Rock & Roll Turns 56

That’s a picture of a 1949 Oldsmobile 88. Ike Turner had one, or at least, wanted to have one. In fact, Ike Turner liked the car so much that he wrote a song about it. The song was called “Rocket 88,” and if you’ve heard it, you’ve got to acknowledge that it’s pretty awesome.
“Rocket 88” is more than just an awesome song; it’s also the first rock and roll song ever recorded. So I guess if you didn’t like it, then there’s something wrong with you. Seriously.
And go fuck yourself if you consider “Rock Around The Clock” or “Jailhouse Rock” to be the first rock and roll song ever made.
Crackers didn’t make rock and roll; they just marketed it more effectively.
The fact that Ike Turner wrote “Rocket 88” doesn’t make it right that he laid into Tina, but it may provide some insight into why he would even consider hitting a woman.
Maybe the fact that he may be the person responsible for “inventing” rock and roll and some white hillbilly is the one who often gets credit for it, might have been enough to turn Ike Turner into a bitterly stupid wife beater.
The good news is that when you listen to “Rocket 88,” you don’t think about Ike Turner, beating up women, or if the artist is black or white.
When you listen to it, you just think it’s a killer rock and roll song about a badass car.
“Rocket 88” was recorded by Sam Phillips in Memphis, Tennessee on March 5, 1951 and reached #1 on the rhythm and blues charts on this day, June 8th, some fifty-six years ago.