Event · 1951 · Memphis [35.15, -90.05]

Recording of "Rocket 88" at Memphis Recording Service (1951)

In 1951 Ike Turner's Kings of Rhythm drove to Sam Phillips's Memphis studio and cut 'Rocket 88', sung by saxophonist Jackie Brenston. A damaged guitar amplifier produced a fuzzy, distorted tone that Phillips chose to keep, an accident often read as an early step toward the rock guitar sound. The session is one of the most cited candidates for the first rock 'n' roll record. It also marks the studio's arrival as a force in American music.

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  • collaborates with → Sam Phillips

    Sam Phillips recorded the 1951 'Rocket 88' session at his Memphis studio, and his decision to keep the distorted guitar amplifier rather than replace it gave the record its rough, forward-leaning tone. The choice typifies the producer's taste for raw, unpolished sound that would mark the whole Sun catalogue.

  • collaborates with → Ike Turner

    Ike Turner led the band that drove from Clarksdale to Memphis to record 'Rocket 88' at Sam Phillips's studio in 1951, writing and arranging the music even as the vocal credit went elsewhere. His role at the keyboard and as bandleader places him at the contested origin point of rock 'n' roll.

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