Thursday, 20 November 2014

4. Rocket 88. Jackie Brenston & His Delta Cats. April 1951.
Regarded by many to be the first true rock n roll success, Brenston's Rocket 88 was the first R&B record to be covered by Bill Haley (then leader of The Saddlemen). A song about a late model Oldsmobile, the original was performed by sax player Brenston, who at the time was a member of St Louis outfit Ike Turner's Kings of Rhythm, in fact it was Ike's Kings who played on Rocket 88 but under a pseudonym for contractual reasons.
It is also of note that a piano has 88 keys and many believe the song to be just that, a song extolling the piano and its role in modern music.

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