All Due Credit

True music fans take songwriting credits pretty seriously. The songwriter is where history begins.

Good songwriting is a craft and a talent. Aficionados cringe when they here somebody say Elvis Presley wrote "Blue Suede Shoes". When it comes to history making songs, it's important that credit goes where credit is due.

So when I read an L.A. Times article that said Ike Turner wrote "Rocket 88," I had to tell the Times how wrong they were.

My exchange with Assistant Reader Representative Barry Zwick has been an interesting excursion into just how difficult pinning down historical facts in music can be.

"Rocket 88" was recorded at Sun Studio in Memphis, Tenn. in May 1951. It was first hit record recorded at Sun and helped Sam Phillips become an important record producer, making Sun an important destination for up and coming recording artists. Many music historians consider "Rocket 88" the first rock and roll record in history, so the question of who wrote "Rocket 88" is no trivial matter.

The song was released by Chess Records and songwriting credit was given to Jackie Brenston, the song's lead singer.

I wrote a huffy note to the Times, feeling more than certain that Brenston was the songwriter.

Not so fast, Zwick replied. Not all historical accounts agree that Brenston was the actual writer. There is at least one account that says Turner wrote the song and that Brenston was falsely credited as author by Chess simply because he was listed as the singer.

Feeling somewhat chastised at my eagerness to show the Times up, I acknowledged in my reply that the person listed as the legal songwriter on old songs is not always the actual songwriter. For example, I read many times that Moon Mullican wrote "Jambalaya", not Hank Williams. In fact, Williams was chagrined that Acuff-Rose bought the songwriting credits from Mullican and throughout his life, Williams aided Mullican financially to make up for it.

So it isn't hard to believe that Ike Turner wrote "Rocket 88" and, through music business machinations, was screwed out of the songwriting credit.

Article Author: Howard Owens

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