Rocket 88 – First rock and roll song, great car
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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 March or 5 March 1951 (accounts differ). Phillips — later to become owner of Sun Records, and pioneer rock and roll record producer — claimed the recording to be the “first rock and roll song”.
The original version of the 12-bar blues song was credited to Jackie Brenston and his Delta Cats, who took the song to number one on the R&B charts. The band did not actually exist and the song was put together by Ike Turner and his band in rehearsals at the Riverside Hotel in Clarksdale, Mississippi, and recorded by Turner’s Kings of Rhythm. Jackie Brenston (1930-1979), who was a saxophonist with Turner, also sang the vocal on “Rocket 88”, a hymn of praise to the joys of the Oldsmobile “Rocket 88”, which had recently been introduced.
The Oldsmobile 88 (a.k.a. Eighty-Eight) was a full-size car sold by the Oldsmobile division of General Motors and produced from 1949 until 1999. From 1950 to 1974 the 88 was the division’s top-selling line, particularly the entry-level models such as the 88 and Dynamic 88. The 88 series was also an image leader for Oldsmobile, particularly in the early years (1949–51) when it was one of the best performing automobiles thanks to its relatively small size, light weight and advanced overhead-valve high-compression V8 engine originally designed for the larger and more luxurious 98 series but dropped into the smaller six-cylinder Oldsmobile 76 body, creating what was considered the predecessor of musclecars of the 1960s.
A large number of variations in nomenclature were seen over this long model run—Delmont, Delta, Dynamic, Jetstar, Starfire, Super, Holiday, L/S, LSS, Celebrity, and Royale were used at various times with the 88 badge, and Fiesta appeared on some station wagons in the 1950s and 1960s. The name was more commonly shown as numbers in the earlier years (“Delta 88”, for example) and was changed to spell-out “Eighty Eight” starting in 1989.
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Dorthy, I agree 100% with you. That was the first thought that came to my mind. . . Chuck Berry and JBG!
That’s some good boogie woogie blues though!
My dad had a ’63 88 station wagon in ’65. The thing was huge.
Thank you, SH. Glad to have some back up on this. Berry’s opening guitar riff always gets my foot tapping and my heart pounding.
Those ’88s (sigh). Ah, nostalgia. Those old 9-mile-to-the-gallon beasts are my guilty pleasure. I had a Plymouth Fury for about a year with a 402 engine after a drunk driver totaled my car. Couldn’t afford to drive it around the block now, but it was fun while it lasted….
Many people will (and can) disagree with me, but I still feel that Johnny B. Goode by Chuck Berry was the first real Rock and Roll album, even though it wasn’t released until 1958. Actually, I feel that Chuck Berry was the first real rocker.
Is that Bettie Page in the video?
I had to do some some looking, but yes Bettie Page it is. You’re good.