332200.

Guralnick, Peter

(2015). Sam Phillips: The Man Who Invented Rock 'N' Roll. New York City: Little Brown.

Guralnick, Peter

Grushkin, Paul (2006). Rockin' Down the Highway: The Cars and People That Made Rock Roll. MBI Publishing.  978-0760322925.

ISBN

(1981a). The Rolling Stone History of Rock & Roll. Picador.

Palmer, Robert

(1981b). Deep Blues. Penguin Books. ISBN 978-0-14-006223-6.

Palmer, Robert

(1995). Rock & Roll: An Unruly History. Harmony Books. ISBN 0-517-70050-6.

Palmer, Robert

(2011). Talking Music: Blues Radio and Roots Music. Insomniac Press. ISBN 978-1554830589.

Petersen, Holger

(2003). Continuum Encyclopedia of Popular Music of the World: Performance and Production. Vol. II. Continuum International. ISBN 978-0826463227.

Shepard, John

(1984). Unsung Heroes of Rock'n'Roll. Secker & Warburg.

Tosches, Nick

; Cawthorne, Nigel (1999). Takin' Back My Name: The Confessions of Ike Turner. London: Virgin. ISBN 185-2278501.

Turner, Ike

; Loder, Kurt (1986). I, Tina: My Life Story (1st ed.). New York City: Morrow. ISBN 978-0688059491.

Turner, Tina

Weinstein, Deena (2015). . Toronto: University of Toronto Press. ISBN 9781442600188.

Rock'n America: A Social and Cultural History

(1988). Top R&B Singles 1942–1988. Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin: Record Research. ISBN 0-89820-068-7.

Whitburn, Joel

on Mississippi Blues Trail

Rocket "88" - Lyon