Ike Turner (November 5, 1931 – December 12, 2007) was an American musician, bandleader, songwriter, arranger, talent scout, and record producer. Turner began playing piano and guitar when he was eight, forming his group, the Kings of Rhythm, as a teenager. His first recording, “Rocket 88”, credited to Jackie Brenston and his Delta Cats, in 1951 is considered a contender for “first rock and roll song”. (More from Wikipedia)
Sometime in the 1949 to 1952 period, Bill Haley and the Saddlemen were formed; this was the band that would later evolve into Bill Haley and His Comets. This band recorded a cover version of “Rocket 88” on Holiday Records that was released on June 14, 1951, barely two months after the original release of this song by Ike Turner’s Kings of Rhythm (though this original record was actually credited to Jackie Brenston and His Delta Cats).
Now, Ike Turner’s “Rocket 88” is named by many rock critics and music historians as “the first rock and roll record”; what's more, “Rocket 88” as recorded by Bill Haley and the Saddlemen is one of the very earliest recordings in what would later become known as “rockabilly”, the musical style pioneered by Elvis Presley and others.
(June 2013/1)
