Jackie Brenston (August 24, 1928 or 1930[note 1] – December 15, 1979) was an American singer and saxophonist who, with Ike Turner's band, recorded the first version of "Rocket 88" in 1951.
Brenston was born in Clarksdale, Mississippi.[1] Brenston's birth date has long been the source of speculation. The birth date on his headstone, August 24, 1928, is the same date on his army enlistment records. However, in 1974, Brenston stated that he was born on August 24, 1927. His obituary in the Clarksdale Press Register gave his birth date as August 15, 1930, a date endorsed by researchers Bob Eagle and Eric S. LeBlanc.[2] Brenston had a troubled youth and often ran away from home. It has been theorized that his mother, Ethel Brenston, falsified his age so that he could join the army. Brenston claimed he served more than three years in the 82nd Airborne, but records show that he enlisted on January 19, 1946, and was released on December 18, 1946.[3]
Returning to Clarksdale from army service, Brenston learned to play the tenor saxophone and linked up with Ike Turner in 1950 as a tenor sax player and occasional singer in Turner's band, the Kings of Rhythm. The local success of the band prompted B. B. King to recommend them to studio owner Sam Phillips in Memphis, Tennessee, where the band made several recordings in early March 1951, including "Rocket 88" on which Brenston sang lead and was credited with writing.[4] Turner led the band but provided no vocals for "Rocket 88". Brenston later said that the song was not particularly original; "they had simply borrowed from another jump blues about an automobile, Jimmy Liggins' "Cadillac Boogie" ".[5] Turner continued to maintain that he wrote the music and that he and the band jointly wrote the lyrics.[6]
Phillips licensed the recordings to Chess Records in Chicago, which released "Rocket 88" as by Jackie Brenston and his Delta Cats instead of Ike Turner and his Kings of Rhythm featuring Jackie Brenston.[4] Turner blamed Phillips for this error.[7] The record soon reached number one on the U.S. Billboard R&B chart. It sold approximately half a million copies. Turner and the band had been paid $20 each for the record. The exception was Brenston, who sold the rights to Phillips for $910.[8]
Phillips later claimed that this was the first rock and roll record.[1] While there are other records that are also said to be the "first", many sources confirm that Rocket 88 was certainly among the first of the rock 'n' roll genre.[9][10] Phillips used income from the success of the record to start Sun Records the following year.[11]
The success of the record caused friction within the group. After one further recording session, Brenston left Turner's band to pursue a solo career. Brenston later went on to perform in Lowell Fulson's band for two years. He returned to play in Turner's band in 1955.[4] Although he occasionally sang with the band, Turner allegedly barred him from singing "Rocket 88".
In 1958, Brenston played saxophone in the Cobra session with Turner which produced the singles "Double Trouble" and "All Your Love (I Miss Loving)" by Otis Rush.[12] By now an alcoholic, Brenston continued playing in local bands. In 1960, Turner signed with Sue Records and released "A Fool In Love" with his future wife Tina Turner. Turner wrote one of Brenston's last recordings, "Trouble Up The Road" / "You Ain't The One" was released on Sue in 1961.[13] Brenston's final recording session was in Chicago with Earl Hooker's band in 1963, and released on Mel London's Mel-Lon label, but alcoholism took a toll on his career.[14]
In spite of brief fame from "Rocket 88", Brenston did not achieve success in his career. "He never had another hit and became an alcoholic ... Brenston finally quit music, became a truck driver and died forgotten in 1979."[15]He died of a heart attack at V.A. Hospital in Memphis on December 15, 1979.[16]
Brenston had a significant influence on Bill Haley and the Comets.[17]
In 2007, Rev-Ola released a compilation of twenty-four vintage sides recorded by Brenston. Of his legacy, the music historian Richie Unterberger wrote,
If ever there were a case of the record overshadowing the artist, it would be Jackie Brenston's 'Rocket 88.' ... Brenston is often dismissed as a footnote to his own landmark, with pianist/bandleader Ike Turner's role in the recording getting more ink, Brenston sometimes characterized as a journeyman who lucked into the spotlight almost by chance. ... [Brenston was] something of a journeyman R&B vocalist, but wasn't as inconsequential as some critics have opined.[18]