"Rocket 88" (originally stylized as Rocket "88") is a rhythm and blues song that was first recorded in Memphis, Tennessee, in March 1951. The recording was credited to "Jackie Brenston and his Delta Cats", who were 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. In 2017, the Mississippi Blues Trail dedicated its 200th marker to "Rocket 88" as an influential record. The song was inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame in 1991, the Grammy Hall of Fame in 1998,
and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2018.
Jackie Brenston (August 24, 1928 or 1930 – December 15, 1979) was an American R&B singer and saxophonist, who recorded, with Ike Turner's band, the first version of the pioneering rock-and-roll song "Rocket 88".
1951Mar, 3
Jackie Brenston, with Ike Turner and his band, records "Rocket 88", often cited as "the first rock and roll record", at Sam Phillips's recording studios in Memphis, Tennessee.
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Events on 1951
- 11Apr
President Truman's relief of General Douglas MacArthur
Korean War: President Harry Truman relieves General of the Army Douglas MacArthur of overall command in Korea. - 22Apr
Battle of Kapyong
Korean War: The Chinese People's Volunteer Army begin assaulting positions defended by the Royal Australian Regiment and the Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry at the Battle of Kapyong. - 25Apr
Battle of Kapyong
Korean War: Assaulting Chinese forces are forced to withdraw after heavy fighting with UN forces, primarily made up of Australian and Canadian troops, at the Battle of Kapyong. - 3May
Harry Truman
The United States Senate Committee on Armed Services and United States Senate Committee on Foreign Relations begin their closed door hearings into the dismissal of General Douglas MacArthur by U.S. President Harry Truman. - 15Oct
Combined oral contraceptive pill
Mexican chemist Luis E. Miramontes conducts the very last step of the first synthesis of norethisterone, the progestin that would later be used in one of the first three oral contraceptives.