Sep 2, 2019
Introduction: “Rocket 88” by Bill Haley and The Saddlemen (recorded June 14, 1951). “Rocket 88” was Bill Haley’s first hit and, like “Rock Around the Clock” three years later, it was a remake of an earlier and less successful version. With its successful mixing of Country (known at the time as “Hillbilly”) music and R&B, Haley’s version of “Rocket 88″ is widely regarded by music historians as a landmark rock ‘n’ roll song. Some have even identified it as the first - which places it directly at Ground Zero. Again, this is a matter that is largely up for debate.
