Jackie Brenston

A saxophonist in Ike Turner's Kings of Rhythm, Jackie Brenston sang lead on 'Rocket 88', released in 1951 under the name Jackie Brenston and his Delta Cats. The exuberant ode to an Oldsmobile became a number-one R&B hit and a frequent answer to the question of rock 'n' roll's first record. Brenston never matched that success again but his single remains a fixed star in the genre's origin story. It is one of the earliest sounds to leave Sam Phillips's studio.