Featuring Ike Turner, piano

1957

Published at: https://digitalpostermuseum.com/cars/oldsmobile-ad-and-poster-collection/

Introduction: A faded poster for Bill Haley and The Saddlemen, showcasing their big hit from 1951 “Rocket 88,” recorded after the original version written and performed by Jackie Brenston and Ike Turner. The band toured extensively, and cheap posters like this one – hung on fences and utility poles in cities across the United States – advertised their performances. In the fall of 1952, Haley changed the name of his band to Bill Haley & His Comets and, as they say, the rest is history.

Introduction: A crude yet spirited handbill for Jackie Brenston, showcasing his performance of “Rocket 88″ at the W.C. Handy Theatre in Memphis, Tennessee, April 7 and 8, 1951. Ike Turner, nicknamed “The King of Piano,” received second billing, along with his Kings of Rhythm. Brenston, Turner and their fellow musicians had been performing “Rocket 88″ for months before Bill Haley and The Saddlemen recorded their version. Some music historians and rock music chroniclers understandably regard Haley’s version as a form of “cultural appropriation.”