Ike Turner's Rocket 88—lots of distortion for 1951!

[heavysoul]

this came out in 1951! was Ike the first to utilize distortion?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bJMRICKFu6Q

[Jahn]

considered to be the first Rock song. not just the distortion as an effect, but the style of heavy blues coming outta there was way ahead of its time.

[mikefair]

This is the 1951 version http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OdrM93boXb4&feature=related

[Echo Are]

"Rocket 88"'s a cool tune. Also, check out "Fatboy Rag"(1946) by Bob Wills & His Texas Playboys. Lester "Junior" Barnhard's on guitar. His tone is absolutely, gloriously dirty, way dirtier than the riff in "Rocket 88".

[KRosser]

It was Ike Turner's band recording under a pseudonym, and Ike is on the track but he plays piano on it, not guitar. The guitarist was Willie Kizart. He claimed the distortion came from his amp being damaged on the road from Mississippi to memphis to do the session but Sam Phillips liked the sound and kept it. Ike Turner later recalled that it was raining and the trunk was leaking; moisture got in the amp somewhere and shorted something out, causing the sound

[A-Bone]

It was Ike Turner's band recording under a pseudonym, and Ike is on the track but he plays piano on it, not guitar. The guitarist was Willie Kizart. He claimed the distortion came from his amp being damaged on the road from Mississippi to memphis to do the session but Sam Phillips liked the sound and kept it. Ike Turner later recalled that it was raining and the trunk was leaking; moisture got in the amp somewhere and shorted something out, causing the sound

:agree

This is pretty much the story as recounted in Robert Palmer's (the music historian, not the late singer) great history of Delta Blues and related forms, Deep Blues.

[hawkeyeinexile]

...and "derived" from Jimmy Liggins' "Cadillac Boogie" ('47) - Nick Tosches

:cool:

[pete kanaras]

"Rocket 88"'s a cool tune. Also, check out "Fatboy Rag"(1946) by Bob Wills & His Texas Playboys. Lester "Junior" Barnhard's on guitar. His tone is absolutely, gloriously dirty, way dirtier than the riff in "Rocket 88".

OH yeah. also afaik junior was the first guy to run "stereo". he had a separate output jack for each pickup and usually used a pair of wide panel tweed pros. some of the greatest guitar tone of all time right there. i've always described junior's sound as, take the grind of willie johnson or pat hare and combine it with a much more sophisticated musical vocabulary, but it's still very raw and elemental. like a cross between willie and django or something. god that tone gives me chills....

[guitgator]

this came out in 1951! was Ike the first to utilize distortion?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bJMRICKFu6Q

I don't know what that track is but it sho ain't from 1951. Post #3 has the Ike version. I've always said that the roots of rock 'n' roll were boogie woogie....and I've actually had people argue the point.....the evidence is clear. Boogie Woogie has been around since the early 1900s and it still provides the basic guitar riff (converted from the left hand piano part) that was prevalent in boogie woogie music from the start.

[pickaguitar]

What IS 'rocket 88'? Why 88? What's the rocket? A car model?

[itkindaworks]

It was Ike Turner's band recording under a pseudonym, and Ike is on the track but he plays piano on it, not guitar. The guitarist was Willie Kizart. He claimed the distortion came from his amp being damaged on the road from Mississippi to memphis to do the session but Sam Phillips liked the sound and kept it. Ike Turner later recalled that it was raining and the trunk was leaking; moisture got in the amp somewhere and shorted something out, causing the sound
I've heard that story. Interesting how "innovation" can happen!

[Laroosco!]

this came out in 1951! was Ike the first to utilize distortion?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bJMRICKFu6Q

That is not a recording from 1951. That version is pretty lame

[Scott Miller]

This site seems to tell the real story:

http://www.hoyhoy.com/

He discusses the boogie-woogie influence convincingly. Also that there was plenty of rock and roll around before Rocket 88. Jimmy Preston's Rock the Joint from 1949, for example.

[Doug H]

More examples of early fuzz here: http://blog.wfmu.org/freeform/2007/11/country-fuzz-sp.html

This has the Grady Martin story (which didn't happen until 1960) but it's an interesting site with a lot of fun clips nonetheless.

[Scott Miller]

Grady Martin plays some kee-razy stuff on some Cecil Gant tunes from the late 40s. Nashville studio musician meets alcoholic boogie-woogie-rocker.

[duckbunny]

This site seems to tell the real story:

http://www.hoyhoy.com/

He discusses the boogie-woogie influence convincingly. Also that there was plenty of rock and roll around before Rocket 88. Jimmy Preston's Rock the Joint from 1949, for example.

I agree.
In 1948, Fats Domino recorded a little known cut called "The Fat Man" that is the earliest tune I've ever heard that I can honestly say sounds like real "Rock & Roll."


-db

[mcknigs]

What IS 'rocket 88'? Why 88? What's the rocket? A car model?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oldsmobile_88

-Scott

[mcknigs]

I've heard it argued that this was the first rock song. I don't see how anyone could suggest that the first rock song could be identified. Or the first country song or first blues song. I also don't see how one can make clear distictions between genres. Over time and between genres everything blends together at the edges. When did swing become jump blues? When did jump blues become rock & roll? When did rock & roll become rock, become hard rock, become heavy metal? Where's the line between bluegrass and country, between country and rockabilly, between rockabilly and rock & roll? OK, I'll shut up now...

-Scott

[hawkeyeinexile]

Scott, thanks for the hoyhoy site pointer

distortion: props for Willie Johnson on the first Howlin' Wolf cuts, 1951

:cool:

[Scott Miller]

I don't see how anyone could suggest that the first rock song could be identified. Or the first country song or first blues song. I also don't see how one can make clear distictions between genres. Over time and between genres everything blends together at the edges. When did swing become jump blues? When did jump blues become rock & roll? When did rock & roll become rock, become hard rock, become heavy metal? Where's the line between bluegrass and country, between country and rockabilly, between rockabilly and rock & roll?

Yep. But, people like to pigionhole things.

I like some of the odd musical things that happen during those transitions. For example, when players started putting a big backbeat on swing tunes, there is this kind of weird beat that swings, but it sounds almost like a straight beat too. Or when someone put a mambo bass line to a straight beat.

[pete kanaras]

More examples of early fuzz here: http://blog.wfmu.org/freeform/2007/1...y-fuzz-sp.html

that link is mind blowing, thank you so much