“Rocket 88” by Jackie Brenston and His Delta Cats

"Rocket 88" was cut in Memphis in March 1951 with Sam Phillips producing and came out on Chess, and the name on the label, Jackie Brenston and his Delta Cats, tells only half the story. Brenston sang it and blew baritone sax, but the band was really Ike Turner and his Kings of Rhythm, with Turner on piano, Raymond Hill on tenor sax, Willie Kizart on guitar, Jesse Knight on bass and Willie Sims on drums.

It topped Billboard's R&B chart, and plenty of writers treat it as a cornerstone of rock and roll, several calling it the very first rock and roll record. The Blues Hall of Fame took it in 1991 and the Grammy Hall of Fame in 1998, the Mississippi Blues Trail gave it their 200th marker in 2017, and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and the National Recording Registry followed in 2018 and 2024.

Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.